Magic Johnson suggests the NBA retire the number 6 in honor of Bill Russell

The NBA is in mourning after the death of basketball legend Bill Russell and Magic Johnson has suggested a way to maintain the legacy of the 11-time champion.

Through a tweet on his personal account, Johnson suggested that commissioner Adam Silver should retire the number 6 on all NBA teams in order to honor the legacy of Bill Russell.

On March 12, 1972, the Celtics retired No. 6 in honor of Russell’s achievements during his time in Boston. The center won 11 championships in 13 seasons and registered averages of 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds after participating in 963 regular season games.

In his time as the most dominant center of his day he set the then-record of 21,620 rebounds during his time at Boston Garden.

Teams that have retired the No. 6

In addition to the Celtics, five other NBA teams have retired the number 6: Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings.

Hall of Famer Julius Erving spent all 11 NBA seasons with the Sixers and was a huge part of the franchise’s last championship in 1983. ‘Dr. J’ averaged of 22.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocked shots during the 836 games he played with the 76ers.

The most iconic of all Phoenix Suns is Walter Davis. Known as ‘Sweet D’ because of how sweet his jumper was. Davis is the leading scorer in the history of the Phoenix franchise with 15,666 points scored during the 11 years he played at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum with the number 6 on his back.

Avery Johnson played 16 seasons in the NBA and was part of the Spurs for a dozen of them, winning a champinoship with them the 1999 championship. When he departed from the Texan franchise, Johnson was the all-time leader in assists with 4,474, a mark later surpassed by Tony Parker, and that is why the management decided to retire the number 6.

The Magic and the Kings also have the No. 6 retired to honor the sixth man, their fans.