NBA legend stops the discussion of Kobe Bryant's jersey retirement

The NBA decided to honor the late great Bill Russell by retiring his number for all the teams. Bill Russell was not only a great player, but also a great civil rights activist. Russell did a lot for the game and that's why the league decided to give him the honor that no other player had. However, now many people are hoping the NBA will give the same respect to Kobe Bryant.

Kobe Bryant was one of the best players in NBA history, and his sudden death was a tragedy. However, according to NBA legend Julius Erving, the league can't give the late great Lakers legend the honor of retiring any of his numbers for all the teams, at least not right now.

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“I don’t think he should be compared with the Russell situation. We’re fresh into that but let’s see how that works out. Maybe at some point in time. Bill was 86 years old, so address it like that to an 86-year-old — multiple champions, multiple coaching champions, multiple on-and-off the court champion, or whatever — there’s no comparison,” explained the former Sixers player.

The Lakers have already retired both Kobe Bryant jerseys. Also, they, alongside the Orange County, decided to commemorate the all-star player by naming August 24th as ‘Kobe Bryant Day’ or ‘Mamba Day’. The league also named the all-star MVP award after him.

Bill Russell tribute

As said above, the NBA decided to honor the all-time player by retiring Russell's #6 jersey from all teams. The franchises will also pay tribute to the legend by having a #6 inside a clove in every court around the country.