Stephen A. & JWill give their NBA Mount Rushmore | First Take 

You know sports news is dry when you have to have a Mount Rushmore segment 😂

MJ Lebron Kareem and the fourth spot can be chosen based on taste ( magic, Duncan, Kobe, Bird, Wilt)

I hear what J Will is saying and I appreciate him for acknowledging the late great Kobe bean Bryant but Kareem is an absolute winner. For accolades alone makes top 3 let alone personal records he holds

Good to see Kobe getting the love he deserves . . .

Dirks one leg fadeaway was unguardable to me too… 7 foot high release and fades away off one leg never seen anybody block that shot and he made it more times than not

Thank you j will for keeping Kobe’s legacy alive man I’m tired of media acting like Kobe wasn’t that dude

Thank you for a good analysis of Kobe, Jay Williams.

Did yall really say Andrew Bynum helped Kobe 😂 dude was constantly hurt its was Odom who took that 3rd spot

Its an absolute disgrace that JWill didn't put Kareem on this list! You can debate over who the fourth player is but top 3 all time has to Bron MJ Kareem, Kareem was the greatest big of all time, he did it with 2 different teams, he won 6 mvps, he had the most unstoppable move just like stephen a said, and it makes me mad that JWill just disrespected him like that

Don't you just love how JWill said he'll had Bron first yet the graphic down still has MJ first? Lol

No one could stop the Sky Hook except Wilt Chamberlain but more importantly, no one ever duplicated the sky hook. Kareem was and is a truly special human being. Not to mention a Hall of Fame Basketball player.

Dirk had 1 unstoppable move as well. The high knee fade away. Could not be stopped

I still remember when Kobe went back to back with Pua. I was like touche' Kobe touche' He became a all time top 3 to me at that moment.

I have No Problem with both Mount Rushmore's!!! Kobe was 5th for me so it makes perfect sense for someone to have him on the list.

Wilt Abdul-Russell Magic Bird LeMichaBron Jordan Shaqobe O’Bryant There’s so many players to choose from so I decided to combine them

As long as MJ Bron and Kareem are top 3 the 4th spot will be interchangeable for a while until someone takes that spot, the 4th will need chips, Fmvps and mvps but also all defensive teams all nba teams and longevity stats. So it’s gonna be a while

So unfortunate Duncan never comes up along with Kobe. We forget about him because his game is far less flashy, but he has as many rings as Kobe and more finals MVP's.

MJ, Magic, Kareem, and Bill Russell are on my Mount Rushmore of basketball.

Imagine winning 11 titles and 5 MVPs and not making the Top 4.

Kareem is definitely in the Mt. Rushmore All-Time Scoring Leader 6X Champion, and 6 MVPs

JJ Redick's character in the State Farm ad felt like a young Emmett Brown in Back To The Future. Great, Scott! He was only on-screen for 15 seconds but you can really tell he would be a helluva of an actor. He can do comedies.

Jay Williams to Include Kobe in his Mt.Rushmore just shows that Former players know what they are talking about in terms of the game of basketball Now here is my Mt.Rushmore 1.Jordan 2.Kobe 3.Kareem 4.Russell

Thank you soooo much Jay will!!!

Perfect list no debate at all. This is what should be the standard and not just the goat talk

I always thought of Mt. Rushmore as the people that laid the foundations for a sport to be what it is today...players of today are the beneficiary of what they did in the beginning

Me too Jay. I got Kobe up there i couldnt not watch him. He changed the game for me. I watch him and AI 🤙💯

THANK YOU JAY

The fact that we hear this every season blows my mind

I am not saying Wilt is a shoe-in, but check out his other sports achievements. The man was a BEAST. It would be he and the Greek Freak today. He popularized the game and basically passed it to Dr. J.

Kobe Bryant is my favorite player of all time. J Will is Tripping lol

Good list

THANK YOU JAY WILL

Jordan, Kareem, and Lebron will ALWAYS be on the Mt. Rushmore no matter what. The fourth person will change over time as players retire. Right now you could put Magic, Russell, Shaq, Kobe, or even Bird on there. But once players like Curry, Durant, and Yannis retire, at least one of them will be on that mountain. Then in 30-35 years from now, some 4 year old now will replace one of them.

Let's go J Will! Finally somebody on TV put some respect on Kobe's name!!!! Thank you!

They always talk about this every year!

And I was fortunate enough to watch the showtime Lakers on local TV as a kid !

People also forget Tim Duncan guarded Shaq and beat him, Tim is amazing definitely 5th

Jordan, James, Jabbar, Russell. That's my Mt. Rushmore.

I respect y’all honest opinion.

Thank you Jwill! I have new found respect for you

Michael, Magic, Kareem, Wilt, Russell that's it

I've never seen Michael Jordan so happy until last Sunday. The GOAT can also be a broken man, ya know? You think money and fame offers happiness? It didn't for Robin Williams, Kurt Cobain, Anthony Bourdain, and Chester Bennington.

The skyhook, greatest individual move in sports history. Nothing else in all of sports is as unstoppable as that move.

