Counting Down the Cavs: Breaking Down the History of Number 6 in Cleveland

As we approach the number 6 and its history in Cleveland I wanted to say that although it is not retired by the Cavs in the rafters, it will never be worn in the NBA again to honor one man.

Bill Russell

It was retired by the entire NBA after the death of 11 time NBA champion Bill Russell. After his death in 2022, it was decided to retire it from every franchise to celebrate and remember the life of Russell and his contributions to the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s when he played.

There is now only one NBA player left to wear the number 6 as it was not required to change your current number.

Now, let's talk about the Cav’s number 6.

Larry Nance Sr. - 1988

Although his number 22 is retired by the Cavs, in 1988 when he was traded to the Cavs, he was originally locked out of wearing the 22 in honor of Jim Chones. When he arrived he was given the number as a placeholder until the switch was made.

He never ended up playing an official game in the number 6 due to his popularity when he got to Cleveland. Then Cavs owner Ted Stepien allowed the change and he went on to wear the number the fans know him for.

Mitchell Butler - 1998-1999

The actual first person to wear number 6 was Mitchell Butler which is late into the franchise’s history. Butler wore the number 6 for the Cavs in 49 games and 4.2 points a game. He was a great shooter as well averaging nearly 40% from three.

Shannon Brown - 2007-2008

Known later in his career as a high flyer on the Lakers, Brown spent his first season and a half in Cleveland before he ended up on the Bulls in a massive 11-player trade that got Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak.

In his gametime, he played 38 games and averaged 5 points.

Manny Harris - 2011-2012

He might be the player with the most games in the number 6 in Cleveland. Manny Harris played in 80 Cavs games averaging 6.2 points.

In a famous incident while on the team, he was using a cryo chamber for recovery and suffered burns on his feet so bad the Cavs released him after.

Andrew Bogut - 2017

58 seconds, that was how long Bogut’s career in Cleveland lasted before he was released. He arrived in Cleveland in his very first game in less than a minute his entire season ended as he would fracture his tibia defending a three pointer.

Javale McGee - 2021

One of the more recent players in the number 6. McGee played under JB Bickerstaff's team and was often getting some “Point-Javale” minutes.

In 33 games he averaged 8 points and 5 boards before being traded at the deadline that season.

Ben Uzoh, Jerome Moiso, Earl Clark, Moses Brown, and most recently Kevin Pangos were other names to have worn the number.

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