The NBA Mount Rushmore

If I were to survey one hundred Americans, I would venture to say that less than a third of them would know that Mount Rushmore is in South Dakota. For as much as people love to talk about who should be carved on Mount Rushmore from the sports world, how many people have actually gone to the metropolis that is South Dakota? I think the answer to that question is not too many, which is pretty much how the players on the Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians must feel like when they look around their ballparks on a nightly basis. I mean, seriously, if a tree were to fall inside of Jobing.com Arena in Phoenix, would it even make a sound? I have a sense that my hypothetical survey here would definitely draw some criticism, especially from some anonymous general managers and executives who don't have the courage, unlike Michael Sam, to come out and say what they believe without being kept shamefully nameless.

Before I digress to a point of no return, where two hours from now I'm wondering how I just had the biggest rant since Jim Mora in 2001 or Dennis Green in 2006, I'm going to reign myself in like the Dolphins so successfully did with Richie Incognito (oh wait). Don't worry though Dolphins fans, your head coach was vindicated in the Ted Wells' report, as he had no idea what was going on inside his own locker room and was unaware of any form of harassment from members of his own team. Joe Philbin can now finally ask Greg Schiano and Bobby Valentine what it's like to lose control of a team. Alright, I need to move on before I go full Michael Bay.

In a recent interview with NBA TV, Lebron James was asked by Steve Smith his Mount Rushmore of NBA players. He replied, "I would say the easy three, that we all talk about in our league. You got Michael Jordan, you got Larry Bird, and you got Magic Johnson. And I would say my fourth... this is so tough. The greatest players of all-time that I would like to see on Mount Rushmore... This is not fair... You know how many great players there is? Oscar Robertson... Those are my four."

Lebron's answer stirred a debate over who should be on Mount Rushmore for basketball greats. Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant said, "If I had a four it would be Michael, Larry, Magic, and Kareem, the all-time leader in points. How many championships does he [Kareem] got? Multiple championships. MVPs. He's got it all. As far as accolades and championships, he's got it all."

When asked about his Mount Rushmore, Lakers legend Kobe Bryant proclaimed, "I would say Magic, Bird, Michael, and Russell. That's impossible to do four, though, man. Come on. That's crazy. That's tough. Absolutely tough."

Former Heat and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy added, "Man, you're talking four guys on Mount Rushmore. So, for me, I got Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson for sure, Michael Jordan, and probably...yea, I'll put LeBron there. Look, you could probably throw a lot of other names at me and I'd say 'yea,' it's tough. Really it's tough... That's at last as good a four as anybody is going to put up there."

Obviously, there is no set way to define the world's greatest players, as there are just too many factors to consider (championships, statistics, intangibles, transcendence) and too many difficult barriers in comparing stars (time period, league rules, games, teams) in order to make a list that is universally accepted as definite.

For example, common names for the NBA's Mount Rushmore would be Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan. Nonetheless, some fans would say that George Mikan deserves to be on the Mount Rushmore of the NBA because he changed the way basketball is played. Others from the 1950's would argue until they are blue in the face that Bob Cousy is the greatest playmaker of all-time. People who value rebounding as the most important facet of basketball would assert that Moses Malone needs to be on the Mount Rushmore of NBA players.

Despite some of the difficulties in assessing who should metaphorically be chiseled onto the NBA Mount Rushmore, sports would not be sports without the great debate over who is the best of all-time and the legacy of certain players. Here is my look at the four-man Mount Rushmore of all-time NBA players.

NBA All-Time Mount Rushmore: Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson

Let's start with the two centers, who both played the prime of their careers in the NBA during the 1960's. As I was looking through some of the greatest players of all-time, I was amazed at just how many of them were centers, especially as compared to nowadays were small ball is the prevailing way to play in the league (just look at the Miami Heat or the New York Knicks. Actually, do not get within 100 yards of a television that's showing the Knicks).

