After Udonis Haslem’s comments on Bill Russell, Jaylen Brown has slammed the Heat organization for retiring Michael Jordan’s number 23.
Jaylen Brown has reacted angrily to Udonis Haslem’s comments regarding every NBA team, including the Heat, retiring Bill Russell’s No. 6 jersey. Haslem was upset that the Celtics’ legend had his jersey retired, which led to a fan ridiculing Haslem for siding with the organization when Michael Jordan’s No. 23 was retired. Brown liked the tweet in which the statement was made.
The full tweet reads.
“MJ aint played a single game for the Heat and the glazers retired his jersey, not a single peep about it from UD. But the civil rights activist who passed away you mad about? LMAO”
MJ aint play a single game for da Heat and them glazers retired his jersey not a single peep about it from UD but the civil rights activist who passed away u mad about? LMAO https://t.co/t0ZSIGRgti
— ً (@FanMahome) December 27, 2023
All of this happened after Bam Adebayo revealed on Udonis Haslem’s podcast that Haslem said ‘f**k Bill Russell’ to his teammates when he saw the No. 6 hanging from the rafters of the Heat arena.
“We playing Boston, so you know his feel on that. So dog, we in the huddle. Cap (Haslem) come in there, he give his pre-game speech. 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**k Bill Russell, too.’ I said, ‘Bro, this man dead OG.'”
Haslem didn’t care about Russell’s legacy as a legend of the sport when he said what he said to his teammates, but decided to walk back the disrespect aimed at Russell, pointing it towards the Celtics organization and saying that they would never retire a Heat jersey.
Why Is Michael Jordan’s Jersey Retired In Miami?
Michael Jordan is one of the greatest players ever, and the Heat were the only team he didn’t play for that decided to retire the No. 23 in honor of the legendary battles they had. LeBron James had to change his number to 6 when he joined the Heat because Jordan already had 23 in the rafters.
Pat Riley made his reason public when he announced MJ’s jersey retirement in 2003.
“In honor of your greatness and for all you’ve done for the game of basketball – and not just the NBA, but for all the fans around the world – we want to honor you tonight and hang your jersey, No. 23, from the rafters. No one will ever wear No. 23 for the Miami Heat. You’re the best.”
Bill Russell’s jersey was retired by the NBA for all 30 teams in the league, with the Celtics naturally having retired it much earlier. Funnily, LeBron was wearing No. 6 at the time and decided to switch back to No. 23 this season, a number he last wore in the 2020-21 season.
Russell was a pioneer of the game and got equal treatment from the entire league as recognition for furthering not only the game but also due to his role as a civil rights activist in the 1960s. He’s also the most successful player in league history. winning 11 NBA Championships. Jordan is arguably the greatest of all time, but the Heat are the only organization to retire his jersey despite MJ never suiting up for them.
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