Rashad McCants is one of the most popular NBA personalities in the media right now, as the former NBA player has generated a lot of notoriety for his strong takes on the current state of the league. McCants was the 14th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft and played four seasons for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA, averaging 10.0 points and 2.0 rebounds.
McCants spoke exclusively to Fadeaway World writer Eddie Bitar in an extensive interview where he tackled multiple topics, such as the ongoing March Madness and his take on MVP and title favorites for this season. He also shared his pick for who’s the greatest player of all time while also revealing his all-time starting five.
McCants names Kobe Bryant as his favorite player before listing Kobe, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O’Neal as the five stars in his all-time lineup. He also addressed why he chose to keep LeBron James out of his starting five.
Eddie Bitar: “Who is truly your GOAT, the greatest player of all time, in your opinion, and give me your all-time starting five.”
Rashad McCants: “My favorite player is Kobe Bryant. I don’t think that anybody compares to what he brought to the game. He took Michael Jordan’s student tree and took it to a whole other level. The student learned from the master and then surpassed him. And I think when you talk about being a true student, going back to Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, and Oscar Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwan, he learned from everybody, and put it all into his game, and I think that’s just the ultimate player for me.”
Eddie Bitar: “And your ultimate starting five, would you have Kobe, LeBron, and Jordan in the same starting lineup?”
Rashad McCants: “No, I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t have them in the starter lineup, I mean… Allen Iverson was one of my favorite players. I think he doesn’t get enough just due. Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O’Neal would be my starting five.”
The absence of LeBron James in this five is obvious and was something that McCants addressed, explaining why he doesn’t think a player with the competitive tendencies of LeBron or Kevin Durant could match up with the five players he named, who he views as more determined to beat their opponents.
“There’s no shade to LeBron. I think everybody has an expectation that LeBron and KD, all these other guys supposed to be there. Sure. But, I just like the determination and the competitiveness of all of those guys, like, they’re not gonna sit back, they’re not gonna let anything go down as not having anything to do with winning.”
McCants’ starting five is amazing. Iverson would likely serve as the point guard with Bryant and Jordan as the two swingmen alongside him. Olajuwon and O’Neal would lead to a clunky on-court fit, especially if modern rules are at play, but that frontcourt combination could lock down and dominate any frontcourt duo history could throw at them.
While it does seem like McCants’ starting five could work with LeBron as the point guard instead of Iverson, the metric McCants sets is pretty clear. It’s hard to argue over intangibles such as who is more competitive, but it’s fair to say that McCants is saying something that’s been said by multiple NBA analysts over James’ career.
Iverson would run the point and is a capable choice with either Jordan or Bryant alternating between the shooting guard and small forward positions. The frontcourt would feature a monster duo with Olajuwon and O’Neal tying this five up, showcasing what a dominant squad McCants would rely on with his all-time starting five.
