The NBA just pulled out the biggest honor possible for one of the game’s biggest legends in Bill Russell.
News of Russell’s death a couple of weeks ago reverberated around the NBA world. Everyone pulled out their best Bill Russell stories and shared some of his brightest moments all across the internet to honor him.
Now, the NBA is doing the same thing in their own very special way.
The league has decided no one will ever wear Russell’s number 6 again. It is officially retired for every single team across the league, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Players currently wearing it will be grandfathered in, so they won’t have to change numbers. But no future players will be able to wear it.
The NBA will retire the No. 6 league-wide honoring the late, legendary player and activist Bill Russell.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 11, 2022
Players who currently wear No. 6 – such as Lakers‘ LeBron James – will be grandfathered. https://t.co/bhNSldVKz0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 11, 2022
That’s a pretty awesome thing, man. You absolutely love to see a legend like Russell be honored in this way.
While we’re at it, though, let’s keep the party going. Russell was huge — not just on the court, but off of it, too. He changed lives in so many different ways and he should be honored in that same manner.
The NBA should give him a Bill Russell Day — the same way Major League Baseball gives Jackie Robinson a day.
There should be a time — just for a single day — where everyone rocks the number 6 on their jerseys to honor the legend Russell was.
I’ve got a few ideas on how they can do it. Let’s talk about it.
Bill Russell Day as his birthday
A great spot for Bill Russell Day could be his actual birthday. Russell was born on February 12th, 1934.
That’s right around the All-Star break so the timing is really neat. The NBA could create Bill Russell Day as a tentpole event where every team plays their last game heading into the All-Star break one way or another.
On the day, everyone would wear 6 like everyone in MLB wears 42 in honor of Robinson on April 15.
Organizing the schedule might be a bit tight and figuring out how much time off to give players in between the break could be difficult. But the league can get it done.
The All-Star Game
This might actually be the best idea. Honoring Bill Russell at the All-Star game would be pretty awesome.
Dakota Schmidt proposed this idea via Twitter. Have everyone playing in the All-Star game wear number 6.
As Bill Russell's birthday (February 12th) comes within a week of All-Star weekend, I think it would be a great idea to have every player in that year's All-Star Game wear the #6. https://t.co/nmbVPtuQ7u
— Dakota Schmidt (@Dakota_Schmidt) August 11, 2022
This is a much lighter lift in terms of scheduling because nothing really has to change. And, logistically, there aren’t a bunch of 6s running around in the NBA all at once which would be great for the referees (more on that in a second.)
I also think using the All-Star game — easily the NBA’s biggest weekend — to honor a league legend like Russell just makes a ton of sense, generally. They already honored Kobe Bryant with the trophy. Why not just give this nod to Russell?
It makes so much sense.
Martin Luther King, Jr. day
This could be a really fun one, too. Having Bill Russell Day on MLK Day would be a good opportunity to explore Russell’s history with the Civil Rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., specifically.
Everyone wearing Russell’s number 6 would be a terrific way to honor him on a day celebrating a man Russell very clearly respected and worked with to bring equality and justice to Black folks across the country.
Everyone already plays on MLK day, so there’s no need to make the schedule any different. Everyone wearing No. 6 would be the biggest difference.
Which…about that.
There's one problem but it can be fixed
As some folks have pointed out to me, things might get a bit awkward for officials in the case of everyone wearing No. 6.
#6 would foul out very quickly https://t.co/DFe1xXnolC
— Dan O (@fillyfandan) August 11, 2022
Refs trying to call out fouls: https://t.co/eqjLumLas9 pic.twitter.com/k1OM6ypemm
— Will Clayton (@WillCIayton) August 11, 2022
Officials use player numbers to identify who fouled who. If everyone is wearing 6, how do they go about doing that? That’s the question here.
But that’s a solvable thing. The players have names — it might take a bit longer to get calls right, but they can still be identified in different ways. It shouldn’t make or break this if the NBA would ever consider making this a thing.
Regardless, though, the NBA should find more ways to honor Russell’s legacy and the things he did for folks both in and outside of the league. He was larger than life in every way and his legacy deserves to be treated like it.
So, come on, NBA. Let’s make Bill Russell Day a thing.