Magic really brought creativity the league and that made it so entertaining to watch he has to be a top 5

Finally Magic getting some love. He’s my #2 behind Jordan and he had a short career with full college and retiring early. 5 rings still. Magic and Bird created the NBA. Jordan made it a global product. The end.

😂 Jays list still included MJ on the top! Even the producers know who is on top!

When I think of a Mt. Rushmore I think of legends who changed the game and left a mark. MJ Kareem Magic and Bird are those players. If my dude Larry Legend was black he would be getting more respect than he is today 💯

Thank you j will.!!!!!!

Mount Rushmore honors those thought to represent the most important events in the history of the United States (at the time). Transfer that context to the NBA then the selection process becomes slightly different. For argument’s sake would have to list a starting 5 and 6th man plus coach for an NBA Mt Rushmore. Wilt Chamberlain - dominance Magic Johnson - Showman Michael Jordan - icon Allen Iverson - culture LeBron James - business Steph Curry - shooting Phil Jackson - 13 rings / 📐 offense

Just, for me, it'd be impossible to leave Wilt Chamberlain off the Mount Rushmore of NBA players. 4 is too short a list when you consider all Russell did for the game, Wilt and Kareem, Oscar Robinson and Dr. J, Magic and Bird, Jordan, Bryant, and LeBron. At a certain point these comparisons and rankings just stop making sense the more you think about them because of who gets left off. Wilt Chamberlain may be the most dominant player to ever play basketball in its history.

Shoutout jwill for respecting the bean!!

Not only can anyone stop the sky hook, no one can even make the sky hook with Kareem’s level of consistency.

A proper Mount. Rushmore includes different generations of basketball stardom. Here is a list that exemplifies the greatness of the NBA through different eras: 1. Bill Russell 2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3. Michael Jordan 4. Lebron James (This list is not in order of greatness, but rather in chronological order)

NBA Mt Rushmore Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain 1960s Kareem Abdul Jabbar 1970s-80s Michael Jordan 1990s Total Championships: 25 1/4th of 100 championships. Insane. Everyone above has the resume, stats and arguments to be named as the greatest ever. They’re all interchangeable #1-4 #5-6 Gotta go with either LeBron or Kobe two of the best players of the last several years. Total championships: 9 #7-8 gotta go with Magic and Shaq. Greatest Point guard ever and The Diesel has too much dominance to be ignored. Total championships: 9 #9-10 Larry Bird and Tim Duncan for leadership and fundamentals. Total championships: 8 Top 10 altogether: 51 championships. Over 2/4ths of 100 championships 🤯🤯 🤯

Once every 25 years, the NBA Gods gather in Cleveland. Man that was special.

Here's a more fun question: who's your "favorite" starting 5? Not best, just favorite. I got: Jason Williams Pete Maravich Tracy McGrady Shawn Marion Dennis Rodman

I may receive a lot of flame for this, but I put Wilt over Magic. I’ve never seen Wilt play, but the numbers are out of a video game. The fact that he showed the league he can lead in assists just shows how much greater her was compared to his competition.

Two players who I believe should be in any NBA Mount Rushmore are Steph Curry and Bill Russell. Steph Curry changed the way that the game is played, from the 1 to 5 position, everyone shoots more and more threes because of Curry. When he came into the league, teams were averaging 18.1 3-point attemtps a game. In 2022, it has nearly doubled to 35.3 3-point attempts per game. All because of him I sadly did not get to watch him play, but I did not need to in order to understand that Bill Russell is the greatest winner of all time. 11 championships in 13 years with 5 MVPs should be enough for any Mount Rushmore. I wholeheartedly understand the argument of Kareem, but you can not leave the greatest winner of all time out of the Mount Rushmore. That being said, my Mount Rushmore would be: - Curry (changed the way game is played in the term of 3-pointers) - Lebron (historic career, doing what has never been done before with his pure longevity and dominance) - Jordan (6 of 6 in finals. At worst top 2 all time. Has given athletes a blueprint of what to do in order to keep a legacy and never die out, with the Jordan brand, his ownership of the Hornets, 'The Last Dance' docu-series along with his pure dominance on the floor) - Bill Russell (The greatest winner in NBA history, and maybe in any sport. Unarguably the most decorated NBA player of all time with accolades with winning combined: 12 All Star, 11 All-NBA, 5 MVPs, and 11 Championships (his last season was the first season Finals MVP was introduced, and it was literally named after him.)

One episode Stephen a smith has bill russell in his Rushmore and another has magic. Cmon man he consistent

In no particular order: Bill & Wilt Kareem Magic & Bird MJ & Hakeem Shaq, Kobe & Duncan Lebron Steph

Respect to J Will for saying what everybody else dont WANT to say

My top 10. 1.MJ 2.Lebron 3.Kareem 4.Magic 5.Bill Russel 6.Wilt 7.Bird 8.Shaq 9.Duncan 10.Kobe

Jay Williams I love you 😌😂😘😘😘😘

Both are great My Rushmore MJ LeBron Kareem Wilt

I agree with J Williams 100%

Since the death of his younger bro and padawan, Kobe, it's nice that MJ is changing. He's finally climbing out of his shell. He was Bruce Wayne in between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Now you're seeing the pre-1993 MJ again.

