Best Of’s – Basketball’s Mount Rushmore For Each Position
A while back I wrote an article for each State’s Mount Rushmore for the 21st Century. It sparked a lot of reaction and intelligent debate, which is the goal of any article. And I’ll be honest, it was fun to compile.
So, with the NBA announcing their post-Corona resume date, I decided to compile another Mount Rushmore, focusing on, you got it, the NBA. This Mount Rushmore covers every position in basketball, along with a few other categories.
Shameless plug – Check out the Mount Rushmore for BASEBALL positions I did a few months ago!
Back to basketball. Let’s take a look. And as always, tell me how I’m wrong!
Point Guard
Magic Johnson – Hall of Famer; 5-time NBA Champion; 3-time NBA Finals MVP; 3-time NBA MVP; 10-time All-NBA Team; 12-time NBA All-Star; career leader in Assists per game; 5th in career Assists; led the NBA in Assists 4 times; led the NBA in Steals 2 times; career 20 points, 11 Assists, 7 Rebounds, 2 Steals per game; had career cut short to HIV diagnosis
Oscar Robertson – Hall of Famer; 1-time NBA Champion; 1-time NBA MVP; 1-time NBA Rookie of the Year; 11-time All-NBA Team; 12-time NBA All-Star; 3rd in career Assists per game; 6th in career Assists; led the NBA in Assists 7 times; led the NBA in Points 1 time; career 26 points, 10 Assists, 8 Rebounds per game; averaged triple-double over first 5 seasons; first player to average triple-double for a full season
John Stockton – Hall of Famer; 11-time All-NBA Team; 5-time All-Defensive Team; 10-time NBA All-Star; career leader in Assists; 2nd in Assists per game; career leader in Steals; 9th in Steals per game; led the NBA in Assists 9 times; led the NBA in Steals 2 times; career 13 Points, 11 Assists, 3 Rebounds, 2 Steals per game
Bob Cousy – Hall of Famer; 6-time NBA Champion; 1-time NBA MVP; 12-time All-NBA Team; 13-time NBA All-Star; led the NBA in Assists 8 times; career 18 points, 8 Assists, 5 Rebounds per game
Honorable Mentions – Isiah Thomas, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Steph Curry
Shooting Guard
Michael Jordan – Hall of Famer; 6-time NBA Champion; 6-time NBA Finals MVP (a record); 5-time NBA MVP; 1-time Defensive Player of the Year; 1-time NBA Rookie of the Year; 11-time All-NBA Team; 9-time All-Defensive Team; 14-time NBA All-Star; career leader in Points per game; 5th in career Points; 3rd in career Steals per game and Steals; led the NBA in Scoring 10 times; led the NBA in Steals 3 times; career 30 points, 6 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 2 Steals per game; the best basketball player who ever lived
Jerry West – Hall of Famer; 1-time NBA Champion; 1-time NBA Finals MVP (only player to win it on the losing team); 12-time All-NBA Team; 5-time All-Defensive Team; 14-time NBA All-Star; 5th in career Points per game; led the NBA in Scoring 1 time; led the NBA in Assists 1 time; career 27 Points, 7 Assists, 6 Rebounds per game; the NBA Logo is his silhouette
Kobe Bryant – Future Hall of Famer; 5-time NBA Champion; 2-time NBA Finals MVP; 1-time NBA MVP; 15-time All-NBA Team; 12-time All-Defensive Team; 18-time NBA All-Star; 4th in career Points; career 25 points, 5 Assists, 5 Rebounds per game
Dwyane Wade – Future Hall of Famer; 3-time NBA Champion; 1-time NBA Finals MVP; 8-time All-NBA Team; 3-time All-Defensive Team; 13-time NBA All-Star; led the NBA in Scoring 1 time; career 22 points, 5 Assists, 5 Rebounds per game
Honorable Mentions – Reggie Miller, Allen Iverson, George Gervin, Clyde Drexler, James Harden
Small Forward
LeBron James – Future Hall of Famer; 3-time NBA Champion; 3-time NBA Finals MVP; 4-time NBA MVP; 1-time Rookie of the Year; 15-time All-NBA Team; 6-time All-Defensive Team; 16-time NBA All-Star; 3rd in career Points per game and Points; 8th in career Assists; led the NBA in Scoring 1 time; career 27 points, 7 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 2 Steals per game; arguably the most gifted player ever to play the game
