Bill Russell's Number 6 to be retired throughout NBA

[Asian62150]

When you boil it down, I take Russell. He just wins.

MJ will probably put more butts in the seats and will make the franchise more money, while also winning his fair share. But if my highest priority is winning, I take Russell.

You know that in the '58 Finals against the Hawks, Russell was hurt with a badly sprained ankle? With a healthy Russell, the Celtics almost for sure win that series. So that would be 10 chips in a row and 12 in 13 seasons for Russell. What??????

I think we can't/don't want to fully comprehend how great of a champion he was, so we try to rationalize his 11 titles. Lesser competition, stacked team, etc...But yet we still give props to Wilt for his 2 titles and don't diminish those.

I don't hear ppl saying Wilt's 2 titles are weaker than Hakeem's 2 titles.

At the end of the day, the guy won. Amongst the top 10, his closest rivals in titles are Kareem and MJ with 6 (and Kareem was second banana for a couple). Most of the other top 10, he's at least doubled or tripled in titles won.

[bruin805]

I had no problems with the NHL retiring 99 for Gretzky since he made the NHL matter to the masses (at least more than it mattered before him), and his trade to the Kings indirectly resulted in the league expanding west into markets like Phoenix, Denver, the Bay Area, Orange County, etc.

Plus, no one was going to wear 99 anyway, as it was sort of an unwritten rule that it was untouchable.

In the NBA, 23 is a somewhat common number, not only due to MJ but also because it's just a number that you've seen a ton throughout history. People wear it all the time.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by bruin805

I had no problems with the NHL retiring 99 for Gretzky since he made the NHL matter to the masses (at least more than it mattered before him), and his trade to the Kings indirectly resulted in the league expanding west into markets like Phoenix, Denver, the Bay Area, Orange County, etc.

Plus, no one was going to wear 99 anyway, as it was sort of an unwritten rule that it was untouchable.

In the NBA, 23 is a somewhat common number, not only due to MJ but also because it's just a number that you've seen a ton throughout history. People wear it all the time.

Agreed on Gretzky. You know your dominance over the league and record books was significant when your number gets retired league wide before you even turn 40. Has any other athlete in a major sport gotten a league-wide number retirement while still living?

[GOATcards]

Originally Posted by Inferno

Agreed on Gretzky. You know your dominance over the league and record books was significant when your number gets retired league wide before you even turn 40. Has any other athlete in a major sport gotten a league-wide number retirement while still living?

Wayne GOATzky, amiright?

[GOATcards]

so the leading candidates for GOAT of GOATS among individual players in major North American team sports, would be: Gretzky/GOATzky, Russell or MJ (or '16 Bron?), Tom Brady/TB12, and Bambino or Mays or Trout?

BTW Does Bron's ranking in the GOAT debate depend in good part on which Bron we're talking? If it's '11 Bron, then no, but what about '16 Bron? (But then what about Shaqtin' lowlights-reel Bron, oh dear )

[n1nesports]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

When you boil it down, I take Russell. He just wins.

MJ will probably put more butts in the seats and will make the franchise more money, while also winning his fair share. But if my highest priority is winning, I take Russell.

You know that in the '58 Finals against the Hawks, Russell was hurt with a badly sprained ankle? With a healthy Russell, the Celtics almost for sure win that series. So that would be 10 chips in a row and 12 in 13 seasons for Russell. What??????

I think we can't/don't want to fully comprehend how great of a champion he was, so we try to rationalize his 11 titles. Lesser competition, stacked team, etc...But yet we still give props to Wilt for his 2 titles and don't diminish those.

I don't hear ppl saying Wilt's 2 titles are weaker than Hakeem's 2 titles.

At the end of the day, the guy won. Amongst the top 10, his closest rivals in titles are Kareem and MJ with 6 (and Kareem was second banana for a couple). Most of the other top 10, he's at least doubled or tripled in titles won.

I think the issue is that athletes that played so far apart from each other shouldn't really be compared, but people do it all the time without giving much thought to the world of difference. Everything is a product of its time so it should be looked at within its own bubble, the rest is hypothetical and comparing stats makes no sense when comparing a player 20+ years apart from another. I wouldn't even say a healthy Russell = a win, things happen, nobody knows what the outcome would have been unless you're some god-like being and I'm assuming you're not....are you?
At the end of the day the younger crowd will have less understanding of the influence these older athletes had and it will become more and more obscured as time goes by. That's just life.