CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Hornets unveiled a banner at Spectrum Center honoring NBA legend Bill Russell during Saturday's game against the Boston Celtics.
The banner commemorates Russell's No. 6 jersey, which was retired throughout the NBA following his death in July. Russell's iconic career included an NBA-record 11 championships, five MVPs, 12 All-Star Game appearances and 11 All-NBA selections.
League-wide tributes to Russell this season include black No. 6 patches on every NBA jersey and a clover-shaped logo with the No. 6 on the sideline of every NBA court. Russell spent his entire career with the Celtics.
Russell became the first Black head coach in NBA history, serving as player-coach of the Celtics during his last three seasons. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for his athletic feats and lifelong commitment to social justice.
"Bill Russell was a pioneer -- as a player, as a champion, as the NBA's first Black head coach and as an activist," Hornets owner Michael Jordan said shortly after Russell's death.. "he paved the way and set an example for every Black player who came into the league after him, including me."
In addition to leading the sports world, Russell was a civil rights leader during his career. He was at the March on Washington in 1963, when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech and he backed Muhammad Ali when the famed boxer was criticized for refusing induction into the military draft.
Russell said that when he was growing up in the segregated South and later California his parents instilled in him the calm confidence that allowed him to brush off racist taunts.
“Years later, people asked me what I had to go through,” Russell said in 2008. “Unfortunately, or fortunately, I’ve never been through anything. From my first moment of being alive was the notion that my mother and father loved me.” It was Russell’s mother who would tell him to disregard comments from those who might see him playing in the yard.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.