Larry Bird – Hall of Famer; 3-time NBA Champion; 2-time NBA Finals MVP; 3-time NBA MVP; 1-time NBA Rookie of the Year; 10-time All-NBA Team; 3-time All-Defensive Team; 12-time NBA All-Star; career 24 Points, 10 Rebounds, 6 Assists per game
John Havlicek – Hall of Famer; 8-time NBA Champion; 1-time NBA Finals MVP; 11-time All-NBA Team; 8-time All-Defensive Team; 13-time NBA All-Star; led the NBA in Scoring 1 time; career 21 points, 6 Assists, 5 Rebounds per game
Elgin Baylor – Hall of Famer; 1-time NBA Rookie of the Year; 10-time All-NBA Team; 11-time NBA All-Star; career 27 points, 14 Rebounds, 4 Assists per game
Honorable Mentions – Julius Erving, Rick Barry, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo
Power Forward
Tim Duncan – Future Hall of Famer; 5-time NBA Champion; 3-time NBA Finals MVP; 2-time NBA MVP; 1-time Rookie of the Year; 15-time All-NBA Team; 15-time All-Defensive Team; 15-time NBA All-Star; 6th in career Blocks; career 19 points, 11 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Blocks per game
Bob Pettit – Hall of Famer; 1-time NBA Champion; 2-time NBA MVP; 1-time NBA Rookie of the Year; 11-time All-NBA Team; 11-time NBA All-Star; 3rd in career Rebounds per game; 8th in career Points per game; led the NBA in Scoring 2 times; career 26 points, 16 Rebounds, 3 Assists per game
Karl Malone – Hall of Famer; 2-time NBA MVP; 14-time All-NBA Team; 4-time All-Defensive Team; 14-time NBA All-Star; 2nd in career Points; 8th in career Rebounds; career 25 Points, 10 Rebounds, 4 Assists per game
Kevin Garnett – Future Hall of Famer; 1-time NBA Champion; 1-time NBA MVP; 1-time Defensive Player of the Year; 9-time All-NBA Team; 12-time All-Defensive Team; 15-time NBA All-Star; 9th in career Rebounds; led the NBA in Rebounds 4 times; career 18 points, 10 Rebounds, 4 Assists per game
Honorable Mentions – Elvin Hayes, Charles Barkley, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin McHale, Anthony Davis
*Note – Garnett v Hayes was the most difficult decision to make on this entire list
Center
Bill Russell – Hall of Famer; 11-time NBA Champion (a record); 5-time NBA MVP; 11-time All-NBA Team; 1-time All-Defensive Team; 12-time NBA All-Star; 2nd in career Rebounds per game and Rebounds; career 15 points, 23 Rebounds, 4 Assists per game; the NBA Finals MVP Trophy is named after him
Wilt Chamberlain – Hall of Famer; 2-time NBA Champion; 1-time NBA Finals MVP; 4-time NBA MVP; 1-time NBA Rookie of the Year; 10-time All-NBA Team; 2-time All-Defensive Team; 13-time NBA All-Star; career leader in Rebounds per game and Rebounds; 2nd in career Points per game; 7th in career Points; led the NBA in Scoring 7 times; led the NBA in Rebounds 11 times; career 30 points, 23 Rebounds, 4 Assists per game; allegedly slept with 20,000 woman (assumingly an NBA record)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Hall of Famer; 6-time NBA Champion; 2-time NBA Finals MVP; 6-time NBA MVP (a record); 1-time NBA Rookie of the Year; 15-time All-NBA Team; 11-time All-Defensive Team; 19-time NBA All-Star; career leader in Points; 4th in career Rebounds; 3rd in career Blocks; led the NBA in Scoring 2 times; led the NBA in Rebounds 1 time; led the NBA in Blocks 4 times; career 25 points, 11 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 3 Blocks per game
Shaquille O’Neal – Hall of Famer; 4-time NBA Champion; 3-time NBA Finals MVP; 1-time NBA MVP; 1-time Rookie of the Year; 14-time All-NBA Team; 3-time All-Defensive Team; 15-time NBA All-Star; 8th in career Points; 8th in career Blocks; led the NBA in Scoring 2 times; career 24 points, 11 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Blocks per game
Honorable Mentions – Hakeem Olajuwon, George Mikan, Moses Malone, Artis Gilmore, Patrick Ewing
Head Coach
Red Auerbach – Hall of Famer; 9-time NBA Champion; 938-479 record, 66.2% winning percentage; was also an Executive for 6 additional Celtics NBA Championship teams
Phil Jackson – Hall of Famer; 11-time NBA Champion; 1,155-485 record, 70.4% winning percentage; led 2 different teams to Three-peats (Bulls (2x) and Lakers)
