All-Time NBA Mount Rushmore
The debate over who is the greatest basketball player of all time is what I call “the impossible question” and will rage on for centuries. A definitive answer will most likely never be reached because of one simple fact: not every era is the same.
NBA basketball has taken many forms over its existence, each valuing a different skill set than the one before. In Bill Russell’s age, size was everything. Being taller than your opponents gave you a significant advantage on both offense and defense. Wilt Chamberlain is a perfect example of this. It’s easy to score 100 points in a game if you’re 7 or 8 inches taller than everyone else on the floor.
When the Celtics and “Showtime” Lakers took the floor in the 1980’s, quick guards who could pass and shoot from the newly-instituted three-point line were of great value. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are two guys you could rely on to put up double-digit points and/or assists every night.
Michael Jordan excelled in the 1990’s when a huge part of basketball was being physical, especially in the paint. The 6-foot-6 guard from North Carolina found himself constantly taking punishment from some of the toughest men to ever play the game, including Bill Laimbeer, Anthony Mason and his later Bulls' teammate Dennis Rodman. It paid to be able to go toe-to-toe inside with these giants, and being able to attack the lane without being afraid of getting blood on your jersey.
Nowadays, being able to shoot consistently well from deep is a skill for which teams are willing to pay good money. Steph Curry, James Harden, Damian Lillard, even big men like Kevin Durant and Khris Middleton are lights out from beyond the arc.
Because each era is different, it’s not possible to appoint one player as the GOAT. Instead, I will make my case for the NBA Mount Rushmore: four players (one from each era) who together make up the greatest basketball player of all time.
Bill Russell
Bill Russell is one of a few players who obviously belong on this list. Whether you look at career stats, NBA championships or league award totals, Russell is clearly deserving of a spot in our top four. Russell played from 1956 to 1969, averaging 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds over that time. He also is an 11-time NBA champion, 12-time NBA All-Star and 11-time All-NBA Honors winner. Add all that to his five NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award wins and his 1968-69 Defensive MVP trophy and you have one of, if not the, greatest centers to ever play the game.
Michael Jordan
MJ is another obvious addition to this list, both because of his performance on the floor and his superior work ethic. While Jordan is most known for his time with the Chicago Bulls, he also played a stint with the Washington Wizards. Over his career in the NBA, Jordan averaged 30.1 points per game, along with 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists. As the ESPN documentary, "The Last Dance," showed us, Michael Jordan wasn’t always the proverbial "good guy," nor was he always the most-liked person on the team. However, Jordan excelled in basketball because he put making himself and those around him better over all else, without caring what other people thought of him outside of the arena or practice facility. It was this attitude that helped him win six NBA titles, completing two threepeats with Chicago.
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant is another player who makes this list for his unique blend of skill and competitive drive. Bryant, Lord rest his soul, was the closest thing to Michael Jordan that I’ve ever seen. Of course they both played the same position and were the same height, but they played with the same style: a mix of flare and finesse. Both understood when to drive to the rack, and when to pull back and shoot the open mid-range or three-point jumper. They both made excellent use of their handles, and utilized the fade-away shot to perfection. Bryant used his “Mamba Mentality” to average 25 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in his career, winning five NBA championships and being selected to 12 NBA All-Star games. Bryant’s legacy and attitude towards the game of basketball is more than enough to get him a spot on this list.
Lebron James
Rounding out our list is the King himself, Lebron James. James has been on three different teams over his career: the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat, and most recently, the Los Angeles Lakers. He made his mark on the NBA on each of these teams. In Cleveland, he carried the team to its only NBA championship in franchise history, when the Cavaliers came back from being down three games to one in the 2016 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. The 2016 Cavs are the only team in NBA history to come back from being down 3-1 in the NBA Finals. When he left Cleveland for South Beach, he, along with Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and a talented Miami Heat team, repeated NBA Championships in 2012 and 2013, over the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, respectively. It’s still unclear what his time in LA will yield, but after a rocky first year last season, the Lakers are at the top of the Western Conference and poised to make a run at a championship sooner rather than later.
That wraps up my list of the four players I would put on the all-time basketball Mount Rushmore. Obviously a lot of players were left out, which is why, over the next few weeks, I will be building lists of the five best players from each decade. Stay tuned for those, and as always make sure you’re listening to new episodes of TrueSports, published every Wednesday!