Julius Erving doesn't think NBA should retire Kobe Bryant's number league-wide like Bill Russell

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NBA legend Julius Erving doesn’t believe commissioner Adam Silver should retire Kobe Bryant’s number league-wide like he did with the late Bill Russell. 

Unless already worn, no NBA player will be allowed to wear No. 6 moving forward, as Russell’s number will hang in the rafters of every team’s arena across the league. While Erving, who wore No. 6 himself during his career, understands why the NBA chose to do that, he told TMZ that comparing Russell to Bryant wasn’t right.

"I don’t think he should be compared with the Russell situation," Erving said at LAX Airport. "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."

Head coach Julius Erving of the Tri-State looks on during a game against the Tri-State during BIG3 Week Eight at Comerica Center on August 06, 2022, in Frisco, Texas. (Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images for BIG3)

Erving said that Bryant’s situation should be handled by the Los Angeles Lakers, his former team. They already retired his No. 8 and No. 24 on Dec. 18, 2017 prior to his tragic death on Jan. 26, 2020. 

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"if they wanted to do it, which I think they already have, that makes sense – but for the whole league to do it, probably not," Erving said. 

Erving added that he played with Bryant’s father, Joe Bryant, who was affectionately nicknamed Jellybean. 

Erving was also good friends with Russell and understands the great impact that he made on the game of