The NBA has seen several great players in each position in basketball. While Austin Rivers was confident in his ability to create a solid Mount Rushmore featuring four of the game’s greatest in each position, the former NBA player highlighted that doing so for the point guard position would be a challenge.
Austin Rivers’ attempt at creating a Mount Rushmore of picks was seen on a recent episode of “The Off Guard Podcast“, where he stated, “Shooting guards are easy to do. Small forwards are easy to do. Power forwards are easy to do… The only position that’s very hard to do a Mount Rushmore for is the point guard position because we’ve just had too many great points.”
To make things simpler, Rivers presented his approach to this exercise: four picks, along with two honorable mentions. With this in mind, he began with his list of shooting guards:
“I would go – Michael, Kobe, Wade, James as my Mount Rushmore. Honorable mention: A.I. and Jerry West.”
Given what Dwyane Wade has achieved over the course of his career, he cements his spot. There is some room to argue whether James Harden deserves a shout over Allen Iverson, but Harden’s selection could largely be marked down to teammate bias.
Austin Rivers quickly followed up by selecting his small forwards, a fairly comprehensive list featuring LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Larry Bird, and Scottie Pippen. His honorable mentions included Kawhi Leonard and Carmelo Anthony.
When discussing the power forwards, co-host Pausha Haghighi had some doubts. Rivers stated, “I’mma prove you wrong. Tim Duncan. Kevin Garnett, Karl Malone… and I’m going Dirk. Honorable mention – Charles Barkley, and you can put Pau Gasol in there.”
Haghighi made a solid point by noting that Giannis Antetokounmpo deserved to be mentioned. While Rivers agreed with this sentiment, he added, “He could certainly be on the Mount Rushmore or an honorable mention of the two slots.”
For centers, Austin Rivers’ selections were Shaquille O’Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Russell. With regards to honorable mentions, he gave credit to Nikola Jokic, stating that he was creeping up the list, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Given how dominant each of the players on this list has been, it is hard to argue whether any other players deserve a spot over them. On this note, admitting that Jokic is rising through the ranks also appears to be a fair assessment.
Finally, Austin Rivers came to the point guard position. While emphasizing that the only guaranteed selection was Magic Johnson, he added Stephen Curry and Isiah Thomas to the list.
While hesitating on the fourth, the former NBA player named some of the great point guards who deserved a spot, including Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, and Steve Nash. Unfortunately, he couldn’t conclude.
To some extent, Austin Rivers’ point is justified. Barring the three point guards he mentioned, the fourth spot is truly a difficult choice.
While debates of this nature are largely subjective, it is evident that some players have cemented their reputation as the greatest in their position. With Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Stephen Curry, and Magic Johnson being truly unanimous selections, such exercises simply become a testament to their greatness.
