“Kudos to the league”, “What about LeBron?” - Fans react as NBA announces that the late Bill Russell’s number 6 jersey will be retired
Last week, the NBA world was hit hard when news emerged that Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell passed away at the age of 88. Along with being an 11-time champion, he was one of the first pro athletes to use his platform to stand up for social justice.
Many in and around the NBA have paid respect to the two-time Hall of Famer, and news broke of how the league intends to honor one of its first legends. Starting next season, the jersey number 6 will be retired across all 30 teams. Russell becomes the first player to have his number retired by the entire league.
The NBA will retire No. 6 leaguewide to honor the late Bill Russell
He becomes the first player to have his number retired across the league https://t.co/1ZtiuCaeos
Following the news, fans were quick to tip their caps to the NBA for honoring Russell in this fashion:
@ShamsCharania massive W but they should do the same thing for Kobe.
@ShamsCharania The right thing to do. The man's a legend. Kudos to the league for doing this 👏
@ShamsCharania Um what about Lebron ????
@ShamsCharania W from the league https://t.co/1I1rNFH6hv
@mtplug_grinder @ShamsCharania I mean I like the idea but at what point does too many numbers get retired
the worst branding moves LeBron ever made was go from 23, a number worn by a universally beloved NBA figure, to 6, a number worn by a different universally beloved NBA figure
he's gonna retire with 2 numbers more associated with other players than himself.
The most notable name that currently wears number 6 is LA Lakers star LeBron James. While many thought James would be forced to change his jersey number again, it was later revealed that he would be allowed to keep his number. Any player currently wearing 6 will be grandfathered in to this new change.
Players who currently wear No. 6 – such as Lakers‘ LeBron James – will be grandfathered. twitter.com/ShamsCharania/…
Russell, meanwhile, joins the iconic Jackie Robinson as the only players in their respective sports to have their number retired across the entire league.
Bill Russell’s No. 6.
Jackie Robinson’s No. 42.
Retired forever. Legends. https://t.co/URcUYuBzUg
Should the NBA retire Kobe Bryant's jersey number in a similar fashion to Bill Russell?
While some might not feel it was the best move, the NBA did the right thing by retiring Bill Russell's iconic number 6. He has been one of the league's biggest faces almost since its origin. It is only right to bestow such a prestigious honor on someone who paved the way for multiple generations.
From the moment this news went live, fans began chiming in on another player that the NBA should honor in a similar manner. Back in January of 2020, LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant died tragically with others in a helicopter crash. Like Russell, Bryant gave his all to the game and made sure to leave his mark on the next generation. Now, fans want to see the league retire his jersey for every team.
There is no denying that Bryant deserves such an honor, but there are some roadblocks. For starters, he wore two different numbers during his career. The Lakers rightfully put both 8 and 24 in their rafters, but the league might struggle to do the same. Some fans have already interjected that moves like this could create problems down the road.
@ShamsCharania Build him statues. Name stadiums after him. Hell, rename the whole league to the Bill Russell National Basketball Association. But retiring numbers league wide causes so many practical problems.
There are many players who the league can honor in this fashion, but it feels right that Russell was the first. Only time will tell if they decide to do the same for other icons in the game.