GOAT recognize GOAT. Six-time NBA champion and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan paid tribute to the late Bill Russell on Sunday, calling the Boston Celtics and civil rights icon a “pioneer” and “legend” who “paved the way and set an example for every Black player who came into the league after him, including me.”

Russell passed away on Sunday morning. In a statement announcing the death of “the most prolific winner in American sports history,” his family called for mourners to “find a new way to act or speak up with Bill's uncompromising, dignified and always constructive commitment to principle.”

Russell was selected with the No. 2 overall pick of the 1956 NBA draft, acquired by the Celtics in a draft-night trade with the St. Louis Hawks. He led Boston to titles in 11 of the next 13 seasons, including eight straight from 1959 to 1966 and two more as a player-coach in 1968 and 1969. A five-time MVP who's universally regarded as the greatest defender ever, Russell is one of five people to be inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach.

His off-court legacy looms even larger.

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Bill Russell is regarded as the NBA's first Black superstar. A passionate civil rights activist who drew the ire of fans throughout Boston and the league for publicly addressing his experience with racism, Russell sat alongside Jim Brown, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and other superstar Black athletes at the “Cleveland Summit” on June 4th, 1967 to express support for Ali's decision not to serve in the Vietnam War. President Barack Obama awarded Russell the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 for his accomplishments in basketball and the civil rights movement.

Jordan is generally considered the greatest player of all time. But there's room at the top for multiple GOATs, and Russell's lasting influence on the NBA and world at large will keep him there forever.