Bill Russell saw this coming.

His affinity for the Celtics never waned.

His eyes were affixed on one Celtics player in particular the past few years.

“Jaylen Brown has such a special place in my heart because of the whole spirit of how he conducts himself on the court, off the court, and what he does in the community. It just reminds me so much of Bill. I just think he’s just really underrated,” Russell’s widow, Jeannine, told me last week in her first extensive public interview.

Jaylen Brown earned his first NBA championship Monday. Brown is the sixth Celtic to be Finals MVP, but the first to hold the trophy named for Russell.

Just another stanza from the poetry stitched into Banner 18.

Russell saw something in Brown, not only as a player but as the type of player who would be transformative on and off the court.

“All the guys on the team, and I think Bill would think, too, they’re all in the right place to win because the mind frame of being a team and putting the team first, I think is what’s going to really put them over the top to win the championship,” Russell said.

Brown and his “partner in crime” Jayson Tatum silenced everything and everyone, save for a raucous, confetti-covered TD Garden crowd. And a few thousand of their closest friends who turned Causeway Street into VJ Day Times Square

“What they gon’ say now?” Tatum asked no one and everyone in particular.

Nothing, Jayson.

Except: “Congratulations.”

The world belongs to you. And Deuce. Be happy. But stay hungry. The Nike ad was sweet. It’s right up there with Brady’s “Roger That” spot after Super Bowl 51.

Brown and Tatum are the new face of Boston sports.

If not Boston.

Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony came on the same night the Celtics won Game 3, all but clinching Banner 18. Game 4 has been erased from our hard drive.

It’s all so reminiscent of JFK’s inauguration. 1,961 days passed between Super Bowl 53, Boston’s last title, and Monday’s Banner 18 bacchanalia. The coronation of the Jays “symbolizing an end as well as a beginning — signifying renewal as well as change.”

Indeed, “the torch has been passed to a new generation” of champions.

The Celtics championship DNA was developed over the course of seven decades, not just the seven seasons the Jays have shared in Celtic green.

Danny Ainge poured the foundation. Red drafted Ainge 43 years ago and bought out his MLB contract. Wyc is the owner you want for the Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins. Brad “Theo” Stevens made all the right moves. Joe Mazzulla is 35. Coach for life if he wants it.

Russell passed away on July 31, 2022. A month after the Celtics’ painful collapse in the NBA Finals. That loss, and the Game 7 exit against Miami last year, turned out to be just acts one and two in the drama that ended with Boston’s 106-88 Game 5 victory Monday night.

Our pal “Sign Kid” is now a 22-year-old UMass-Lowell graduate. Jason McKeon of Haverhill was born just prior to Super Bowl 26. Friday, he’ll be up to 13 parades in 22 years.

The Celtics won 80 of 101 games. They smoked the opposition. The Celtics were the test. Not those teams whose best players could not stand the rigor of the season. Ask Larry Bird’s back, or Bill Walton’s feet, about that.

They were so deep, so solid, they’ll be arguing about who should have been Finals MVP for weeks.

The Celtics turned Kyrie Irving into a cartoon villain.

He’s now a punch line. Just like A-Rod.

Whoever thought 16-3 would sound so much sweeter than 18-1? Life is so much about timing.

Jeannine Russell moved cautiously into the public space during these Finals. Just one of many gifts delivered by this team’s historic 2024 success.

She joined the family of the late Bill Walton for Game 1 as the Celtics honored their former champion.

Russell returned to Boston for Game 5. She accompanied the Celtics in their post-game celebration. She brought flowers to her husband’s statue in Boston before tipoff. Someday, there will be a Bill Russell bridge, tunnel, street, or airport. For now, we’ll just settle with his legacy and inspiration.

She posed with Brown and held the trophy first named for husband in 2009 by then NBA Commissioner David Stern.

“Bill would be so very proud of all of you. Way to stick with it & bring #Banner18 Bills advice would be to enjoy every second you earned it Thanks Celtics Fans,” she posted.

Brown winning the Bill Russell Trophy “would really mean the world to him,” Jeannine Russell said last week. “It meant so much to him when David had given that honor to him. He took great pride in the fact of his finals record and Game 7s. I think that he would just really be ecstatic that it would go to a fellow Celtic.”

No doubt he is.

“Bill Russell would be so happy,” added NBA commissioner Adam Silver in presenting Brown MVP honors.

And like Russell, Brown is the Alpha of his pack. More importantly, he made sure his teammates were at their best. Throughout this series, Brown was the one to keep the Celtics fixated on what mattered most.

“I can’t even put it into words Bill Russell and what he’s meant to me in my Boston journey,” Brown said postgame. “His spirit and everything he stood for.”

On the court, Russell stood first for winning championships.

And now, so does Brown.

Bill Speros (@RealOBF and @BillSperos on X) can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com.