A rather loose argument could be made that Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain do not even belong on the Mount Rushmore of NBA centers with a plethora of big men like George Mikan, Bob Pettit, Nate Thurmond, Wes Unseld, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willis Reed, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal to consider. It would certainly be quite a bit of a stretch, but nobody would consider you Amanda Bynes crazy for saying that Bill Russell is behind Hakeem Olajuwon in terms of greatest NBA centers. In fact, executives have made much worse decisions in the past (the Pistons picking Darko Milicic over Melo, Bosh, and D-Wade, the Supersonics trading Scottie Pippen for Olden Polynice in the 1987 draft, basically any move Joe Dumars, Billy King, or Ernie Grunfield have ever made, and Matt Millen drafting three straight abysmal wide receivers in the top ten from 2003 to 2005, which is not even basketball related but is just that bad that I feel obliged to mention it here).

However, Russell and Chamberlain undoubtedly deserve to be on this list.

Bill Russell is the definition of what it means to be a champion. When Russell was in the NBA from 1956 to 1969, everybody in the league felt like Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone, and John Stockton because Russell was about as good of a passer of the Larry O'Brien Trophy as Carmelo Anthony is in the Knicks offense. In 13 seasons in the league, Russell won 11 titles including 8 in a row from 1959 to 1966 (only the Minneapolis Lakers from 1952 to 1955, the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993 and 1996 to 1998, and the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 to 2002 have ever won at least than 3 championships in a row). You could be playing in a recreation league in Wyoming or in the SEC, but 11 titles is just incredible no matter how you look at it.

In a sport where people can sometimes get lost in points and field goals made, Russell's impact on a game was astounding for a player that never averaged 20 points per game in a season. He is far and away the greatest defensive player in NBA history with the six best single-season defensive win shares and the best career defensive win shares at 133.64 (no other player has a career defensive win share of at least 100). Russell is also one of the two most dominate players on the boards along with Wilt, going ten consecutive seasons averaging at least 21 rebounds per game and finishing his career with the second most rebounds ever with 21,620. Despite the fact that Russell averaged just around 13 shots per game, his ability to control the defensive end of the floor has never, and likely will never, be matched.

As great as Russell was during his career, his response to LeBron James after being left off his hypothetical Mount Rushmore was equally legendary. Russell said to James before the All-Star game in New Orleans,"Hey, thank you for leaving me off your Mount Rushmore. I'm glad you did. Basketball is a team game. It's not for individual honors. I won back-to-back state championships in high school [McClymonds High School in West Oakland], back-to-back NCAA championships in college [San Francisco], I won an NBA championship my first year in the league, an NBA championship my last year, and nine in between. And that, Mr. James, is etched in stone." Game, set, and match to Mr. Russell.

Meanwhile, Russell's arch rival, Wilt Chamberlain, essentially holds every record there is in points, field goals, and rebounding in the history of basketball (he also has some other unbreakable records but I won't expand on his 20,000 women claim in this article. I would rather not get Raheem Sterling or Antonie Cromatie too excited, especially after the Jets celebrated like they had just found the Fountain of Youth after finishing 8-8 this year and having their 36th season in franchise history without finish above .500 in 54 years. The only things more outrageous are Oliver Giroud apologizing to his wife for having an extramarital affair over, get this, twitter or Kolo Toure pretending to be a car salesman to have a relationship with a model.

Despite some of his off the court escapades and the fact that he was rarely ever able to overcome his rival Bill Russell, the Big Dipper is likely the most dominate player in the history of basketball. Anybody that averages 50 points and 25 rebounds in a season, needs to be considered amongst the best of all-time. In fact, Wilt was so good that when reporters brandished him as an egotistical and selfish player (he did lead the league in field goal attempts his first seven years in the NBA in their defense), he decided to prove them wrong by winning the assists title in the 1967-1968 season, the only center to ever do so, just because he could. While Wilt was a massive 7-foot center that was just way better than most of the other players in the league, as he did not face the same competition as the players do in the game today, some of his numbers are still just jaw-dropping. Aside from his very noticeable 100 point game in 1962 against the Knicks, Wilt also holds the 2nd best points per game average at 30.07, the best rebounds per game average at 22.89, and the 2nd best win shares at 247.26 in the history of the NBA.

