Bryon Russell, a former Utah Jazz player, will be visiting Kemmerer on Friday, June 16, at 10:30 a.m. The free event will be held at Canyon Elementary because the recreation center gym floors are being refinished.  Russell will demonstrate his basketball skills and lead some basketball drills for kids. Attendees are encouraged to bring something for Russell to sign.

Russell played for the NBA from 1993 to 2006. He played for the Denver Nuggets, the Washington Wizards, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz.

Russell helped the Jazz in back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998.

He was born on December 31st, 1970 in San Bernardino, California. He went to high school in San Bernardino, and attended college at Long Beach State. The college retired his number, 32, in 2010.

Russell guarded Michael Jordan in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA finals in Salt Lake City between the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls, a game the Bulls won by one point after Jordan’s last-minute jump shot.

According to Wikipedia, “Russell had his best season with the Jazz in the 1999–2000 season, when he averaged 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. From 1997 to 2000, he played in every regular-season game.”

In 2009, Jordan mentioned Russell in his Hall of Fame induction speech, recalling an interaction they had during Jordan’s first retirement in 1994: “At this time, I had no thoughts of coming back and playing the game of basketball. Bryon Russell came over to me and said, ‘Why did you quit? You know I could guard you.’From this day forward, if I ever see Russell in shorts, I’m coming at him.”