Bill Russell

While Bill Russell's number six will be retired across the entire NBA, the late legend would probably have said it wasn't necessary.

In 1972, the Celtics raised Russell’s number to the rafters ahead of a game that he would be broadcasting for ABC. The big man, however, requested that the ceremony take place in private. During an interview with Bill Simmons for Mr. Russell’s House (as seen on Youtube), the legend told his side of the story. While jersey retirements are fairly standard in the world of sports, Bill Russell’s situation was unique. While the Boston Celtics’ also retired Russell’s number, the big man wasn’t too keen on the idea. In light of Russell’s death, commissioner Adam Silver announced that the center’s number six will be retired across the entire league. While the legendary big man only suited up for the Boston Celtics, he’ll continue to loom large over the entire Association for eternity.

The NBA will permanently retire Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell's No. 6 jersey throughout the league, the National Basketball Players Association and ...

"This is a momentous honor reserved for one of the greatest champions to ever play the game," NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio said in a news release. The Celtics retired Russell's No. 6 in 1972. The NBA also plans to honor Russell throughout the season. He averaged 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game over his decorated playing career. Players who already wear No. 6, like Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, will be allowed to keep wearing it, but no others will be issued the number. Russell won an NBA record 11 championships during his 13-year playing career.

Russell, who died last month at age 88, wore the No. 6 jersey throughout his legendary career with the Boston Celtics.

We are proud to continue the celebration of his life and legacy alongside the league." The NBA is retiring the No. 6 jersey across the league to honor the late Bill Russell. - The NBA is retiring the No. 6 jersey across the league to honor Bill Russell.

The US professional basketball league will permanently retire the late NBA star's jersey number, as one of many tributes to the 11-time champion and civil ...

All NBA players will wear a patch on the right shoulder of their jerseys this season, the league said, and every NBA court will display a clover-shaped logo with the number 6 on the sideline near the scorer's table. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association made the announcement on Thursday, permanently retiring the number worn by the 11-time champion and civil rights activist, who was good enough to have been enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. NBA legend and civil rights activist Bill Russell's number 6 jersey to be retired league-wide

The Magic Insider lists five of the biggest NBA storylines in addition to relevant Orlando Magic news and analysis.

He also coached the Magic from 2007-12. The only player to wear No. 6 for the Magic was Patrick Ewing from 2001-02. "In the days following Sunday's antics between Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero and Atlanta Hawks All-Star Dejounte Murray, many fans have weighed in.

Legendary basketball champion Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics and Nichelle Nichols of Star Trek fame worked to make America a better place.

Each went well out of their comfort zones to be a role model in other ways, whether it was in acting, coaching or recruiting for the real deal - and America is better for their trailblazing efforts. What Bill Russell and Nichelle Nichols showed us is that they were truly great in their roles; the kids call such people the GOAT (greatest of all time) nowadays. In an episode called “The Fix,” Russell played Judge Roger Ferguson, who had a gambling problem. I just wish a friend of mine from college, who disappeared after a bad run of betting, had seen it too. Growing up as a teen, you never missed an episode of “Miami Vice.” They had a who’s who list of guest stars. Those two would be legendary basketball champion Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics, and Nichelle Nichols of Star Trek fame.

The NBA lost a one-of-a-kind legend when Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics passed away. His passing was monumental, heartbreaking, and led to a.

The life and legacy of 11-time NBA champion and civil rights pioneer Bill Russell will be honored by retiring his uniform number, 6, throughout the league. The number 6 will no longer be a part of the NBA in the future and that makes sense because there will never be another Russell. Russell was at the forefront of cries for change during the Civil Rights era and was never afraid to speak his mind.

Just three sports icons have had their jersey numbers retired leaguewide. Russell, the N.B.A.'s Boston Celtics legend, is the latest.

The Yankees had two great catchers who wore No. 8: Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey. Now, the number is retired to honor both of them. In an event like the World Cup, the 23-player squads have been required to number their players from 1 to 23, so retirement has not been an option. Although the tradition is not as widespread in world soccer and other international sports, some clubs have retired a number or two. Many soccer clubs also don’t assign No. 12 in honor of their fans, whom they consider “the 12th player” on the pitch. The Lakers retired both numbers for him. Pat Riley, the team president, said, “We retired his jersey because I had so much respect for him.” Pete Maravich never played for the New Orleans Pelicans, but he had played for Louisiana State and the New Orleans Jazz, so the Pelicans retired his No. 7 anyway. Doing so will give you access to the work of over 1,700 journalists whose mission is to cover the world and make sure you have accurate and impartial information on the most important topics of the day. Mariano Rivera of the Yankees was the last player still wearing No. 42 every day when he retired in 2013. We’d like to thank you for reading The Times and encourage you to support journalism like this by becoming a subscriber. But so did the Miami Heat, even though Jordan never played for them. There has been a push for baseball to retire Roberto Clemente’s No. 21 leaguewide to honor his humanitarian work. The same rule applied when Robinson’s number was retired baseball-wide in 1997.

The NBA waited until two weeks after the Hall of Famer's death to retire his No. 6 league-wide.