Just a quick tangent. Many people think that Wilt's single-game points record is one of the hardest records to break in sports, but I would not totally agree with that assertion. Is it too behind the realm of possibility to think that Kevin Durant could get really hot one game, start knocking down threes left and right against the Sacramento Kings and their non-existent defense, and challenge Chamberlain's record. David Thompson did score 73 points on just 38 field goal attempts in 1978 (Wilt took 63 shots in his 100 point game), and Kobe scored 81 against the Raptors just 8 years ago in 2006, so I think it is possible as Vladimir Putin showing restraint if his Russians do not win the gold in hockey.

Tougher records to break in my view include winning more than 11 NBA championships, topping John Stockton's 15,806 career assists total (if you averaged 10 assists per game for 19 seasons without missing a game, you would still be short of the record), eclipsing Wilt's own single-season points per game record of 50.4 (Jordan's 37.09 points per game average in 1986-1987 is the most for anybody other than Chamberlain), or breaking George McGinnis's single-season turnovers record of 422 turnovers, which is more than 5 per game (only two players have ever had more than 321 turnovers in a season since 2000).

The next player on our Mount Rushmore is the greatest player in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan. MJ, who Larry Bird described as, "God disguised as Michael Jordan" after he scored a NBA record 63 points in a playoff game in 1986 against the Celtics, brought the NBA into unprecedented popularity during the 1980's and 1990's.

On the court, Jordan did things that nobody had ever done before him, but even off the court, his shoe deals and marketing campaigns were transcendent, as they transformed the way people look at the NBA and the entire advertisement business that surrounds professional sports. Michael's Air Jordans are so popular that he still makes 60 million dollars a year from his shoe line. And to think he wanted to sign with Converse and Adidas over Nike. Jordan also pulled off the biggest upset in the history of basketball, helping Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and the Looney Tunes defeat the world's most dominate team, the monsters of Nerdlucks. I'm not sure if Jordan's 1987-1988 season, where he averaged 35 points and had a 31.7 player efficiency rating, can match up to his performance against the aliens in Space Jam. Those monsters had unparalleled size and length.

While many fair-weather followers (also known as many Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers fans) hold MJ in their heart for his play in Space Jam, his performance on the floor puts him at the top of the Mount Rushmore discussion. All joking aside, Jordan was a once in a generation player, somebody who nobody had ever seen the like of in not only the NBA, but in all of sports. His insane hyper-competitiveness may not have been the most inviting or joyous for his teammate if they made some mistakes (Jordan's intense nature include stories of him punching Steve Kerr in the face in training camp or telling Robert Parish he would kick his ass if he didn't play better in practice), but it gave him an edge never before seen on the court. Jordan had by far the most seasons leading the league in scoring with 11, the best points per game average at 30.12, the best player efficiency rating at 27.91, and the best win shares per 48 minutes at .2505.

With the game on the line, Jordan was the most clutch player in NBA history and the only inquiry that remains is whether his shot over Craig Ehlo in 1989 or his game 6 winner in the NBA finals in 1998 against the Jazz can match his dunk against the monsters in Space Jam (the only thing more unrealistic than that dunk is a game from Friday Night Lights. How did every one of the episodes come down to a last second touchdown? Syracuse must be trying to pull off their best Friday Night Lights season one impression with all their close victories this year, seven wins by 6 points or less to be specific. I would love to play that joke off as my own, but my brother actually blurted it out after watching Cuse escape against North Carolina State this weekend. I am happy he brought it up, though, because Syracuse will be testing out of one sports most fascinating questions: Does winning a lot of close games help a team in the postseason or does it just show that the club is beatable and not as good as people think.)

