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NBA legend Julius Erving doesn’t think commissioner Adam Silver should retire Kobe Bryant’s number across the league like the late Bill Russell did.
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 told TMZ that while he understands why the NBA chose it, 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 just getting used to 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 on- and off-court champions or whatever – there’s no comparison.”
Irving said Bryant’s situation should be handled by his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers. 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 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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Russell, who died at the age of 88, was an 11-time NBA champion and the first black head coach of a North American professional sports team, 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 scoring champion.
Bryant died along with his daughter and seven others in January 2020 when a helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California.