The NBA and NBPA have agreed to retire Bill Russel’s number 6 across the entire League.
The honor comes following Russell passing away on July 31st, with Magic Johnson being one of the first few people to advocate for Russell’s universal jersey retirement.
Russell now joins Jackie Robinson and Wayne Gretzky to have their jersey numbers retired by their respective League. When Jackie Robinson Day hits, the day Robinson made his MLB debut, every player in the majors wears his iconic No. 42 to honor Robinson’s legacy.
All NBA players who wear No. 6 will have to give it up to honor Bill Russell, most notably LeBron James of the Lakers. However, the NBA has granted a godfather rule for players currently wearing the No. 6 to continue to wear the number.
Russell passed away as the player most synonymous with winning after leading the Celtics to 11 titles. He also earned five MVP awards, 12 All-Star selections, 11 All-NBA selections, and led the League in rebounding four times. Not to men
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