The Perfect NBA Mount Rushmore

Many a people have thrown out names for an NBA Mount Rushmore. But there is a perfect 4 people that, if there really was a Mount Rushmore for the NBA, would have to on there. They are: Bill Russell (Washington), Wilt Chamberlain (Jefferson), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lincoln), and Michael Jordan (Roosevelt).

Russell and Wilt were the pioneers of the NBA. The first greats. They still hold records today.

Bill Russell won like nobody else will be able to win again. 13 season, 12 finals, 11 rings. The finals MVP is named after this man. He is the first person that has to be an NBA Mount Rushmore

Wilt Chamberlain scored like nobody else will be able to score again and. The 100 point games. More 60+ point games than everyone else combine that's ever played in the NBA. Bill and Wilt, like George Washington and Jefferson, have to be on an NBA mount Rushmore.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds two records that force me to put him on. He is the all time leader in points scored and the all time leader in MVPs. He's 3rd all time in rebounds and in blocks. He has 6 rings. He was so good for so long. You can't have a Mount Rushmore without the leading scorer / leading mvp's.

And in a Mount Rushmore, how can you leave out Jordan?

I've thought about all of this a lot and discussed it with a lot of different people. This is the perfect NBA Mount Rushmore and you cannot make a better one than this.

Stats:

Bill Russell: 11 championships (12 final appearances in 13 seasons), 5 MVPs, Finals MVP named after him, 2nd all time rebounding...

Wilt Chamberlain:100 point game, more 60+ points games than everyone else combine, 4 MVP's, 1st all time rebounding...

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Most MVPs all time (6), 6 rings, Most points all time, 3rd most blocks all time, 3 most rebounds all time...

Michael Jordan: Most famous and most advertised player of all time. Face of the NBA (and everything else). 6 finals MVPs, 5 season MVPs. Probably more recognized American sports player in the world.

PS - Two people that were right there but not. 1) Oscar Robertson. He was Jordan before Jordan was Jordan. He was a big, fast, strong guard. He averaged 30+ points AND a triple double for several seasons. No one else has ever averaged a triple double. Oscar is one of the best players of all time. 2) Magic Johnson. Also one of the best players of all time, plus one of the most recognizable. Magic really changed the NBA for the better. Many say he and Larry Bird "saved" the NBA. Had I have a 5th or 6th spot, Magic and/or Oscar would be up there.

There are 7 contenders for NBA's greatest player of all time. Then there's everyone else.

In the history of the NBA, we have seen some great basketball and some great basketball players. When talking greatest of all time, there are so many factors that to into that. How good was their competition at the time? How many points did they score? What were some of their best games? Were they good under pressure? Were they well rounded? Did they play defence and offence? What's their averages look like? What's their career totals? Did they dominate games? Could they take over games? What if this? What if that?

After much research and much debating, I've found there to be what I call the "Tier 1" of basketball players. This is made up of 7 players who can be argued as the greatest player of all time. They are:

TIER 1:  (MVPs)

Bill Russell (5)

Oscar Robertson (1)

Wilt Chamberlain (4)

 Kareem Abdul-Jabbarr (6)

Ervin "Magic" Johnson (3)

Michael Jordan (5)

LeBron James (4)

These are players who dominated the game. (I personally like to leave LeBron out of the conversation because he's not done yet.) These are players that have stats that will blow your mind. These are players that have 4 MVPs or more (besides Oscar Robertson smushed in between Wilt and Bill). These are players with multiple championships. These are players that are well rounded. These players play good defence and offense. These players make their teammates better (except maybe Wilt...). These players can pass, rebound, shoot well, steal, block... they do it all. They all have great leadership and are all winners. I've heard great arguments for each of those players as the greatest of all time. If you want to argue one of seven, that is respectable and you might be right.

After tier 1, we have:

TIER 2:  (MVPs)

Bob Pettit (2)

Elgin Baylor (0)

Moses Malone (1)

Jerry West (0)

Julius Erving (1)

Larry Bird (3)

Isiah Thomas (0)

Charles Barkley (1)

Patrick Ewing (0)

Hakeem "the dream" Olajuwon (1)

John Stockton (0)

Scottie Pippin (0)

Shaquille O'neal (1)

Allen Iverson (1)

Kobe Bryant (1)

Tim Duncan (2)

(etc.)........

These guys are great players. However, they simply didn't dominate as did the tier 1 players.

Some of these guys are specialists who dominate some things (Iverson at scoring, Stockton at passing/stealing...). These guys have around 1 MVP. Some of these guys were victims of circumstance (Stockton played against Jordan, Iverson had bad teams, Pippin was always number 2...) Others were benefited by circumstance (Kobe drafted by the Lakers, played with Shaq and for Phil Jackson) (Hakeem won his only 2 championships the 2 years Jordan didn't play). Some of these guys lacked leadership or had problems with attitude. Some of these guys hid weaknesses by playing their role perfectly. Some of them never won a single ring or MVP.

Do you think Magic Johnson or LeBron James would have complained about having Shaq as a teammate and forced him out as Kobe did? No. Instead, they would have lead that team to win 8 championships with Shaq and Phil Jackson.

People who argue tier 2 players as "greatest of all time" are usually baseless and without facts. They maybe top 10 all time, or perhaps make your team of top 13, but you cannot convince me that any one of these players is the G.O.A.T. All the facts, the stats, the eye test, and everything else point to one of the seven players in tier one being the best of all time.

For more stats on the tier 1 guys and on a few tier 2 guys, check out my top 10 I did a while ago: http://keelesports.blogspot.com/2014/03/top-10-nba-players-all-time-keeping-in.html