Steve Davis: Some NBA Mount Rushmore Perspective

Kareem became the latest to attack Lebron for his Rushmore. To refresh your memory, Lebron had Magic, Bird, Jordan and Oscar Robertson. Most people shook their head and couldn't believe he didn't have Bill Russell.

I probably would have put Russell on there, or if not him, at least a center like Wilt or Kareem. Everyone points to Russell and his 11 NBA titles, including 8 straight. Kareem said Lebron will never come close to Russell.

Well, duh.

Russell wouldn't come close to Russell if he was playing today.

When Russell started his run, there were 8 teams in the NBA. He had a 1 in 8 chance of winning. Lebron has a 1 in 30 chance. Also, there was no free agency back then, so if you had a great team, you would stay great because your players couldn't leave. That means if you stunk, you'd have a hard time improving quickly because all you had was the draft.

That is not to diminish what Russell did, but come on. KC Jones, Satch Sanders and Tom Heinsohn, who never get mentioned on anyone's All-time Greats list, all won 8 titles. Lebron isn't going to catch them either. Does that mean they're better than him? They were on the right team at the right time.