Pollard sees Russell as “a man who understood what it meant to be a member of the team and help shape that team into a dynasty” and a man who knew “there was more to life than just playing basketball.”

When asked about Russell’s unique accomplishments, Pollard agreed with that Russell was part of a unique moment. “I don’t think there will be another player who wins, who’s part of a team that wins 11 championships in 13 seasons,” he said.

He also acted in a time when he engaged in many acts of protest and defiance as an individual. “We don’t have one leader anymore,” Pollard added, pointing to more group-level activism like Black Lives Matter in current times.

When asked about his favorite moment in the documentary, Pollard chose a lighthearted moment and a more serious one.

“There’s a moment in the film where he’s with Flip Wilson and he throws the basketball and there’s a cut to all these guys grabbing the basketball,” he explained. “I thought that was a fun moment”

More seriously, “There’s a nice little montage at the beginning of [episode] two that encapsulates what we had seen in the previous film and what Bill was going to have to confront both on and off the court.”

These types of both light-hearted and serious moments are spread throughout Bill Russell: Legend.

The two-part documentary is now streaming on Netflix.