Veteran NBA fans will remember Julius Erving. He is an NBA legend who spent the bulk of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers. Dr. J as he is nicknamed is widely admired for his transcendental play and dominance in his era. He recently made a somewhat controversial statement regarding the honoring of the late Bill Russell and Kobe Bryant.
All of us should be aware that both of these NBA greats are no longer with us. Kobe died tragically in a helicopter crash back in 2020 and Bill Russell only recently passed away at the age of 88. One must wonder what Erving said and how much weight should be given to it.
Julius Erwing believes Bill Russell was special and shouldn’t be compared to Kobe Bryant
The NBA honors its players by primarily, hanging their jersey numbers from a franchise’s rafters. It is important to note that the NBA consists of 30 teams. Therefore, only a few players have the honor of having a jersey retired leaguewide.
Bill Russell was given this honor for a lifetime of achievement and greatness. This led some people to suggest that the Black Mamba be given the same honor. It is certainly a good idea. However, Julius Erwing believes differently and explained his point of view while discussing Kobe.
“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 let’s address it like that to an 86-year-old- multiple champions, multiple coaching champions, multiple on and off-the-court champions or whatever, there is no comparison”.
Julius went on to say that the Lakers franchise should definitely do it if they wish to. But not the whole league. He added, ” Bill was a very special individual, and what he did for basketball, no one else could ever do it again.”
Erwing who played in the 1970s and 80s knows the impact Bill Russell had on the NBA and the sport better than anyone else. It is quite sad that he ends up trivializing the impact Kobe Bryant had on the league. However, compared to Mr. Russell, perhaps Kobe didn’t do all that much to earn his jersey being retired leaguewide.
We have to decide for ourselves whether the criteria for having a jersey retired should be so high and whether Kobe really didn’t do enough to deserve it.
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