The death of NBA and Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell has hit the basketball world hard. The affable center was a very visible member of the NBA community until the COVID pandemic hit, giving out the NBA Finals MVP trophy every year until 2019.
Russell is one of the most successful NBA players of all time, winning 11 rings during his era of dominance. To memorialize his passing, the NBA announced that there would be a league-wide retirement of the No. 6 jersey that Russell wore, with current players wearing the number being allowed to continue wearing it.
With the end of the No. 6 era of NBA basketball, fans have started discussing the greatest players from every franchise to have represented the number. While there are many icons like LeBron James and Julius Erving who also wore the number, some teams haven’t had legends wearing Russell’s No. 6.
There are definitely many surprises on this list. Tyson Chandler is the greatest No. 6 for not one but two franchises, representing both the New Orleans Pelicans and the Dallas Mavericks. Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors have journeyman point guards from the modern era representing them in Jordan McLaughlin and Cory Joseph, respectively.
LeBron appears for both the Lakers and the Heat, with legends like Julius Erving representing the Philadelphia 76ers, Ben Wallace for the Detroit Pistons, and Russel for the Celtics. Kristaps Porzingis also appears twice on the list for the Knicks and the Wizards, with Chandler stealing his spot on the Mavericks.
New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing wore the number in Orlando, but the team then retired the No. 6 in honor of their fans. This is an eclectic list of players across eras and will be set in stone as no new player will ever be issued the No. 6 again.