Gregg Popovich – Future Hall of Famer; 5-time NBA Champion; 1,272-611 record, 67.6% winning percentage; current coach of Spurs since 1996
Pat Riley – Hall of Famer; 5-time NBA Champion; 1,210-694 record, 63.6% winning percentage; took 3 different teams to NBA Finals (Lakers, Knicks, and Heat), winning Championship with 2 of them (Lakers (4x) and Heat)
Honorable Mentions – John Kundla, Jerry Sloan, Chuck Daly, Lenny Wilkens
Executive
Jerry West – Hall of Famer; 2-time Executive of the Year Award; 8-time NBA Champion; helped build the Lakers dynasties in the 80’s and early 00’s as well as the Warriors dynasty in the late 10’s; also took a Grizzles team who had never had a winning season and turned them into a perennial Playoff team
Red Auerbach – Hall of Famer; 1-time Executive of the Year Award; 16-time NBA Champion; helped build the Celtics dynasties in the 50’s-60’s, mid 70’s, and 80’s; was vital in breaking down the color barrier in the NBA
R.C. Buford – Future Hall of Famer; 2-time Executive of the Year Award; 5-time NBA Champion; helped build the Spurs dynasty (5 Championships from 1999-2014)
Jerry Krause – Hall of Famer; 2-time Executive of the Year Award; 6-time NBA Champion; helped build the Bulls dynasties of the 90’s; ironically a case can be made that he’s one of the worst ever
Honorable Mentions – Jerry Colangelo, Pat Riley, Jack McCloskey, Mitch Kupchak
Owner
Jerry Buss – Hall of Famer; 10-time NBA Champion; helped build the Lakers dynasties in the 80’, early 00’s, and late 00’s
Walter A. Brown – Hall of Famer; 16-time NBA Champion; helped build the Celtics dynasties in the 50’s-60’s; founder and original owner of the Celtics
Peter Holt – Future Hall of Famer; 5-time NBA Champion; helped build the Spurs dynasty (5 Championships from 1999-2014)
Jerry Reinsdorf – Hall of Famer; 6-time NBA Champion; helped build the Bulls dynasties of the 90’s; ironically a case can be made that he’s one of the worst ever (same as Krause)
Honorable Mentions – Jack Kent Cooke, Bill Davidson, Eddie Gottlieb, Mark Cuban, Micky Arison
Commissioner
David Stern – Hall of Famer; NBA Commissioner from 1984-2014; one of the best Commissioners in sports history, no listing of accolades necessary
Larry O’Brien – Hall of Famer; NBA Commissioner from 1975-1984; expanded League from 18 to 23 teams; brought the NBA to ESPN & USA (1st pro sports to be on cable); negotiated NBA-ABA merger; introduced salary cap; NBA Finals Trophy named after him
Maurice Podoloff – Hall of Famer; NBA President from 1949-1963; also President of BAA (precursor to NBA) from 1946-1949; negotiated NBA-NLB merger; MVP Trophy named after him
J. Walter Kennedy – Hall of Famer; NBA President/Commissioner from 1963-1975; expanded League from 9 to 18 teams; attendance numbers tripled during his tenure; Citizenship Award named after him
Honorable Mention – Adam Silver
Announcer
Chick Hearn – Hall of Famer; radio and TV voice of the Lakers from 1960-2002; called 9 NBA Championship teams; called a record 3,338 consecutive Lakers games
Marv Albert – Hall of Famer; radio and TV voice of the Knicks from 1967-2004; called 2 NBA Championship teams; called 9 NBA Finals; often referred to as “the voice of basketball”
Johnny Most – Hall of Famer; radio voice of the Celtics from 1953-1990; called 16 NBA Championship teams
Mike Breen – Future Hall of Famer; voice of the Knicks since 1992; called 14 NBA Finals (a record)
Honorable Mentions – Bob Costas, Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Brent Musburger, Doug Collins (my personal favorite)
Other
James Naismith – Hall of Famer; inventor of the game of “Basket Ball”
Dream Team – Hall of Famer; best sports team ever assembled; critical in exposing the world to the NBA game, directly led to a boom of international players
Harlem Globetrotters – Hall of Famer; influential in expanding basketball’s fanbase (since 1926)
Amos Alonzo Stagg – Hall of Famer; played in 1st public basketball game; popularized basketball teams having 5 players
Honorable Mentions – Chuck Taylor, AAU Basketball, Phil Knight, Drazen Petrovic
So, there they are. Now, tell me how I’m wrong and who I missed!!!
