In Defense of No. 6

First of all, the Celtics lacked all kinds of effort yesterday against the Hawks, hence the ugly loss.  The real reason I'm writing today is in response to LeBron James announcing that he is changing his jersey number in honor of Michael Jordan.  It seems that LeBron will not wear number 23 next year as a sign of respect for His Airness, choosing instead to wear number 6.  Apparently he also wants everyone else in the league that wears 23 to give it up in deference to Michael, because he's done so much for the game and nobody would be playing basketball right now if not for MJ and blah blah blah blah blah...  

That's all well and good, except for one slight flaw in LBJ's logic.  He is giving up Jordan's 23 in favor of number 6, which was worn by none other than Bill Russell, the greatest basketball player ever and a figure who paved the way for the guys who inspired Michael Jordan (whoops!).  Sure, MJ changed the NBA and inspired this entire generation of players, but BIll Russell won more than MJ and changed the game more than Jordan did in his years as a player and a coach.  Without Russell, there couldn't have been Michael Jordan or anyone else for that matter, and pro basketball as we know it might not exist.

I don't want to sound like a nagging senior citizen here, but just look at the things Bill Russell did for the NBA in his career.  Before Bill Russell even played a minute in the NBA, he captained the US Olympic team to a gold medal, barnstorming the tournament and winning each game by an average margin of 53.5 points per game.  Oh yeah, and there were those two consecutive Collegiate titles he won at USF, despite having to play against much bigger and more talented programs.  But really, we're talking about the pro game here, so let's move on.  

Bill Russell was the first defensive center the fledgling NBA had ever seen, and before Wilt Chamberlain laced up his shoes in the NBA, Russell became the sport's first African American superstar.  Oh yeah, and Russell helped to pioneer the fast break, changing the game from a slow grind it out style to the uptempo brand of basketball that you see today, where strong defense and rebounding often create offense in transition.  Nobody did this better than Russell, and prior to him, nobody had done this at all.  Not enough for you?  How about the fact that Bill Russell was the NBA's first African American head coach, and prior to that had been a member of the NBA's first all black starting line-up?  

To recap, Bill Russell helped to integrate the NBA and was a pioneer as the sport's first African American superstar player and coach, all while redefining his position forever and helping to invent two of the most exciting aspects of pro basketball: fast break offense and defense.  Not only did Russell help his teammates get out and score in transition, but he also inventing the soul crushing out-of-nowhere shot block that LeBron James enjoys doing so much nowadays.  And he repeatedly shut down Wilt Chamberlain, once holding him to only 2 shot attempts in the second half of an intense playoff game.  And he won ELEVEN FREAKING CHAMPIONSHIPS in 13 years, not too shabby.

What has MJ done for basketball?  Well, he spearheaded the campaign to lengthen the shorts in the NBA and created a me first, ball hogging style that has dominated games at every level since.  Sure, he was fun to watch and sure, he was a great competitor and all that, but changing the game so you can take an extra step, palm the hell out of the ball and make it ok to jack up just any contested jumper while sticking out your tongue and taunting your opponents does not equal inventing the fast break and being the league's first African American coach in my mind.  And while Jordan has certainly changed the way everybody plays the game and has inspired countless players all over the world to play basketball, he didn't exactly redefine his position in the same way Bill Russell did.  Shooting guards were long and athletic and shot happy well before Jordan came into the league, he just did it better than almost anyone else.  

So LeBron, if you're reading this, perhaps you should consider going with another number besides 6 if you think that not wearing a number is the best way to pay respect to the legends of the game that preceded you.  This kind of respect and perspective is a good thing, just don't forget who was there before Jordan making the Association into what it is today.  Maybe when you win 8 titles in a row, redefine the entire sport and keep Kobe from even shooting more than twice in a Finals game I'll be ok with you donning number 6, but until then I suggest you try again.  Unless, that is, you decide that wearing someone else's number is a great homage to them in which case I say stick with 23, it suits you.