The shot that Celtics star Bob Cousy most regrets missing

Even those who aren’t sports fans are aware of the struggles that pro baseball’s first nonwhite players encountered.

But integration wasn’t a cakewalk for the brave basketball players who took the plunge, either.

And that’s the source of long-retired Celtics star Bob Cousy’s biggest regrets: that he didn’t speak up louder for his black teammate and co-star, Bill Russell.

Cousy (now ninety years old) and journalist Gary Pomerantz, who wrote a book about the duo called The Last Pass: Cousy, Russell, the Celtics, and What Matters in the End, discussed those years on NPR recently.

You can listen to the interview below or read an edited transcript on NPR’s website.