Following the passing of Bill Russell in July, the NBA paid tribute to the legendary Boston Celtics big man by permanently retiring his No. 6 jersey league-wide. This gesture made Russell the only player in NBA history to receive such recognition.
The decision hasn’t caused much controversy, given Russell’s significant impact and status within the NBA. Yet, some are uncomfortable with the idea of his jersey being retired in arenas other than the Boston Celtics’ arena, and Miami Heat icon Udonis Haslem is among those.
While it’s totally fair to express disagreement, Haslem’s reaction to Russell’s No. 6 up in the rafters of Miami’s arena was something else. His former Heat teammate, Bam Adebayo, let slip that Haslem went to as far swearing against Russell.
“We playing Boston, so you know his feel on that, so dog, we in the huddle cap come in there, give his pre-game speech,” Adebayo said. “You know they retired Bill Russell’s jersey for everybody in the league, so they got six in our rafters, and he end his pre-game speech like… ‘F-ck Bill Russell too’ bro, I said, this man dead OG,” Adebayo finished.
UD wasn’t a fan of the Heat retiring Bill Russell’s jersey
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