SPRINGFIELD, Mass.

It took him 44 years, but Bill Russell finally accepted his Basketball Hall of Fame ring.

The 11-time NBA champion, five-time MVP, Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champ said on Twitter on Nov. 15 that he was presented his Hall of Fame ring in a private ceremony.

The 85-year-old Boston Celtics great didn’t attend the induction ceremony in 1975. He said he didn’t deserve to be the first African-American player inducted, tweeting: “I felt others before me should have that honor.”

His tweet mentioned Chuck Cooper, who in 1950 was the first African-American player drafted by the NBA and who was inducted posthumously into the Basketball Hall of Fame this year.

Russell said his private ceremony was attended by his wife along with close friends and Hall of Famers Bill Walton, Ann Meyers and Alonzo Mourning.