Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BOSTON — Bill Russell helped establish and define the standard for the Boston Celtics. The franchise honored its greatest player before its season opener against Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Celtics held the first of two planned ceremonies this season to commemorate Russell since he died July 31 at age 88. A second celebration will take place Feb. 12, Russell's birthday. The team wore No. 6 patches on their special edition jerseys, which included a Celtics script fashioned after the same one as the Slade's Bar and Grill restaurant that Russell owned for several years. The uniforms featured 11 gold diamonds down the sides.
