LeBron James is reportedly changing his number from #23 to #6 because he wants to honor Michael Jordan's legacy by self-retiring 23. He apparently doesn't know about Bill Russell's 11 championships including 2 as a player/coach, 2 college championships including 1 undefeated season, & gold medal.
Here's a little more about Bill Russell, the 5 time MVP.
He changed the game by jumping to block shots, dominating with a technique that was unheard of in his era. He owned the giant of his day, Wilt the Stilt. Chamberlain might have had bigger stats. Bill had more rings, and his defense on Wilt played a huge part in attaining them.
Openly supporting Muhammad Ali's refusal to be drafted wasn't the popular sentiment in America at the time. Russell did that. While Jordan doesn't campaign against Carolina Crackers because "Republicans buy sneakers too", Bill Russell called out the media of Boston as well as some of the area's citizens for their racist convictions.
He skipped his Hall Of Fame induction. He also skipped the night when the Celtics retired his jersey. Maybe that's why LeBron doesn't remember/respect the magnitude of #6.
Unfortunately there aren't very many highlights showing the defensive dominance of Bill Russell. If there were, maybe we'd have a Blocked Shot contest during All Star Weekend, giving bonus points for blocking a shot and keeping it in play to a teammate.
However, there is a clip that shows a glimpse of what a no-nonsense person Bill Russell is and what kind of intense competitor he was. 1981 NBA Finals, Rick Barry & Bill Russell analyzing a finals game with some dweeb announcer. Barry puts the words "fool", "watermelon" & "grin" in a sentence desribing a photo of Bill Russell. If there weren't cameras present, Rick might have been the next Rudy T.
No disrespect to MJ. LeBron, if you're going to show love to #23, show even more to #6. Bill Russell, a champion on & off the court standing with the likes of Jim Brown & Muhammad Ali, is arguably more impressive than a guy jumping from the foul line in his Republican Hanes.
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