NEW YORK -- Bill Russell will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award during the first NBA Awards.
The Hall of Fame center and 11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics will be given the award by the NBA and Turner Sports, it was announced Thursday.
Russell was one of the league's dominant defensive players and won five NBA MVP awards. The NBA Finals MVP award is named in his honor. The first player to win an NBA championship, college title and Olympic gold medal, he went on to become the first African-American to coach a team in one of the major professional sports.
The awards show will be June 26 in New York and be televised by TNT.
