"The Yankees won 25 championships. What did it take them, a hundred years? Red won nine in 10. He was the best coach in the history of professional sports. Period."
-- Bill Russell

"He's the greatest manager of men, in all walks of life."
-- John Thompson

"He had a touch with people and could get them committed to what he was doing. He made the Celtics into basketball's Cosa Nostra. We believed it was our thing."
-- Tommy Heinsohn

"He always let me know that more than anybody else, he knew what I was doing. I really loved working with him. It was almost like we were soul mates."
-- Bill Russell

"He's the Godfather of the Celtics."
-- John Havlicek

"Arnold knew how to judge talent, he knew how to acquire it, and he knew how to motivate it."
-- Bob Cousy

"The world thought he was tough and mean and gruff and all that -- and underneath he was really a pussycat, if you knew him well. He'd be mad at me if he knew I said that."
-- Bob Cousy

"This is not the passing of a man, it's the passing of an institution."
-- M.L. Carr

"I have a lot of fun and fond memories of Red from early in my career. I don't think there's a legend who was as beloved as Red is in Boston."
-- Danny Ainge

"I remember the first time I came here, playing in his golf classic. And I sat down and talked to him for about an hour. I was just thinking, 'Red Auerbach is taking time to sit down and talk to me, a rookie who's unproven and hasn't done anything in the NBA. I thought that was something special. I'll remember that for the rest of my life."
-- Paul Pierce

"Red was a true champion and one whose legacy transcends the Celtics and basketball. He was the gold standard in coaching and civil leadership, and he set an example that continues today."
-- Sen. Ted Kennedy

"Boston lost one of its greatest citizens. He cut me from the Celtics, but I've never admired a person more."
-- Ray Flynn

"He had a great run."He fooled us into thinking it would never end."
-- David Stern