Bulls Guard Reveals Surprising Reason NBA Denied His Number Change

Getty Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso reacts to a call during a playoff bout with the Milwaukee Bucks.

One of basketball’s ultimate icons was lost over the summer when Boston Celtics legend and 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell passed away at the age of 88. To honor the man for all he accomplished, both on and off the hardwood, the league made the decision in August to retire Russell’s No. 6 across the Association.

The one caveat to that sweeping move was that players who were already wearing the No. 6 on their jerseys would be given the option to either continue doing so or give the number up voluntarily.

For Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso, picking out a new number wasn’t going to be a big deal. After a bit of deliberation, he was fine to let the No. 6 go for Russell.

When the baller finally went to switch up his kit, though, the powers that be actually forbade him from doing so despite the league-wide retirement. And the reason Caruso was blocked may come as a surprise to some.

Caruso Wasn’t Allowed to Give Up No. 6 for a Wild Reason

At Bulls Media Day on Monday, Caruso spoke out on the situation with his No. 6, and this is what he said:

“I did give some thought to changing it this year, and the NBA told me I couldn’t because I was in the top 75 of jersey sales. So, that’s like a rule. Shout out to me.”

Yes, Caruso — an undrafted guy with just 37 career starts to his name and a lifetime scoring average of 6.2 PPG — is apparently a hot commodity on the jersey scene. Nevertheless, Caruso made it clear that he was willing to change his number once he loses his spot on the sales charts.

“Obviously, [I] want to do nothing but honor him and his legacy and what he stood for. He’s one of the pioneers — a racial advocate for the game of basketball in general and just an all-around great person,” Caruso said. “I don’t know anybody that talks about him or knew him that had anything negative to say…

“Probably next year I’ll look into getting another number.”

Caruso doesn’t have any particular attachment to the No. 6; he wore the No. 4 during his four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. And he rocked the No. 21 as a collegiate at Texas A&M.

In fact, the only reason that he made the switch to No. 6 was that his old No. 4 was already hanging in the rafters at the United Center in honor of the “Original Bull,” Jerry Sloan. Moreover, Caruso felt that No. 6 was the “best-looking” single-digit number available to him.

Caruso the Favorite to Start at Point Guard

Of course, the Bulls are probably more concerned about which player is going to hold down Lonzo Ball’s starting spot while the point guard recovers from his latest surgery than what number they — or anyone else — will be wearing on their jersey.

The Athletic‘s Darnell Mayberry believes that Caruso has a leg up on the competition in that department.

“When the regular season ended, when the time came to win or go home, Donovan did what most coaches do,” Mayberry said. “He trusted his veteran. He sat rookie Ayo Dosunmu and started Caruso at lead guard. It helped the Bulls take Game 2 [against the Milwaukee Bucks] and revealed much about Donovan’s decision-making.

“It’s why Caruso has to be considered the favorite for the opening-night starter in place of Ball.”