Grant Williams discusses how Bill Russell’s words to the Celtics after the NBA Finals will motivate them towards Banner 18.
The Boston Celtics will kick off the 2022-23 regular season in style by paying tribute the greatest winner in professional sports.
The Celtics on Monday revealed the "City Edition" alternate uniforms they'll wear 12 times this season, beginning Tuesday night in their season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden.
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The jersey pays homage to Celtics icon Bill Russell, who passed away in July at age 88. The C's and the NBA actually collaborated with Russell himself to design the uniforms before he passed. The result was several unique elements that honor Russell's legacy as an 11-time NBA champion.
Here are the details on those elements:
- The "Celtics" font on the front of the jersey is in a script inspired by a sign on Slade’s Bar & Grill in Boston. Russell owned Slade's during the 1960s, and the business remains Black-owned to this day.
- Eleven gold diamond icons down both sides of the uniform are a nod to Russell's 11 titles, the most won by any player in NBA history.
- The belt buckle on the shorts features Russell's No. 6 surrounded by 11 gold diamonds.
- The text above the jocktag on the front of the jersey reads “Champions of Gold,” a nod to Russell representing a golden era of Celtics and NBA.
Russell was a champion and a trailblazer both on and off the court, breaking barriers as the NBA's first Black head coach and a member of the league's first all-Black starting five while playing an important role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
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The Celtics have also painted Russell's No. 6 on the parquet floor at TD Garden, so he'll be well-remembered this season as the team looks to mount another playoff run.
