Jaylen Brown just dropped his personal NBA Mount Rushmore, and it’s already stirring up conversation online.
During a recent livestream, the Celtics star named the five players he considers the greatest or most influential in basketball history: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Allen Iverson, and Tracy McGrady. To say it drew some controversy would be an understatement.
Recognizing greatness in the NBA is easy, but ranking it is a whole different challenge. Brown, like everyone else, is a product of his time, and as a 28-year-old athlete, it’s no surprise he has a special appreciation for legends of the ’90s and early 2000s (that is, all but one). Still, his picks raised eyebrows for who wasn’t included.
Even though he picked one more player than he should have (Mount Rushmore includes only four people), Brown still managed to exclude Michael Jordan from his list, despite being widely considered the greatest player in the history of the game. The Bulls legend was unstoppable on the court and built an unbreakable legacy as a 6x champion, 5x MVP, 10x scoring leader, and former Defensive Player of the Year. For his career, Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game in an era defined by its grit, toughness, and unrelenting competitive spirit.
Brown has excluded Michael from these lists before, but he’s never clarified why. We can only guess that he sees other players as more deserving, despite being less accomplished.
Of course, it might be easier to accept Brown’s Mount Rushmore if he replaced Michael with someone equally as worthy. Instead, he picked at least two players who most fans would never consider one of the NBA’s four all-time leading faces.
Starting with Kobe, LeBron, and Steph, those are easy picks. They’ve all had iconic careers and left an indelible mark on the game. Today, all three players are widely adored and celebrated for their impressive careers.
The problem arises with Allen Iverson. The Hall of Fame point guard was an elite scorer in his prime, winning four scoring titles with 11 All-Star appearances. He won the MVP in 2001 and led the 76ers to the Finals that same season. Still, compared to Michael and the other names on the list, Iverson’s resume doesn’t hold up (zero NBA championships).
The same could also be said for Tracy McGrady. With career averages of 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game, there’s no question that McGrady was among the best of his generation. But to put him on the same tier as Kobe, LeBron, and Steph is a stretch, given that he only made it past the first round once.
At the end of the day, these kinds of lists are deeply personal, and that’s part of the fun. Jaylen Brown’s Mount Rushmore says more about the players who inspired him than it does about NBA history’s cold, hard rankings. Whether you agree or not, it’s a reminder that greatness comes in many forms: longevity, cultural impact, scoring dominance, or sheer style.
Still, leaving off Michael Jordan, arguably the most dominant player to ever touch a basketball, is going to rub fans the wrong way. But in an era where legacy debates never seem to end, Brown’s list adds fuel to the fire and keeps the conversation going strong.
