Mount Rushmore is an American monument commemorating 4 important presidents in the nation’s history. In the NBA world, there are often people who reveal their own “NBA Mount Rushmore”, which is basically that person ranking 4 of the greatest players in basketball history.
On a recent broadcast, DeMar DeRozan revealed his Mount Rushmore, which featured Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Magic Johnson. There are some notable omissions such as LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, both of whom are widely considered top-5 players of all-time.
It is well-known that DeMar DeRozan was a Los Angeles Lakers fan growing up, and that he gravitated to and loved Kobe Bryant’s play. We often see some shades of Kobe Bryant in DeMar DeRozan’s mid-range game. It makes sense that DeRozan would put Bryant on his personal Mount Rushmore. Kobe Bryant has won 5 championships in the league, and it is clear that he has defined basketball for an entire generation. Many other players have lauded his impact on the game.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) December 20, 2021
Michael Jordan is obviously widely-viewed as the greatest player to touch a basketball, so he is an automatic inclusion. Any Mount Rushmore for the NBA should include Michael Jordan. Shaquille O’Neal and Magic Johnson are both Lakers’ greats that were dominant during their respective eras, and their inclusion can certainly be justified due to their accomplishments and basketball ability. The tough part about selecting only 4 great players for a list is that there are a lot of all-time great players that will not be selected while having deserving cases.
All of the players that DeMar DeRozan selected were influential on the NBA’s history. There’s no real wrong answer when picking from a list of all-time greats. It is clear that every person’s selection will be different, and as far as lists go this one is very reasonable.