The Boston Celtics have officially released their 2022-23 season “City Edition” jerseys, designed to commemorate the career of recently-passed Celtics Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell that ” features a gold motif symbolizing his incomparable career” according to a recent press release circulated by the team.
Noting “it was the barriers that he broke not only on the court, as the first Black head coach and a member of the first all-Black starting five, but off the court that truly made him ‘The Gold Standard,'” the team describes Russell’s legacy “a consistent reminder of what it truly means to be a Celtic.”
The Celtics shared that the man himself had been involved in helping design the uniforms before he passed this July, which will be worn on Opening Night against the Philadelphia 76ers, and on a second night to honor him — Feb. 2, his birthday, in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Who will start for the Boston Celtics on opening night vs. the Philadelphia 76ers? https://t.co/CUtYWCtzsR
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 17, 2022
The Celtics’ name on the front of the jersey is written in the font of Slade’s Restaurant, a historic Boston institution owned by Russell in the 1960s, and the jerseys will have 11 gold diamond icons running down both sides of the uniform, signifying the number of Celtics NBA championships Russell won.
The No. 6 on the belt buckle is of course an homage to his globally retired jersey with the team, surrounded by 11 diamonds for each of his titles won with the team, a league record for a player.
The Boston Celtics are on a mission in 2022-23 https://t.co/En28QK2x0N
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 17, 2022
The team notes that a pregame ceremony honoring the Celtics legend will include performances by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc and Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola on Oct. 18.
The Celtics are also presenting the Bill Russell Mentoring Award to a deserving individual in the New England area “who has contributed to the mentoring field in significant ways” and The Boston Children’s Chorus will perform at halftime.
Several Celtics teammates including Grant Williams, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, and Jayson (and Deuce) Tatum also were in attendance. https://t.co/PjmnS454eD
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 17, 2022
Finally, the team also notes that it will auction off signed 2022-23 City Edition jerseys to raise funds for MENTOR.
Russell was of course a founding board member, which the release describes as “a non-profit that aims to drive equity and close the mentoring gap to ensure that one day, all young people have access to quality mentoring relationships.”
Let’s take a look at those jerseys.
Images and video are circulating online — but are they real (and good)? https://t.co/OKvUSdlX30
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 16, 2022
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