Who is on the Mt. Rushmore of the NBA?

Pick ONLY FOUR:

 

I actually only picked three:

Jordan - greatest individual player or my generation

Chamberlain - best big man ever, would still be MVP today. 100 pt game will never be repeated.

Robertson: complete player that statistically had seasons unattainable today.

Didn't pick another one but would have selected Kareem if pushed. His skyhook was completely indefensible (without goaltending of course). A long and dominant career with many championships and more points than anyone before him IIRC.

 

I know, once you get past the 'top-3', it's impossible to have a consensus #4 player.
Plus, you can argue for Karl Malone, John Havlicek, Allen Iverson, Dirk Nowitzki, but you
don't have near the argument for them as you do the guys I have listed.
You could even argue Pete Maravich could shoot as well as Steph Curry - IF they had a 3 pt shot back then.

 

Hakeem Olojuan needs to be there, he delivered two titles while Jordan was retired....and he was fasting while he did it.

 

I like these picks. I goofed and picked one too many. I would, however, quibble with Jordan as "greatest...of my generation." He is IMO inarguably the greatest ever. Everything after that is great bar room talk!

T

 

I did add some guys there just for the sake of argument.
You could also argue about Bob Cousy, too.

BUT, this is the Mt. Rushmore.....

 

At the risk of having this post deleted, we might have trouble settling on four faces of the NBA Rushmore.

But then again if there was a sheer cliff face in South Dakota that needed four Presidents, I doubt our political climate TODAY would include any of them there now except for Lincoln.

 

Sweet River Baines

 

Uh, having lived in the South, you'd get some arguments on Lincoln from the some of the folks I ran across. 😬
T

 

wilt should be number one...not Michael. the raised the nets for wilt. if they change the game that materially for you, you are legend.

mj second...

the rest are tough! soooo many greats and worthy of the mountain...just not enough room on the mountain

 

As much as I want Hakeem to be on there, I don't think he can be there.

I think an NBA Mt. Rushmore has to be the first Top 4 guys that were the greatest at the time. This means before Bird and Jordans time.

As an aside, because Hakeem played for a Houston team, I don't think a lot of people nationally really remember how great he was. If it would have been part of the play back then Hakeem would have been able to knock down 3's like a beast on top of everything else he did.

 

I went with 2 - above all the rest; Jordan and Chamberlain.

 

Fair enough, and a great analysis.

 

6% of poll left mj off of list? Guess thats why its not called nbachat.

wilt was terrific but he was 6 inches taller than other players and couldnt hit his free throws. He wouldn't be much vs todays players while mj would still be best today. No doubt wouldve won 8 in row if not for baseball/gambling

If lebron retired today, hes 2nd best ever to play. Magic with athleticism. Does everything magic could in addition to being top scorer while guarding top opponent. Won 3 rings with 3 final mvps and 4 regular season mvp. Never injured. Ultimate competitor,. Brilliant basketball mind. Makes his teammates better. Single best defensive play in history of nba last week

 

One notable name missing from this list is Karl Malone.

I thought he had a tremendous career.

 

I put Kareem above Wilt due to the longevity and titles. MJ goes without saying. I put Magic as 4th, but Lebron could easily be there as well.

My main gripe with Lebron is an aesthetic one, he's just not fun to watch as he physically bowls people over. The other 4 on my list went around or above the other players where Lebron goes through them. I had the same gripe with Shaq, just not enjoyable to watch and I feel like half of their points come as a result of an offensive foul. Jordan was the most fun to watch as he had otherworldly athleticism combined with otherworldly skill. The other guys had one or the other - Wilt otherworldly athleticism, Magic otherworldly skill. Kareem was closest to having both but he wasn't as athletic as a Wilt or Shaq, though had unbelievable skill for a guy his size. Jordan was the only guy with otherworldly athleticism, skill and determination combined in one package. The last minute of the 1998 finals are still the best basketball ever played by a single player, imo. That combination of offense and defense coupled with the situation (down 3 on the road with the title on the line) might never be matched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V_1ZxCN3nI

Olajuwan ranks up there as a guy with both otherworldly skill and athelticism, but he did not have a sustained peak like the rest of the guys on the list, but when he was at his peak he was unreal.

 

LeBron spent many years in league going around as many people as he went through. people forget hes over 30 now and was one of fastest players when he was young. and I would put his passing skills a close second all time to magic. surely you can appreciate that part of his game

as to shaq, I had season tkts to knicks when shaq was a rookie and saw him play several times in person. from my seats in midsection, it was difficult to tell if he had the ball or one of the guards. he was that skillful with the ball. everyone knew he destroyed ewing with his power, but he was also much more athletic. if he could hit 3/4 foul shots, would be best all time center

 

What about he big fundamental Tim Duncan. Not as athletic as Hakeem not as powerful as Shaq. He was a solid force on both ends in his prime, which unfortunately we are currently seeing him way past his prime...He has 5 NBA Championships, 2 MVP's, 2 finals MVP's, 10 all star appearances...put him at C or PF?

 

yes duncans on the alltime starters team with mj, magic, kareem, and bron. best power forward ever but weakest player of the 5

 

Nixon, Truman, Reagan, JFK oughtta do it.

He did, and I considered him, but I just didn't think he would be able to
crack any of the top 8 or 10.
I don't see him above MJ, Wilt, Magic, Kareem, I see a ton of guys all
capable of being 5th best, even such as Allen Iverson, Dominique, David Thompson,
George Gervin, John Havlicek, Walt Frazier, Pete Maravich, Robert Parrish, Danny Ainge,
Nate Archibald, Bob McAdoo, the list CAN get really long.

You'll get some arguments on 'best power forward', looking at Olajuwon specifically.

But this is the whole discussion - it's totally subjective to our opinions.

 

Fun Thread.
1. Jordan GOAT!!!! PERIOD!
2. Wilt
3. LeBron
# 4 was a tough one. I picked Russell. Was I off on that one? Too many players from the 80's/90's era were too close to chose.