Lakers legend Kobe Bryant number retirement hype hits harsh reality-check via Julius Erving

Julius Erving believes that Lakers legend Kobe Bryant shouldn't get his jersey retired league-wide now like Bill Russell.

The death of Bill Russell in August shook the NBA world by storm. The legendary Boston Celtics center was one of the best ambassadors for the game. Russell was honored by every single NBA team, and the league made sure his legacy was never forgotten by retiring his jersey number. Since then, fans have been calling for another NBA legend to get his jersey retired: Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

But while Bryant is a legend in his own right, one of Russell's peers doesn't think it's right to give the Lakers star the same treatment. Speaking to TMZ, NBA legend Julius Erving chimed in on the discussion. The ex-Sixers legend said that there's simply no comparison between Russell and Bryant.

“I don't think he should be compared with the Russell situation,” Erving said of Kobe out at LAX. “We're fresh into that but let's see how that works out. Maybe at some point in time. Bill was 86 years old, so address it like that to an 86-year-old — multiple champions, multiple coaching champions, multiple on-and-off the court champion, or whatever — there's no comparison.”

While Erving's comments might sound harsh, there's a lot of merit to his statement. Yes, Kobe Bryant was an icon in his prime. The Lakers star inspired many people while he was alive. But Bill Russell was simply on another level. Everything the Celtics icon touched turned into gold. The craziest fact about Russell is that his off-court actions is greater than anything he did on the court (which was a lot).

Besides, the Lakers and the NBA have done plenty to honor Bryant's legacy in the league. We recently learned that the organization observes a Kobe Bryant day in August. His jersey has been retired by the team. The league has also named the All-Star Game MVP after him.