“Who’s the best? Pac,
Nas and Big? Ain’t no best, East, West, North, South…” in his critically
acclaimed opus, “Ether.”
The answer to “Who’s the best (rapper)?” in hip- hop culture
usually renders a subjective and divided answer. When it comes to basketball,
there’s usually a definitive and consensus answer: Michael Jeffrey Jordan.
In a recent interview with NBA-TV’s Steve Smith that aired
following the 2014 All-Star Break, LeBron James made headlines by naming his
“Mount Rushmore” of the NBAs all-time greats.
Reaction to his list (Mike/Magic/Bird/Oscar Robertson) immediately
ensued.
What everyone needs
to realize is that the whole “Mount Rushmore” idea is ultimately a nod to the
forefathers that paved the way for the league; it’s not necessarily a
compilation of the greatest players in NBA history.
Concocting a list of the leagues forefathers in itself
presents a challenge. Considering big
men solely, George Mikan, Kareem Abdul
Jabbar, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain could stand-alone. Before the Jordan era, big men dominated the
league and were instrumental to championship success.
Larry Bird and Magic
Johnson, what can you say about them?
They could have their own Mountain, hell, they could have their own state
(ahem Maine, R.I.) for their contributions in saving the league and birthing
the contemporary NBA as we know it.
Bottomline: The accepted idea of this “Mt Rushmore”
phenomenon translates into a discussion of a lifetime achievement award and
recognition. To echo Nas’ words, we
want to know “Who’s the best?”
Clearly the best 4 players all time
in NBA history are Michael Jordan, Magic
Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James.
Mike: G.O.A.T Self-explanatory. As Nas said, “Name a rapper (baller) I ain’t
influence.”
Kobe: He was the
most influenced and subsequently the most hated, but “How can Kobe be garbage?” The boy has scored the most points ever
televised in NBA history. Yeah Wilt got a 100 (allegedly) but the proof is a
black and white pic of him holding a c-note sign and through word of
mouth. Kobe’s film will long outlive a
corroding photograph and people’s fading memories. When Mike was compared to or faced opposing 2-guards
in the ‘90s (Drexler, Dumars, Richmond, Miller, Harper ,etc) he would kill
them. Remember when T-Mac, A.I., Vince
Carter, Steve Francis were perceived to be in Kobe’s class? Do you remember Kobe’s “Mike” like resolve
and closing ability in a road Finals game vs Indy (2000) when Shaq fouled out
and carried the team in OT? Everybody is slurping and smitten with KDs recent
scoring binge, well Kobe once averaged 40 ppg for a whole month (wearing Air
Jordans coincidentally)!
Magic: Im not mad at anyone who selects Magic as the
GOAT. If it wasn’t for Mikes individual
greatness, a greatness we had never seen before-accompanied by individual
dominance-Magic would be the GOAT in my book.
The orchestrator of “ShowTime”,
I’ve never seen anyone have such a dominance both statistically and intangibly
(leadership, attitude, work ethic, intensity, etc) in the game of basketball.
Lebron: I have a
couple of terms for exceptional basketball players: 1-TakeOver & 2-Prototype. A takeover is someone, usually an
athletic perimeter player (SF/SG) , that is between 6’4”-6’9” and can slash to
the bucket, handle the rocket, shoot decently, and get his shot off or score at
anytime, especially crunch-time. A prototype is a player that breaks the
mold of a certain basketball position and in turn sets the bar for new
standards at that position. Lebron
is both a prototype and a take-over. *
Magic: Greatest leader of men/9 Finals appearances
from ’80-91/Career averages: 19.5 ppg/11.2 assists/7.2 reb/52%fg-85% ft/3
MVPs (9 top 3 finishes)/5 Championships/3 Finals MVPs
Best season (imo):
’81-’82: 18.6 ppg/ 9.6 reb/ 9.5 assists
Lebron: Most versatile and gifted SF all time (only
SF to avg 8 assists in a ssn)/4 MVPs/2 championships/Career averages: 27.5 ppg/ 7.2 reb/ 7 assists.
Best season (imo):
’09-’10: 29.7 ppg/ 8.6 assists/7.3 rebounds
Kobe: 2nd
best SG all time/1/12 players with career scoring avg of 25, 1/5 players to score 30k points/5 rings/2 Finals MVPs/1 MVP/career averages: 25.5 ppg/5.5 rebounds/ 4.8 assists
Best season (imo):
’02-’03 30 ppg/6.9 reb/5.9 assists
MJ: GOAT/6
Championships (6-0 Finals Record)/6 Finals MVPs/5 MVPs/Def player of the
Year/10 x scoring champ/Career Avgs:
30.1 ppg/6.2 reb/5.3 assists
Best season(imo):
He averaged 37.1 in ’87 and won the dunk contest/Def POY and MVP in ’88 but
I’ll go with the ’88-’89 season: 32.5
ppg/8 reb/ 8 assists on 53.8 fg % and 85% from the line.
*Click on this link for “TakeOver” blog:
*Prototype blog coming soon.
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