Celtics open season with celebration of 'lord of the rings' Bill Russell
The Boston Celtics tipped off the NBA season with a win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday in their first game since Bill Russell died in July.
Before the game, they opened with a celebration of the sports and civil right icon who spent 13 seasons playing in a Celtics jersey before retiring with 11 championships. Fans arrived to the arena to find commemorative tickets emblazoned with an image of Russell's No. 6 jersey. A light green "6" was overlayed on the dark green paint of the key on both sides of the TD Garden floor.
Before tipoff, Boston's poet laureate Porsha Olayiwola paid tribute to Russell with a poem:
Before tip-off tonight the @celtics honored Bill Russell with a poem titled "SESTINA" written and performed by Porsha Olayiwola 💚 pic.twitter.com/xAn4DuQx0j
— NBA (@NBA) October 18, 2022
"Basketball, like Black life, is about the swivel. The pivot, the turn, the build of the risk. A balance between art and war. A measure of the body's will. And legend has it no player hooped like Bill Russell, lord of the rings, defender of the scoreboard, wingspan span the horizon, skyscraper limbs. The city perched on his shoulders despite the city not rising to the height of him."
Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown then offered his own tribute to the Celtics great he looked up to as a player and a man.
"He represented a type of nobility and honor that transcended sports."
Jaylen Brown and the Celtics pay tribute to NBA legend Bill Russell 🙏 pic.twitter.com/CDARcl1w9u— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 18, 2022
"Bill Russell was a great man for what and who he stood for," Brown said. "During the peak of racial tension in our society, he represented the type of nobility and honor that transcended sports. The amount of respect he receives from his people will live on eternally. And I'm grateful to be able to shake his hand."
Russell was a giant in Boston and beyond, and the celebration of his life will extend across the NBA during its newly minted season. His No. 6 is retired league-wide with players like LeBron James grandfathered in as the last to don the number in the NBA. Russell's the first and only player to receive the honor similarly bestowed to Jackie Robinson and his No. 42 in baseball.
But No. 6 won't be entirely removed from the league. In fact, every player this season will wear a patch with Russell's No. 6 on his right shoulder, and every court — even the Los Angeles Lakers' — will be adorned with a Celtics shamrock emblazoned with No. 6.
