NBA legend Bill Russell turned 87 on Friday -- and celebrated by blowing out a "small forest fire" on his birthday cake ... and the video is great!
The Hall of Famer -- who won 11 championships during his NBA career (eat your heart out Tom Brady!) -- had Shawn Kemp Jr. on standby with a fire extinguisher in case things got out of control ... but in the end, Bill handled it on his own!
With a few deep breaths, B-Russ took down all 87 candles ... and when asked how it felt to be 87, he replied, "I'll kick its ass!