Basketball is a sport that cannot be compared to many others thanks to how much impact one great player can have on the team. The NBA has leaned into this aspect quite heavily too, with each era of basketball almost being defined by the superstars that dominated it. As such, the debate regarding the greatest ever is a heated and contested one in the NBA context.
One of the most famously asked questions is always what someone’s Mt. Rushmore of NBA greats is. Referencing the famous monument with four former Presidents’ faces carved into a mountain, fans pick who they think the 4 greatest NBA players of all time are. And while the answers often vary, legends like MJ and LeBron usually find their way onto everyone’s lists. However, legendary rapper Ice Cube’s answer was a little different.
(starts at 12:35 minutes):
“Oh man, I gotta put Magic Johnson up there, Michael Jordan. You know, I have to put Wilt Chamberlain and I don’t know, I guess I put Kobe Bryant up there. To me, those are just talents that nobody can match.”
While it’s hard to debate that any of these players don’t deserve to be there, the selections of Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant over someone like LeBron James are the exact types of things that lead to debate and some controversy in these situations. However, personal Mt. Rushmore selections don’t have much to do with objectivity also, and at the very top, it’s hard to distinguish between the legendary players, anyway.
Considering that Shaquille O’Neal had his version of it without LBJ, as did Robert Horry, who put himself on his, it makes sense that Ice Cube has Kobe on his since he is from California. While LeBron James may feel a little slighted if he hears about it, it’s not likely to keep him awake at night.
