The NBA goes to retire the quantity 6 in honor of Invoice Russell, who kicked the bucket on July 31, 2022 on the age of 88.
Russell used to be an 11x NBA champion – and social justice suggest who labored tirelessly to get rid of racial prejudice in skilled sports activities.
“The existence and legacy of 11-time NBA champion and civil rights pioneer Invoice Russell will probably be commemorated by means of retiring his uniform quantity, 6, all through the league,” the League Place of job wrote in a remark.
“The enduring Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Famer would be the first participant to have his quantity retired around the NBA.”
The NBA additionally introduced that for the 2022-23 season, all NBA jerseys can have a Invoice Russell commemorative patch, and each and every NBA courtroom can have a symbol with the quantity 6.
Gamers who already put on the quantity 6 will probably be “grandfathered” in; that means they received’t have to modify numbers.
Russell left an indelible imprint at the game of basketball and the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation – so it’s superb to peer that his legacy will probably be commemorated in one of these significant manner.