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Here’s what will happen to LeBron James following NBA’s decision to retire Bill Russell’s No. 6 jersey across league
- Updated: August 11, 2022
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
On Thursday, it was reported that the NBA will be retiring the No. 6 uniform to honor the late, great Bill Russell.
Surely, many Los Angeles Lakers fans immediately thought of team superstar LeBron James. James currently wears the No. 6 uniform for the franchise.
Shortly after the initial report was made, it was reported that players like James will be able to keep their current uniform numbers and be grandfathered.
Players who currently wear No. 6 – such as Lakers‘ LeBron James – will be grandfathered. https://t.co/bhNSldVKz0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 11, 2022
Interestingly, the No. 6 uniform is not the first number James has worn with the Lakers. He first wore the No. 23 uniform, one of the most iconic numbers in the history of the league thanks to both James and Michael Jordan.
It looks like James will be able to wear No. 6 for as long as he remains with the Lakers. The NBA stated that the number “will not be issued again by any NBA team to any player.” If James were to change teams before the end of his storied career, he would then have to switch jersey numbers.
Though James’ NBA resume is fairly incomparable to those of most NBA players, Russell’s resume is also somewhat incomparable. He is widely considered to be one of the most dominant big men of all time.
Over 13 years in the league, Russell averaged 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Even more impressively, he won the MVP award five times, one more than James, and 11 NBA championships.
Given the current parity in the league, it’s fairly hard to imagine any player winning anywhere near that number of titles.
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