On Feb. 12, 1934 in West Monroe, Louisiana, Bill Russell was born into a segregated and racist city. 

According to Bleacher Report, when Russell was just a child, his father was once refused service at a gas station until the staff had taken care of all the white customers first. When he attempted to leave and find a different station, the attendant stuck a shotgun in his face and threatened to kill him if he did not stay and wait his turn. 

When Russell was eight years-old, his father moved the family to Oakland, California. There, they fell into poverty and Russell spent his childhood living in a series of public housing projects.

 According to FIBA, he was introduced to basketball in junior high, but he struggled early on, getting cut from his junior high team and almost cut again his freshman year. But, the coach saw his athletic potential and gave him a spot on the varsity team. 

Things only went uphill from there as Russell became a more skilled player and quickly got recruited to play at the University of San Francisco. There, he led his team to two national championships before being drafted to the Boston Celtics in 1956 with the second overall pick. 

But according to SLAM, during his playing career he faced lots of racism, including having bigots break into his home, spray painted slurs on his walls, and defecated in his bed.

He went on to make a great impact, leading the Celtics to win 11 NBA championships, eight of which were in a row. Both records still stand to this day.

I chose Bill Russell because I am a huge basketball fan and many other athletes have cited Bill Russell as an inspiration such as Jackie Robinson.