There was only one statistic that was important to us — won and lost.
Meaning
Russell recalls that the Celtics cared about winning games, not personal numbers. Written in 1969 after his career ended, it shows how a team can ignore individual stats when the result is shared. Apply it by choosing one team outcome to track at work or in a club, instead of chasing personal metrics.
Source: "I'm Not Involved Anymore", Sports Illustrated (1969)
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About the author
Bill Russell (1934–2022) was an American basketball center who won 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics and became the NBA's first Black head coach. He is also remembered as a civil rights advocate.
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