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15 thoughts on “Best Of’s – Basketball’s Mount Rushmore For Each Position”
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when Michael Jordan says Isiah Thomas is the second best point guard to play the game behind Magic, then he should easily make your top 4.
Thanks for the feedback. Zeke was great, no doubt about it. But was he better than Magic, Oscar, or Stockton? No way. I would listen to an argument against Cousy, but Cousy was a 6-time Champion, 12-time All-NBA Team, led the League in Assists 8 times, and had a career 18 Points and 8 Assists. I don’t think Isiah compares very well to Cousy.
Pretty good list, appreciate the read. Naturally due to the nature of these things I disagree with a few things.
PG: Curry would be my 3 and Isaiah 4. Yes Isaiah was better than Stockton and Cousy because he was a great floor general but he could also take over a game with his scoring. Was also very clutch. Stockton had #s as he had a much longer career but Isaiah has the 2 titles.
SG: Not sure if they are listed in order but if so Kobe should be above West
SF: Erving over Baylor especially if ABA is included. My all-time favorite player so I am biased.
PF: Would take Barkley or Dirk over KG.
C: David Robinson should at least get an honorable mention (certainly over Artis Gilmore)
Scott – Thanks for the feedback! You are absolutely right, a list this big will certainly create plenty of disagreements. Which is great, really…the debate is the fun part. Here are my justifications:
PG – I have had a lot of feedback (on Facebook mostly) about Isiah. He certainly could have been included. My argument for Cousy – he was a 6-time Champion, 12-time All-NBA Team, led the League in Assists 8 times, and had a career 18 Points and 8 Assists. I don’t think Isiah compares very well to Cousy. Stockton on the other hand, that is a tougher one. Zeke was a better scorer, for sure. But Stockton led the League in Assists 9 times compared to Zeke’s 1. Stockton was also All-NBA 11 times to Zeke’s 5, and All-Defensive Team 5 times, Zeke 0. Like I said, Thomas was great, I just feel Stockton had a better career. I will admit, playing longer definitely helped.
SG – I did have them in order. Kobe probably could have been above West, but I went with West because I felt he was a slightly more rounded player. Per game, slightly better than Kobe in all 5 major categories. Like I said though, Kobe certainly could have been #2, but I went with The Logo.
SF – I did factor in ABA stats, taking into consideration the differences in the way the Leagues were played. Even with that though, I couldn’t justify keeping Baylor off. His statline of 27, 14, & 4 was simply too impressive.
PF – I have had others say it should have been Dirk over Garnett as well. I went with Garnett over Dirk (and Barkley), purely for Garnett’s defensive prowess. All 3 were great offensively, but Garnett was 12-time All-Defensive Team. Dirk and Barkley were solid on defense, but they were no Garnett. That set him apart.
C – I can’t justify removing Gilmore from the list (17 Points, 10 Rebounds in NBA, 19 Points, 12 Rebounds overall (including ABA)). But I will admit, I should have included Robinson as Honorable Mention at least. 21 Points, 11 Rebounds, 3 Blocks. That was a miss on my part.
Thanks again for reading, and for the feedback!
Love this list. Lots of great thought went into this. The only changes I would make are flipping Phil Jackson/Red Auerbach and Kareem/Wilt. I think the stats are undeniable on Jackson and Kareem.
Also I agree with some of the other people that David Robinson should’ve at least been an honorable mention on this list.
Last thing, I’m a huge fan of the dream team and almost 30 years later I still like to go back and watch their clip some highlights. And I definitely see why an American would call them the best sports team ever. Definitely the best basketball team ever. But Canada’s 1987 World Cup hockey team would give them a run for their money on a side-by-side comparison. 13 hall of famers to 11 for the Dream Team, playing a sport more widely and evenly mastered by other countries.
Tim – Thanks for reading, and thanks for the feedback! Making a list of this size is tough…to get the 9 people in each category, determine which 4 are on the actual Rushmore, and then to rank them within the Rushmore. Fun process though.
