"The Idea Is Not To Block Every Shot."

"The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot."

Words from the great Bill Russell.

From Sports Illustrated: 

Bill Russell was never an NBA finals MVP.

Now the award is named after him.

Starting this year, the finals MVP will receive the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, commissioner David Stern announced Saturday.

"This is one of my proudest moments in basketball, because I determined early in my career, the only important statistic in basketball is the final score," Russell said. "

Russell's wife, Marilyn, recently died of cancer, and he was visibly moved as he accepted the honor.

"This is a bittersweet award," Russell said. "I just lost my special person. But I wanted to thank my teammates because we played a team game quite well. I accept this for my team, and my team included our coach, Red Auerbach, and all my teammates over the years. This is quite flattering."

Russell, a cornerstone of Boston's NBA dynasty in the 1960s, was a five-time NBA MVP and won 11 championships as a player and coach. But he never won the finals MVP award.

I met Bill Russell once in 1976, when the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team trained in Plattsburgh, NY as a tune-up for that summer's Olympic Games in Montreal.

Russell was working as a TV commentator covering the men's team at the Games. I had read somewhere that he wouldn't sign autographs, but would shake your hand. I walked up to him, extended my hand and he reached out with a Chamberlain-blocking palm, a big smile and that inimitable Russell cackle.   

An MVP all the way.