The NBA and its players association announced Thursday that Bill Russell’s number 6 jersey is being retired across the NBA, which will be a league first. Russell was an 11-time champion, civil rights activist and enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. Players who currently wear the number, including LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, may continue to do so, but the number cannot be issued again.
Russell’s number retirement joins Jackie Robinson’s #42 in Major League Baseball and the NHL retirement of Wayne Gretzky’s #99.