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NBA legend Julius Erving doesn’t think commissioner Adam Silver should retire Kobe Bryant’s number league-wide The late Bill Russell.
Russell’s number hangs in the rafters of every team’s arena across the league, so no NBA player will be allowed to wear the number 6 going forward unless he has already worn it. Irving understands why. NBA He told TMZ that it’s not fair to compare Russell to Bryant.
“I don’t think he should be compared to Russell’s situation,” Irving said at LAX Airport. “We’re not familiar with it, but let’s see how it works. Maybe at some point. Bill was 86, so talk to 86 like that – multiple Champions, multiple coaching champions, multiple champions – and off-court champions or whatever – there’s no comparison.”
Tri-State head coach Julius Irving watches the game during the game at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas on Aug. 6, 2022.
(Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images for BIG3)
Irving said Bryant’s situation Los Angeles Lakers, his former team. They retired his No. 8 and his No. 24 on December 18, 2017, before his tragic death on January 26, 2020.
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“It makes sense if they want to do it, but for the league as a whole to do it, probably not,” Irving said.
Irving added that he played with Bryant’s father, Joe Bryant, who was affectionately nicknamed the Jellybean.
Irving is also close to Russell and understands the huge impact he had on the game of basketball. This is something other players cannot do.
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Bill Russell was honored as a member of the Celtics 1966 Championship Team during the Celtics vs. Miami Heat game at TD Garden in Boston on April 13, 2016.
(Mike Rowley/Getty Images)
“Bill is a very special person and what he’s done in basketball is something no one else can do, so I think it’s perfectly justified to retire his number.” he said.
“He was my best friend. May he rest in peace.”
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Kobe Bryant of the Lakers faces the Boston Celtics in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Branimir Kvartuc, File)
Russell was 88 years old when he died, was an 11-time NBA champion and was the first black head coach of a professional sports team in North America, not to mention the NBA, at the helm of two NBA championships.
He was also a 12-time All-Star, an 11-time All-NBA winner, and a five-time MVP, all of which easily led to his Hall of Fame decision.
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Bryant is also in the hall, one of the best players to ever grace Hardwood in the NBA. Bryant, an All-Star he was selected 18 times, won five titles and his MVP in 2007-08. He was his two-time Finals MVP and his two-time leading scorer.
Bryant died in the helicopter along with his daughter and seven others. Crashed in Calabasas, Calif. January 2020.
