You see, last week LeBron James was asked who his Mount Rushmore of all time professional basketball greats consisted of. LeBron responded with his choices: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson. He added that he will be one of the top four greatest who will have ever played the game, as well.
Left off of that list was Bill Russell the former Boston Celtic who was one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Bill Russell's response to LeBron when asked by a sport's reporter about being excluded, "Hey thank you for leaving me off your Mount Rushmore. I'm glad you did. Basketball is a team game, it's not for individual honors. I won back-to-back state championships in high school, back-to-back NCAA championships in college, I won an NBA championship my first year in the league, an NBA championship in my last year and nine in between. That, Mr. James, is etched in stone.”
Good for you, Bill, still blocking shots at 80 something. I am sure Bill was kidding to an extent with his comments because he has a great sense of humor. But, his points are well taken—it takes a team.
Certainly, LeBron is entitled to his opinion as well as his Mount Rushmore choices of basketball greats. My problem is with his self-promotion that he will be the greatest to play the game. Is he a great player, certainly, but we all know it. We don't need to be reminded of it by him.
Also, while I am at it, why does ESPN have to constantly generate a media controversy. You would hope that players former and present wouldn't fall into the media's trap, but they do almost every time. Thanks, Jeannie, I so enjoyed reading Bill Russell's response after reading LeBron's self-centered remark last week.
No comments:
Post a Comment