Jackson and Auerbach were basically a coin-flip. Jackson with the 11 Championships (compared to Auerbach’s 9) certainly warranted the #1 spot, but I went with Red since he has such a long streak. Like I said, could have went either way with that one.
Wilt and Kareem were tough too. Both had legendary stats, but I went with Wilt because his per-game stats were far superior. 5 more points per game, and over double the rebounds per game. That was the difference-maker between those 2.
And interesting analysis between the 1992 USA Basketball Dream Team and the 1987 Canada Hockey World Cup team. I was not aware how great that hockey team was. I do openly admit, as much as I appreciate hockey, I have never really followed the sport. I have been a baseball, football, and basketball guy (my Big 3, hence the blog name).
Speaking of that, I have done this same Mount Rushmore article baseball, and I am going to do one for football at a later date. I have considered doing hockey as well, but I would be admittedly be basing the list purely on stats, records, awards, championships, etc. Still might be an interesting list to compile.
Thanks again for reading, I appreciate it!
I.e. ‘92 Dream Team had 2 of the top 20 all-time scorers on their team. ‘87 Canada Cup team had 8 of the top 20 all-time scorers on one team.
Wes Unseld nowhere on this list?
Thanks for reading, and thanks for the feedback. I had considered Unseld, as his rebounding prowess was outstanding, but he averaged less than 11 points per game. With so many other great Centers in history, I couldn’t justify removing any of the others. Thanks for the feedback!
PG – Zeke over Cousy until Curry plays a few more years
SG – AI over Miller.
SF – Bird, James, Durant, Havlicek. Giannis could pass Havlicek if he stays healthy.
PF – Duncan, Barkley, Nowitzski, Malone. Pettit then Garnett. Garnetts D was very overrated.
C – Jabber, Chamberlain, Russell, Shaq.
If you just compare stats, there are obvious players. I go by eye test. For example, AI would have been an unbelievable PG with players around him (watch all star games). Today’s era is basketball on steroids if you are the star of the team. LeBron is Karl Malone with handles in an era that can’t touch anyone.
My ultimate 5 would be AI at point, Jordan at SG, Bird at small forward, Durant at power forward, and Dirk at center. Pistol, Curry and Shaq off the bench.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for the feedback. Lots of love for Iverson! For each position…
PG – I have had A LOT of arguments for Zeke (on Facebook), and I understand. He was worthy. I can’t justify him over Cousy though. Cousy was a 6-time Champion, 12-time All-NBA Team, led the League in Assists 8 times, and had a career 18 Points and 8 Assists.
SG – I had Iverson and Miller. The Honorable Mentions weren’t in specific order. As far as having Iverson on the Rushmore, the only one that could be removed would potentially be Wade, but I think he had an overall better career.
SF – I think Giannis and/or Durant may eventually pass Baylor (one of the more underrated players in my opinion), but not yet. Question will become, whose career will be better? Giannis or Durant?
PF – I have had a lot of feedback about Dirk and Barkley as well, specifically them being ahead of Garnett. Garnett’s defense was actually my reasoning for him over Dirk and Barkley. Both were worthy though.
C – Your 4 were the same as mine! My ultimate 5 (if they were playing their natural positions) would be Magic, Jordan, LeBron, Duncan, & Russell.
Thanks for reading!
If you’re interested in these Mount Rushmore lists, check out my baseball one – https://www.big3sportsblog.com/best-ofs-baseballs-mount-rushmore-for-each-position/
Malone should be disqualified for the rape and impregnation of a 13 year old AND his subsequent treatment of her and his son after it was proven. He’s an awful human that should not be celebrated.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for the feedback. I will agree, Malone is not a great human being. That said, there are a lot of bad people on these lists (and in all of sports). The list is for their sports accomplishments, not their off-court life.
You lost all credibility right away with Russell as best center. Wouldn’t trade one Olajuwon for 2 Russells.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for the feedback. I definitely see how you would want Olajuwon on the Rushmore, plenty of others felt the same way. However to not think Russell belonged, that I can’t agree with. He is an 11-time NBA Champion (a record), 5-time NBA MVP, 11-time All-NBA Team, 1-time All-Defensive Team, 12-time NBA All-Star, 2nd in career Rebounds per game and Total Rebounds, and had a career 15 points and 23 Rebounds per game. He was one of the top 3 players in history.