The NBA has retired Boston Celtics Bill Russell’s number 6 jersey across the league in his honor. Russell, who won the NBA Championships 11 times died last month at the age of 88.
Players who are currently wearing the No.6 jersey, including LeBron James, will be allowed to continue wearing the number but it will no longer be issued to new players.
Russell who played center had a 13-year career with the Celtics. In that time, he helped them win 11 NBA Championships and he was named the NBAs Most Valuable Player five times. The legend also captains the USA team to win the gold medal in the 1965 Olympics.
Russell is also the leagues first black head coach and he was a staunch equal rights pioneer.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement:
“Bill Russell’s unparalleled success on the court and pioneering civil rights activism deserve to be honored in a unique and historic way.
“Permanently retiring his number six across every NBA team ensures that Bill’s transcendent career will always be recognized.”
This is the first time that the NBA is retiring a number across the league. The Celtics had already retired his number for the team.
In addition to retiring his jersey number, players will also be paying tribute to Russel by wearing a commemorative patch on the right shoulder of their jerseys. In addition, NBA courts will have a clover-shaped logo with the number six displayed.
Russell is the third man to have his number retired across a league in the four major professional sports in North America.
Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinsons number 43 in 1997. Wayne Gretzkys Number 99 is also retired in the National Hockey League.