The NBA world recently lost an icon with the unfortunate passing of legend, Bill Russell. He passed away on July 31st, leaving behind quite a legacy on and off the court. He was as recognizable for his efforts off the court during the civil rights movement as he was on it as one of the most dominant centers in league history.
Shortly after his death, the NBA announced that his legacy will continue on as the league retired his No. 6 around the league. He is the only player in NBA history to receive such an honor, as No. 6 will be raised to the rafters in every arena and some will also feature a shamrock with the number on the court. Previous to that, in 2009, the NBA renamed the NBA Finals MVP in his honor.
It was the right decision for the league to make Bill Russell the first player to have his number retired and it has raised the question of whether or not other players will have their number retired as well. Kobe Bryant is one person whose name has come up in discussions about it.
Bryant died tragically in a plane accident on January 26th, 2020. It was something that rocked the basketball world as he was just getting started really with his off-the-court ventures. Retiring his number would certainly be a nice gesture, but it is one that Julius Erving believes shouldn’t happen.
While talking to TMZ Sports, Dr. J shared his feelings about Bryant’s number being retired following the retirement of Russell’s No. 6.
“I don’t think he should be compared with the Russell situation,” Erving said of Kobe out at LAX. “We’re fresh into that but let’s see how that works out. Maybe at some point in time. Bill was 86 years old, so address it like that to an 86-year-old — multiple champions, multiple coaching champions, multiple on-and-off the court champion, or whatever — there’s no comparison.”
“I wouldn’t even try to compare Kobe Bryant to Russell.”
That is certainly a strong opinion from Julius Erving, who called Russell a good friend of his. He isn’t trying to minimize the impact that Kobe Byrant had but doesn’t believe it was on the same level as what Russell was doing.
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Instead of having league-wide posthumous honors, Erving believes that Bryant’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers, should handle that.
“It’s more of a franchise situation with the Lakers,” Erving said. “If they wanted to do it, which I think they already have, that makes sense — but for the whole league to do it, probably not.”
While Julius Erving’s opinion is one that some people may not agree with, he is entitled to it. Kobe Bryant and Russell are both legends in the basketball world in their own right and should be recognized as such, even if Bryant doesn’t have his number retired around the league.
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