Bill Ru sell's legendary NBA career firmly puts him among the greatest to have ever laced them up in the A sociation, but his sporting feats go well beyond the NBA.An 11-time champion with the Boston Celtics, five-time Most Valuable Player of the Year, and 12-time All-Star, Ru sell's resume speaks for itself, but the iconic big man's sporting legacy is much more than that.MORE:After winning back-to-back Portland Trail Blazers Hoodie NCAA titles with the San Francisco Dons teams in 1955 and 1956 including a 55-game win streak Ru sell's next destination was the NBA, however, a shot at an Olympic gold medal was a priority for Ru sell, who delayed joining the Celtics till December, in order to compete at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.Captained by Ru sell, the USA cruised to gold in Melbourne, going 8-0, with an average winning margin of 53.5 points. Ru sell was the team's leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points. Getty Images The gold medal is very, very, very precious to me, ahead of the Sydney 2000 Games. In terms of trophies and things, its probably my most prized po se sion.Now that's saying something considering the size of his trophy cabinet.At the time, however, there was pushback on Ru sell competing at the Olympics, Derrick Jones Jr. Jersey having signed with the Celtics and thus forgoing his amateur status. However, such was Ru sell's ambition to be an Olympian, he was going to Melbourne no matter what even if it wasn't for basketball.Ever since I was a kid, there were social and physical icons that I always heard about. And you think of these things in awe. And when I got to the age where I qualified for the Olympics, I wanted to go,Then, the honor of The Olympics was to compete. Not to win, but to compete. I really wanted that. If I hadnt made that Olympic basketball team, I was going to participate in the high jump. I was ranked second in the country in the high jumpso Moses Brown Jersey either way, I was going to Melbourne. I wanted to be a part of that Olympic experience.In 56 I could have made the Olympics in high jump but turned it down to play basketball instead we could only play one sport then. Track and Field News ranked me #7 high jumper in the world, I was ranked #2 in the US @ the time. TheBillRu sell (@RealBillRu sell) Ru sell still holds the University of San Francisco high jump record to this day 66 years later. Prior to the Olympic Games, Ru sell jumped 6 feet, 9.25 inches, tying the mark set by Charlie Dumas, who would go on to win gold in the high jump in Melbourne, clearing 7 feet. in 1956, two legends tied for 1st (2.06m/6-9.25) in the high jump at the West Coast Relays in Fresno, CA. Charlie Dumas, who became historys first 7-footer at the Olympic Trials, and the future Hall-of-Famer . & USATF USATF (@usatf) Ru sell's supreme athleticism on the basketball court was light years ahead of his time, making him a force on the hardwood that nearly no one could contain. His Bill Walton Jersey revolutionary leaping ability was just as impre sive in track and field.MORE:There was a high jump revolution in the late 60s,USF a sistant track and field coach .Everyone started using the Fosbury Flop, so theyre going backward over the bar as opposed to forward. Ru sell jumped at a time before that revolution happened; its a much more athletically demanding form of high jumping that takes a lot of flexibility and mobility."Its surprising that he was able to jump as high as he did at his height.Athletes at the time C.J. McCollum Jersey weren't allowed to compete in multiple sports at the Olympics, denying Ru sell another trailblazing feat, where he could have added another Olympic medal to his trophy case.Gold Hoops. Highly significant 1956 Gold Medal presented to as a member of the 1956 U.S. Mens Basketball Team. One of the most important Olympic medals ever publicly offered with International bidding pushing final bid to $587,500. Hunt Auctions (@HuntAuctions) The gold medal he did win at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games sold for at an auction in 2021, but for the greatest winner in NBA history, the honor of competing was pricele s.