On Thursday, the NBA retired Bill Russell’s No. 6 league-wide. He was the first NBA player to be so honored. He was an 11-time champion, a civil rights pioneer and the league’s first Black head coach. Russell passed away July 31.
But there was a disclaimer: Players already wearing No. 6 can continue. Because the NBA didn’t have the guts to tell LeBron James to switch numbers.
That means No. 6 isn’t really retired.
That means James can voluntarily stop wearing No. 6 as a tribute to Russell. Or he can keep wearing it as a tribute to Russell.
James gets to make it about himself. He’s good at that.
James will eventually have his No. 6 retired by the Los Angeles Lakers and by Miami. Even though it’s already been retired for Russell.
So, to repeat, No. 6 isn’t really retired.
It’s reminiscent of when MLB retired Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 in 1997, but the New York Yankees’ Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera kept wearing it because he was grandfathered in. So were a bunch of lesser lights. Like Lenny Webster, a journeyman backup catcher. Yikes.
Either accord the honor, or don’t.
When the NHL retired Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99 in 2000, no player ever wore it again. (None would have the chutzpah, anyway.)
The NBA should bar all players, including James, from wearing No. 6 ever again, effectively immediately.
Michael Jordan is probably livid that Russell’s number was retired by the NBA, not his. “It became personal with me.”
