Then you have to put "The Stilt" in there. The NBA changed rules of the game because of his ability. Just imagine a healthy Greg Oden 2.0... on steroids.
It's almost more interesting to me to pick "players of the decade". 50's--Cousy (barely over Mikan/Petit/Schayes) 60's--Robertson (yes, over Russell/Chamberlain) 70's--Kareem 80's--Magic 90's--Jordan 00's--Kobe 10's--Will it be Lebron, or Durant?
I think a "Mt Rushmore" should be to honor historical icons who established the league for its current beneficiaries. No one in the 'modern era' (whatever that is) should be on it. I hesitated to put MJ on mine for that reason, but in the end I think he did have that kind of impact on today's game.
I like this idea but id have Kobe replaced with Duncan and Chamberlain over the big O Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
Kareem won titles w/out Magic. Magic never won a title w/out Kareem. As I think about it, it's amazing how undervalued Abdul-Jabbar is in NBA history. He had a career PER of 24.6, with a career USG of 24.3. That's just nuts to me, and he also defended the post.
All those guys you mentioned were considered but at the end of the day I think KAJ was better than Hakeem or Shaq and MJ is leaps and bounds better than Kobe.
I get the parallel that is trying to be made here but it just doesn't work. An NBA team has 5 players on the court at any given time but Mt. Rushmore has 4 different presidents. The math just doesn't work well to make that parallel. I do see what you're getting at though.
I don't see how to leave Wilt, Russell, or Jordan off the list. They had to change over 20 of the existing rules of the game in order to somewhat contain Wilt. Russell was the ultimate winner. Jordan is an ass, but he was the driving force for 6 championships. For the last one, I'll go ahead and choose the man who averaged a triple double: Oscar Robertson.
You know I have always thought Scottie Pippen was more valuable to those Bulls teams and I still do. Jordan might have changed the face of the NBA but that doesn't mean he was the best player.
