In 2014, LeBron James revealed his NBA Mount Rushmore, which included Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Oscar Robertson. He then identified himself as a runner-up who would eventually bump one of them after he collected more accolades.
James was entitled to his opinion, as anyone else, when discussing the greatest players of all time. Also, there were naturally bound to be omissions. However, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar may have forgotten those unwritten rules, as he sent the former Miami Heat superstar a strong message for not including Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
“LeBron James was talking about how he’s the best ever, but he never saw Wilt play,” Abdul-Jabbar told Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News. “If he had, he wouldn’t say that. Whenever he averages 55 points a game, then I might want to listen to what he has to say.”
“I’m not trying to put LeBron down,” Kareem continued. “He’s awesome. He’s the best player in this era at this point. But he didn’t see Bill Russell play. When his team wins eight consecutive NBA championships, maybe I’ll compare him to Bill Russell.”
Kareem’s argument
The legendary center didn’t only call out James for disrespecting Wilt and Bill. He also criticized Scottie Pippen for narrowing down the GOAT debate to only Jordan and LeBron.
“Your comments are off because of your limited perspective…When did MJ ever average 50.4 points per game plus 25.7 rebounds? (Wilt in the 1962 season when blocked shot statistics were not kept). We will never accurately know how many shots Wilt blocked. Oh, by the way, in 1967 and 68. Wilt was a league leader in assists. Did MJ ever score 100 points in a game?” Abdul-Jabbar wrote in 2011.
To be fair to Abdul-Jabbar, it’s sometimes easy to overlook Russell and Chamberlain when listing the top handful of NBA players ever, even if Bill is arguably the winningest legend of all time with his 11 rings and Wilt had probably the most dominant individual run in the Association. Without enough media coverage to go around then, it would indeed be hard to watch either of them play.
But that’s not enough to conclude James didn’t understand Russell’s and Chamberlain’s impact on the sport. After all, LeBron has an encyclopedic knowledge of the NBA. Perhaps he just didn’t see that the iconic centers, Abdul-Jabbar included, did enough to be considered one of the five best players of all time.
Still, if you ask other people, they would agree with KAJ about the need to recognize Russell or Chamberlain and include them in any top-five list of NBA legends. Who among Jordan, Johnson, Bird, Robertson, and James should be unseated is an interesting question.
LeBron’s case today
It has been 11 years since KAJ asserted that “The King” wasn’t on the same level as Bill and Wilt. It’s unclear if he still feels the same way. Since then, James extended his Finals appearance streak to eight and clinched two more titles with two different teams.
He also overtook Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time scoring champion, which, fortunately, the former record holder didn’t feel negative about.
For some, what LeBron has achieved still wouldn’t suffice to surpass the other legends in status. Interestingly, though, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar still isn’t done adding to his resume. The way he has taken care of his body, which Kareem has raved about, has helped him become the icon of longevity. As such, he continues to be an elite player and has an opportunity to win at least one more ring.
