Over 78 seasons, the NBA has seen some of the world's all-time greatest athletes help shape the history of basketball.
Each era of basketball has players who have helped form a legacy that we should never belittle but of course, given today's landscape, debating sports I am not sure has ever been more popular.
With the US election coming up in November, I was in a presidential mood and I figured, why not come up with my NBA mount Rushmore? With that in mind, here are the four players who I believe are the best four players in NBA history.
Spots 1 & 2: Michael Jordan & LeBron James
To start, let's get the 50% of our top four players ever out of the way.
Michael Jordan & LeBron James are almost unanimously regarded as the two greatest players in NBA history and would 100% be the first two players engraved on the NBA's version of Mount Rushmore. For this list, I will not be getting into who I believe is better than the other, we will just be appreciating both of these icons' impact on the game.
Jordan is unquestionably the greatest competitor in NBA history, and he puts fear in his opponents like almost no other athlete ever has. His mix of athleticism shot making, intensity on both ends of the floor, and his unrivalled clutch gene is just a few of the elements that have led to him being known as the greatest player of all time for almost three decades. Not to mention, the six championships and six NBA Finals MVPs don't hurt.
James is no doubt the greatest all-around player of all time with his offensive skill set of being able to create for himself which shows as he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer. James also can argue that he is the greatest passer of all time as he is also fourth on the NBA's all-time assists list with his court vision being almost second-to-none in the history of basketball. James' GOAT argument would come down to his longevity, he is entering his 22nd NBA season, where he is still arguably a top 10 player in the league and has averaged 25+ points per game for the last 20 years. He may not be at the peak of his powers anymore but we will likely never see a run of consistency like we have seen from the four-time champion for the last two decades.
No matter who you believe is better, we can all agree they are two of the top four players in NBA history.
Spot 3: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Before LeBron James passed him as the NBA's all-time leading scorer in 2023, Abdul-Jabbar held that title for 38 years and built up that record with the most unstoppable move in NBA history, the skyhook. Although he may not be the greatest player in NBA history, Abdul-Jabbar has an argument that he has the greatest career in the history of basketball, as before he even stepped foot in the NBA, he helped lead UCLA to three consecutive national championships in college basketball.
After his illustrious college career, Abdul-Jabbar helped lead the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA championship in his second season in 1971. In 1975, once he joined the Los Angeles Lakers, Kareem began to take his legacy to new heights as he was a part of five more NBA titles in Los Angeles.
To match Jordan's six titles, Abdul-Jabbar also has 6 NBA MVPs, 2 Finals MVPs, 15 All-Star appearances, and 4 block titles.
Safe to say he is one of the four greatest players ever.
Players Who Missed The Cut For Spot #4:
Jordan, James, and Abdul-Jabbar were locks in my opinion, so this came down to who I would put four.
With so many all-time greats to choose from, here are a few I seriously considered but didn't make the cut.
Kobe Bryant
Magic Johnson
Shaquille O'Neal
Bill Russell
Tim Duncan
Spot 4: Larry Bird
This might be a hot take, but Larry Bird is the fourth greatest player ever in my opinion.
Bird was a player who was ahead of his time, he was shooting threes long before it was the popular thing to do in the NBA, but he also was perhaps the NBA's first-ever "Point Forward" as he possessed some of the game's best court vision ever that made him possibly the best offensive player of his era.
Of course, Bird was not one of the league's greatest defenders but his strong basketball IQ allowed him to always be at the right spot at the right time to somehow come up with a clutch steal to help lead the fast break.
Bird was also one of the league's most intense competitors, as he constantly talked a big game on the court and always seemed to back it up.
Some highlights have to be when he got bored shooting right-handed and decided he would play a whole game with his left hand where he dropped 47 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists on Valentine's Day of 1986. Also, who could forget before the 1988 three-point contest where Bird asked his competitors who was coming in second place, and then proceeded to show up in his warmup jacket where he of course won the contest.
Oh, did I mention he is the only player ever with three straight MVP awards?
Larry Bird ladies and gents, the fourth greatest ever.
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