“The Bill Russell Award was one of the most delightful moments of my career” – LeBron James feels honored to wear #6 on his jersey, says Bill Russell has contributed immensely to fans and the community
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is one of the few players that have donned the number "6" in the NBA. In honor of the late, great Bill Russell, the entire NBA has retired the iconic number that Russell wore throughout his career.
The year 2022 has been tough for most NBA fans. At the start of August 2022, the 11-time NBA champion passed away peacefully at the age of 88. The entire league reminisced about his impact on and off the court. As a tribute to the all-time legend, the NBA is set to wear a number "6" patch on their jerseys for the entire 2022-23 season. The entire league will also retire the iconic number in honor of the extraordinary activist.
The NBA will retire the No. 6 league-wide honoring the late, legendary player and activist Bill Russell.
With this, questions about how the NBA will handle the players who are currently wearing the numbers on their jerseys. Will they be forced to change their numbers? No. The NBA decided to let players like Alex Caruso, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis still be allowed to continuously wear the number on their jerseys. However, teams are not permitted to issue that number for future players.
One of those lucky players is the 18-time All-Star, LeBron James. To him, he was honored to have had legendary moments with the Boston Celtics legend. As a recipient of the Bill Russell Finals MVP award four times, James looked back at how Russell has helped him achieve his goals in the NBA.
"It was always a treat seeing him at games, having an opportunity to win championships, see him up on the panel and give me the Bill Russell Award was one of the most delightful moments of my career," LeBron James said.
LeBron will be one of the last players to wear No. 6, retired for Bill Russell:“It was always a treat seeing him at games, having an opportunity to win championships, see him up on the panel and give me the Bill Russell Award was one of the most delightful moments of my career.” https://t.co/096IT3ABhz
"It's pretty cool, and for me to continue and live on his legacy wearing 6 this year, to continue to honor his legacy."
Aside from LeBron James, who are the other iconic players to wear the number 6 in history?
There's no denying that LeBron James will go down as one of the greatest NBA players to ever step foot on an NBA court. Still, there have been great players who have worn the number 6 in their careers. Here are a few of them.
Julius "Dr. J" Erving
The iconic NBA legend Julius Erving was widely popular for being one of the first players to dunk from the free throw line. The Philadelphia 76ers legend is a one-time NBA champ and a two-time ABA champ.
Patrick Ewing
Although Patrick Ewing will forever be associated with the New York Knicks, he had a bit of a stopover during the last two years of his career. He spent his last season with the Orlando Magic, where he only started four games.
Ben Wallace
Ben Wallace is an extremely underrated NBA player. He had two stints with the Detroit Pistons. On his first time with the team, he wore the number 3 and won the 2004 title. During his last three seasons, he wore the number 6.