Bill Russell's Mt. Rushmore response

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

ps Alcindor had a severely injured eye in that game. Lew destroyed him in the rematch.

Alcindor was wearing a patch on his eye. That had to affect his depth perception. When UCLA and Houston met later in the NCAA's it was all Alcindor. I watched both games and remember them fairly well.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Barry, you and I will take Alcindor/Jabbar and LeBron, Mike will take Hayes and David Robinson, and we'll go from there.

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Barry, you and I will take Alcindor/Jabbar and LeBron, Mike will take Hayes and David Robinson, and we'll go from there.

I happen to think Elvin Hayes was a sensational player, but I do agree our guys would kick ass!

[Bocabirdman]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Barry, you and I will take Alcindor/Jabbar and LeBron, Mike will take Hayes and David Robinson, and we'll go from there.

I had nothing to do with Robinson... If you are gonna stick me with who I brought into the conversation, it would be E and Wilt. I posted the sky hook block above..... And I wouldn't miss if I were your guys...they wouldn't sniff a rebound.

[Peter_Spaeth]

One could do worse than Wilt. I would take Kareem over him, but it's hard to go wrong either way if you're taking one to start your team.

[TUM301]

Bill Russell to start my team, greatest north american team player ever. After Red retired he said there`s only one person that can coach and keep Russell motivated , he wins the last 2 championships as player coach at age 37 I think. Since we brought up the 2 on 2 match ups I`d go with Magic and Hakeem against anyone.

[freakhappy]

Originally Posted by TUM301

Bill Russell to start my team, greatest north american team player ever. After Red retired he said there`s only one person that can coach and keep Russell motivated , he wins the last 2 championships as player coach at age 37 I think. Since we brought up the 2 on 2 match ups I`d go with Magic and Hakeem against anyone.

Hakeem was a straight beast...I'd take him over LeBron any day. Not to knock LeBron because the dude is great, but something tells me that we've already seen his best basketball...it looks like Durant is starting to take over the top spot in the NBA.

As for Russell's comments...he was making a point to LeBron. He was simply putting him in his place. I mean, sure LJ has been the best player in the league for a while now, but does that automatically put him atop the best of all time? Doubt it. Could be eventually be considered that...absolutely. One thing that I've learned over time is that a lot of people will favor what they see in front of them versus players that have been retired for some time. I believe I would give LJ a lot more credit if he would have continued to play for Cleveland and eventually won one or more championships there. I just don't believe LJ is much of a leader. I don't completely blame him for running away from Cleveland, and he did earn those two championships, but I'm not raising the LJ flag simply because he built his own team of all-stars to get to that point...weak if you ask me. If he was a leader, he would have stayed put or built a team around him instead of doing it the way he did. Great players make players around them better...LJ doesn't really do that IMO.

As far as people trying to compare him to Jordan...pure blasphemy

[majordanby]

Let's wait till Lebron actually finishes his career before we start dissecting his place in the all time greats of basketball. He's on the path to greatness given what he's already done - but, his career isnt complete. it's already difficult comparing players from different eras - it's even more difficult when comparing players who are only mid way through their careers to those who have retired a long time ago and whose careers are etched in nba lore.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by freakhappy

As far as people trying to compare him to Jordan...pure blasphemy

True...he needs to learn to push off better.