In addition to retiring the legend’s number, the NBA will honor Russell with a patch. It took Russell actually leaving us for the NBA to recognize the biggest man in the room. He continued to wear the number even after MLB retired it as a tribute to Robinson. When Rivera retired, the No. 42 faded to black. In the NHL, Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99 was retired when he hung up his skates in 2000. NBA teams will also honor Russell with a clover-shaped logo featuring the No. 6 on the sideline. It was the first time it had ever happened in pro sports. He was a leader in civil rights off the court. Somehow, the NBA fell asleep at the switch on the momentous occasion. Russell retired many moons ago and was a successful coach and broadcaster, too. He talked the talk and walked the walk. After all, Russell was not only a great basketball player — winning 11 NBA championships in 13 years for the Boston Celtics — but a great person as well. On the surface, it’s a tremendous honor to permanently retire Bill Russell’s No. 6.

From winning the National Championship at North Carolina, to the flu game, and hitting “The Shot” over Craig Ehlo, the Jordan Challenges perfectly hit the right ...

Once again facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, it was Russell’s first time staring down a team containing Jerry West, Elgin Baylor AND Wilt Chamberlain with everything on the line. The added level of challenge playing against a team the caliber of the early-60s Lakers makes this one to put in the game. Inside of this ridiculous number one Russell game stands head and shoulders above the rest — against the poor Warriors, who were obliterated in 1966. In late January of 1968, Russell and the Celtics were absolutely swallowed alive by Wilt Chamberlain in a 125-118 loss. The 1962 NBA Finals featuring Russell and Sam Jones dueling Jerry West and Elgin Baylor is one of the legendary NBA Finals’ series in history. It would have been one of the first triple-doubles in NBA history if that was a recorded stat back in 1962.

by Paul Teetor Back in the day – way back in the day, like 500 years ago – some underpaid sportswriter hack named Willie “The Bard” Shakespeare laid out the ...

Despite all that positive news for the Boys in Blue, however, it says here that the Dodgers made a huge mistake this week by failing to trade for Juan Soto, one of the three best young players in all of baseball. in the playoffs. Then the week got even worse for LA Sports fans with the news of Scully’s passing. Bill Russell was the greatest winner in all of sports, ever. Vin Scully was the greatest storyteller in all of sports, ever. A couple of big-picture things are now clear. “He was born for those moments,” West said. Scully wove his verbal magic for an astounding 67 years, and Russell led his Boston Celtics team to 11 NBA titles in his 13 years as a player, from 1957 to 1969. “He went through so much and handled it so well. “He was one of those unique people who comes along as a difference maker when a difference maker is needed,” West said. Russell was 88 and Scully 94. He was my friend.”

The Miami Heat will have a strange decision to make about LeBron James after the league decided to honor NBA legend Bill Russell.

With everything he accomplished both on and off the court, retiring Russell’s number is well-earned. Then, they will do the same for James. There is a reason why many, like my colleague Mike Sykes, believe the league should honor the legend with an official Bill Russell Day.

The Boston Celtics legend, who passed away recently at 88, leaves a legacy just as impressive off the court as on it.

The recent announcement that the NBA will retire that #6 across the league is long overdue—and also a concrete acknowledgment of Bill Russell’s impact as a champion of civil rights, a humanitarian, and a lasting symbol of leadership. When I think of Russell, what one man managed to do on the court and off of it, I think about how he made everyone rethink what it meant to affect change in the world as a professional athlete. He spoke up against injustices and inequity on a regular basis, both in the world of sport and beyond it. But he never truly felt appreciated by white Bostonians during his playing career, to the point that he was uninterested in having fans attend his jersey retirement ceremony at Boston Garden on March 12,,1972, even after being the player that made the Boston Celtics the greatest franchise in NBA history. Even though he hadn’t played a game in a Celtics jersey in over a decade while I was growing up, elders and older kids spoke his name on the stoops, at the basketball court, and the arcade so frequently you’d think he was still on the roster. When I heard of Bill Russell’s passing, the first thing I thought of was how much recency bias and the passage of time obscured his accomplishments on the court.

Russell became only the third sportsman to have his jersey retired across a league, joining Jackie Robinson and Wayne Gretzky.

In recent years, his family has worked to keep his story at the forefront of sports. By the time he made it to the league, he was battling injuries and age, but he still managed to record three solid seasons, leading the league in yards per attempt his second season. Washington generated NFL buzz out of college, but every team eventually succumbed to the opposition to integration. He remains a legend in the sports world as someone who traded in fame and glory for service. The two first met as teammates at UCLA, playing on both the baseball and football teams together. Gehrig made countless contributions to both the baseball diamond and medical research. His career started to decline midway through 1938 and into the 1939 season when he was diagnosed with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that later became more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. James first started wearing 23 in high school, but changed to No. 6 when he joined the Miami Heat and now wears it for the Los Angeles Lakers. To him, Jordan’s legacy is simple. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are just two of the most recent stars to don Jordan’s number. Washington might be the most famous sportsman you’ve never heard of. … I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for.” Three years later, the NHL followed by honoring Gretzky, widely considered the greatest hockey player ever.

The NBA announced that Bill Russell's No. 6 is being retired league-wide, but LeBron James is among players grandfathered in to keep wearing it.

However, multiple insiders have reported that players who currently wear No. 6 will be grandfathered in, LeBron included. There are several current players who wear the number currently, including Lakers forward LeBron James. Meaning, they will be allowed to wear the number in the future, but new players, or players that want to switch numbers, won't be able to switch to No. 6.

Russell became only the third sportsman to have his jersey retired across a league, joining Jackie Robinson and Wayne Gretzky.

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