We end our discussion of the all-time NBA Mount Rushmore with Oscar Robertson. Despite winning just one NBA Championship (1971 with the Milwaukee Bucks) in his 14 seasons, and often being overlooked in the greatest to ever play the game conversation, the Big O was as good as anybody in the history of basketball. In fact, all-time points leader Kareem Abdul-Jabaar said, "LeBron is awesome, MJ was awesome, but I think Oscar Robertson would have kicked them both in the behind. Absolutely. Oscar was awesome. He had brains... He had all the skills... He could rebound and box out guys four and six inches taller than him. He was ruggedly built. He had fluid, quickness, and just understood the game. No flair, he just got the job done every night. Who's going to average double figures in points, assists, and rebounds?"

While Oscar benefited from playing in a time period where the pace of the game was much faster and points were scored at a much higher rate (in Oscar's triple double year in 1961-1962, the league averaged a NBA record 118.8 points per game and since 1995, the league average in points per game has never exceeded 100), he was as smooth as any player to ever play in the NBA. At 6-5, Oscar was the league's first really big point guard, and his large frame allowed him to do anything on the floor from being able to shot the ball (he had a .485 career field goal percentage) to rebounding on the glass (he is the only guard to ever average more than 10 rebounds per game in a season, which he did in each of his first three years in the league). Oscar will forever be remembered for his triple-double season in 1961-1962, where he averaged 30.8 points, 11.4 assists, and 12.5 rebounds in 41 games with a triple-double, but the even more staggering fact is that he essential had the same numbers each of his first five NBA seasons, averaging 30.3 points, 10.6 assists, and 10.4 rebounds over the span.

Oscar's ability to do it all even showed itself off the court, as he made the NBA into the league that it is today. His antitrust lawsuit against the NBA in the 1970's as the President of the NBA Players Association helped facilitate a new policy of free agency and some of the new draft regulations that he filed enabled players to receive higher salaries from teams (when Robertson filed the antitrust lawsuit in 1970, the average league salary was just around 35,000, but four years after the league reached a settlement on the suit in 1976, the average league salary had catapulted up to 180,000). Just to show how big the NBA is in the world nowadays, largely due to the role of Robertson in the NBPA during the 1970's, Emeka Okafor, who has not played in a game this season and has not even eclipsed 10 points per game the least two years, is getting paid nearly 15 million dollars annually (what owner would possibly in their right mind sign Okafor to a 6-year, 72 million dollar contract. Oh yes, the great Michael Jordan. In my defense, I put him on my Mount Rushmore for his performance during his playing career and not as an owner or president because I can't even say Kwame Brown without chuckling or crying after realizing that Pau Gasol went two picks later in that 2001 draft).

Come ten years from now, though, I could see my NBA Mount Rushmore having some alterations.

Before LeBron's legacy changing 45 point, 15 rebound display against the Celtics in the Heat's elimination game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012 (the greatest single game I've seen from a player given the circumstances), there was a time when King James's place amongst the pantheon of NBA greats was deservedly questioned. However, one ridiculous game 6 performance in 2012 and a Ray Allen three in 2013 (we may be having a different conversation if Kawhi Leonard made both his free throws) and LeBron is well on his way to taking his place on the NBA Mount Rushmore. I think the only thing worth pondering about LeBron's career is whether he will be looked upon as the greatest player to ever step on a floor when it is all said and done. While I would put my life on Jordan making that final shot, no player has ever been able to do as much and affect a game in as many different ways as LeBron.

Meanwhile, I think Kevin Durant could go down as the best pure scorer in the history of the NBA, passing some of the game's other greatest scorers like Jordan and Kobe. KD is already one of seven members apart of the 50-40-90 club, which he did last year shooting 51 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from three, and 90.5 percent from the free throw line. He is also leading the league in scoring once again this year, which puts him in position for his 5th career scoring title, only behind Michael and Wilt in the all-time ranks. The league has never seen a player like Durant, as he is a guy that is listed at 6-9 (he's probably an inch and a half taller than that, which puts him around the height of big men like Zach Randolph and Blake Griffin), yet he is shooting from three at a clip well above 40 percent. Durant's offensive efficiency is just something else.