The Monuments Men: NBA

The reason that this 5-part series of blog posts started was because of a comment made by LeBron James about who his Mt. Rushmore of NBA players would be. He chose Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Oscar Robertson. All very deserving choices for the list, but I think LBJ was a bit off with the majority of his list. I'll tell you who is being added and dropped later. First, let's look at the obvious choice that is making the list: Michael Jordan.

[Insert Everyone's Opinion Here]

Do I even need to give you a reason why Michael Jordan makes this list? Everyone who has ever heard of the sport of basketball knows who Michael Jordan is. The two are synonymous terms. The man and the sport are united for all of eternity. His famous "Jumpman" symbol of him dunking with legs spread apart is the universal symbol of his brand. The same brand that helped raise him to the level of deity. Jordan's numbers speak for itself. So, yes Michael Jordan is on the list of best basketball players ever. What I'm going to use this space to do is bash him a little bit. Well, that's what you'll call it. I'm going to call it a reality check into things you don't see or remember. What if I tried to put someone on the list who had a gambling issue? Like Pete Rose with baseball, most people would be against it. How about I put a misogynist on the list? Nothing like a little infidelity with those triple-doubles. What about finding a guy who is a real team player? You know, the type of guy who punches his teammate in the face during practice. Ask Steve Kerr if he remembers any teammate doing that. While Michael Jordan is stated to be the best basketball player by everyone, nobody seems to remember his flaws. We only see his dunks, his game-winners, his moments of excellence. We skip the page where he quits his sport to go give baseball a shot. Instead, it gets made into a movie and everyone forgets how he failed at baseball while quitting on his teammates. When I think of Jordan playing baseball, I think of Space Jam. What we should think of when we think of Jordan leaving the Bulls to pursue baseball is that the team went from 57 wins his final season before baseball and 55 wins the first season without him. So, Michael Jordan had some really damn good teammates around him. In contrast, let's look at LeBron James' final season in Cleveland. The Cavs won 61 games in LeBron's final season with the team. Their first season without him, they won 19. In the first 3 seasons without him they only won a total of 64 games. The first name on the Mt. Rushmore is Michael Jeffrey Jordan. This one's for you, though. Look at him on this mountain and remember that he wasn't a deity. He didn't invent the sport. He played it very well for a long period. But, he wasn't exactly the example for all your kids to follow.

Keep it 100

Years before my time, your time, and all documented history, wait! It was 1959 when a kid from Philadelphia entered the league. Over 14 years later, he left with records falling out of his pants pockets but we act like he accomplished it while shooting into a laundry basket with socks in 1885. It was actually March 2, 1962 (only 52 years ago, not 152), when Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game. That record still stands to this day. With that centennial performance, Wilt went on to average 50.4 points per game and 25.7 rebounds per game that season. He finished with an average of 30.1 points per game and 23 rebounds per game for his career. The aura around Wilt Chamberlain's accomplishments is that he was a foot taller than everyone and dominated the league. The truth is that he was 7 foot with the league average height around the same as it was today. How many 7 footers in the NBA today are putting up 100 points in a game and dominating? Roy Hibbert is physically identical to Wilt Chamberlain and averages 11 points per game and 7 rebounds per game. Wilt was a special player that we continually overlook. Everyone acknowledges the 100 point game but nobody looks at his 50, 60 and 70 point games scattered throughout his career. Wilt has 4 of the 5 highest scoring single NBA performances ever. Other than Kobe Bryant's second place 81, Wilt has first, third, fourth and fifth with 100, 78, and 73 (twice). He also scored 72, 70, 68, and 67 (four times). In the history of the NBA, there are 63 occurrences when a player scored 60 or more points. Michael Jordan has done it 5 times, Kobe Bryant also has 5, and Elgin Baylor did it 4 times. Wilt makes up over half the list with 32 times of scoring 60+ points. If you're searching for the best pure scorer in NBA history, your choice is Wilt Chamberlain. He's also one of my four choices for the NBA Mt. Rushmore. 

Titles on Titles on Titles

When choosing who the next entry on the list would be, I had a plethora of people to choose from. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Shaquielle O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing, and the list goes on. But, as I said in my NFL Mt. Rushmore post, I take several factors into consideration and one of those is winning. So, how can I leave off the best winner in the sport. In 13 seasons, in the same era as Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell won 11 NBA titles. So, while Wilt was dropping 60+ 32 times, Bill was winning titles all the time. He averaged a respectable 15 points per game and 22 rebounds per game. While he averaged 15 points less per game through his career that Wilt, the amount of championships are astounding. He won a title in 84% of his seasons in the NBA. Nobody else comes close to that. The great Michael Jordan won a title in 40% of his seasons. Less than half the amount Bill Russell did. That dominance of winning gets Bill Russell a place on the Mt. Rushmore. 

Legacy Solidified

I know you don't agree with this if you're almost anyone between the ages of 17 and 100 but LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan. I've been saying this since he beat Boston in game 6 of the playoffs in 2012, and I've been saying that he would be the best ever when it's all said and done for several years now.  

I want to write and ask you all to put away your nostalgia of M.J. for a minute but I can't do that to you. I know where you're coming from. M.J. was great. He was the best ever until 500 and some days ago. When LeBron scored 45 points and 15 rebounds against the Celtics, I knew it was over. The legacy started to build and come to fruition and with his second title in 2013, it was solidified. 

Here's why I pick LeBron over M.J. and give James the final piece on the NBA Mt. Rushmore:

1.) It's about every facet of the game to me. It's about scoring, rebounding, assisting, blocking, defense, etc. Both of these players had/have immense talent at those skills, but LeBron has to use all of those skills every single night. He led the Heat in 9 categories in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals. His all-around game is more complete to me than Michael's was. Look at the stats, LeBron's big games have him with a packed box score and Michael's games had 45 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. LeBron has 37 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 4 steals, 9 of 11 free throws, and dominant defense.  

2.) Following my first point, LeBron is the better teammate. He makes everyone around him better. He sets them up for open looks. He gets into the right position so they can make a good decision of passing or shooting. He cares deeply about the guys he plays with. They are his brothers. They are a family. I was young for most of Jordan's dominance but I always got  this vibe that Jordan knew he was on a level above everyone and acted accordingly. As I said earlier about M.J., he only cared about winning and would do anything to win. LeBron isn't that guy. He wins because he elevates his teammates. 

3.) LeBron is a better person. Now you say that we should only judge them by what they do on the court. Why? If you're the greatest at something, everything you do is put under a microscope. If I'm picking out an idol or role model for someone, i'm picking LeBron first and Jordan will probably be an undrafted free agent. I like the drive and ferocity of Jordan. He was an assassin. That's one way to operate. I like how LeBron does it better. He would rather go down with the crew over abandoning ship to save himself. I want my kids to learn the qualities that LeBron has over Michael. Too many people say you need to be heartless and vicious to be successful. LeBron shows that isn't true. You have to be dedicated, work hard and put everything you have into something to be successful, but you can do it without being overly arrogant.   

Start Etching It

I don't have time to reconfigure the Mt. Rushmore years from now so that's why LeBron is getting on it now. In my eyes it isn't even a debate if he should be on the list or not. He's accomplished so much in the first half of his career so he's going up there with Michael, Bill, and Wilt. The argument can be made for about 6-10 other guys to make this list but that goes for any sport. These 4 were chosen because of what they accomplished and did for the sport. Tomorrow we'll head from the court to the ice and talk about the Top-4 NHL players of all-time.