Nice!!! Kobeeee!!

Mike, Kobe, Larry Legend, Magic

any person ever realize Bill Russell was the first person to win 6-7 rings straight from 1959 to 1965

When Stephen a smith says “ Russell “ , he’s talking about Bill Russell not Russell Westbrook for the younger generation

Extremely tough, MJ, kareem, Lebron, Magic, Bill Russell (even though there were only so few teams but he dominated wilt everytime they went head to head), tim duncan

steph should be on the mount rushmore bc of how hes revolutionized the 3pt line and how huge hes made jumpshots in the nba today

Mj, Lebron, Kareem and Magic/Bird that’s the real Mount Rushmore 👈🏼

My top 10 1. Michael Jordan 2. Lebron Jame 3. Kareem 4. Magic 5. Wilt 6. Bill 7. Shaq 8. Kobe 9. Tim 10. Hakeem

My NBA Mt Rushmore is The late,great Wilt Chamberlain,Kareem,Michael and The late Kobe B.

I love Jwills top three, that would be mine, I will tkae that!

A lot to say here. When we talk about an NBA Mt. Rushmore, I think it's deeper than what we simply see on one's basketball resume. Because if it were that simple, why don't we just put the top 4 on the official listing there and call it a day? It's not that simple. What I feel is most important in this debate are the players who had the biggest transcending impact on the game. No such set of players have done that more than Jordan, Bird, and Magic. Jordan has established himself as The GOAT. Yet, the way Bird and Magic are etched in history together, they have to share such a mantle. You can't tell the story of those two without speaking of the other. Especially, when you regard what they did during the Golden Era of the NBA. For the fourth slot, it feels criminal leaving Bill Russell off of that list. We're talking about the greatest champion in the NBA's history. Some may discredit by saying he did that in a league with only 8-10 existing franchises. It's still a feat that may never be touched, let alone surpassed. Yet, Bill Russell is also one of the most important figures in the game's history due to his involvement within the Civil Rights Movement. We wouldn't be talking about the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, or a Shaquille O'Neal if it wasn't for the likes of Bill Russell opening up those doors of opportunity. An accomplishment like that is bigger than the game of basketball itself. You have to honor that to every degree possible. So, regarding what we're talking about here, what better way to do so than to put that man's face on the NBA Mt. Rushmore? This is such a tough list because several players are very deserving of this kind of honor. Yet, again, in my eyes, one's iconic transcendence is most important here. The one's who set the greatest impact on not only how the game is played, but the diversity within basketball culture itself. No names have done that more than Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Bill Russell.

WHY DO PEOPLE always bring up Shaq when they want to diminish Kobe, but they always have Magic and Kareem in their Top 5 together, yet say nothing? Tired of the hypocrisy.

This is why espn takes are crazy

Slow news day! How many times we going to hear this topic?!?!

Im pretty tired of Bird not getting the respect he deserves. People acting like because he was white he doesn't belong in the top 10. You realise he is only one of 3 players to have 3 MVP's in a row next to Wilt and Russell? has 2 finals MVP's and 3 rings which very very few players have ever achieved. He averaged 10 rebounds for a career in an era with Moses Malone, Patrick Ewing, Bill Lambeer,Kareem and Hakeem. Not to mention that Jordan never won a SINGLE GAME against him in the playoffs. I dont care what Stephen A says about Magic and his smile, Bird was just as influential and one couldnt have been as great as the other due to their rivalry and very close friendship making them better players,For me if Magic is 5 Bird has to be 6.They approached the game differently but Bird approached basketball as a assassin mentality which Jordan and Kobe later adopted. He was called Larry Legend for a reason.

Jay Williams' real Top 5 GOATs LeBron, Kobe, KD, Steph, Giannis Jay's disrespect for Jordan or anybody before 2000 is sickening. Former Bull too.

Mine is Jordan, Lebron, Kobe , and curry (in no particular order). Just feel like those people changed the game the most and are the most iconic to me

100% agree with JWill

Bravo, Stephen A.! ... An eloquent, reasoned argument for Magic's inclusion on the NBA's Rushmore. MJ is number one. (don't forget MJ's great defense; he was an all-NBA defensive player; won defensive player of the year, one of only two guards in NBA history to do that.)

1. MJ 2. Kobe 3. Lebron 4. Bill Russell

Big ups to jwill for showing respect to the all time great legend Kobe Bryant which a lot media refuses to do

Do not forget Manu Gnobli! This a bad dude right there

Russell-60s, Magic-80s, Jordan-90s, 00s-Kobe, 10s- Lebron. The 70s should have been owned by Kareem. He didn’t so not on my Rushmore.

Tim Duncan should be number 3 if that's Jay-wills argument. Talk about who had less help Kobe or Duncan lol. I don't wanna hear about Duncan having a great coach either, because both Kobe and MJ had Phil Jackson. While Duncan got his 5 rings with less star help than Kobe, while having arguably better accolades than Kobe.

magic is so underrated - he should be a lock top 3 all time. 9 times in finals in 12 years- five of them chips. thats a winner.

Shoutout j will holding bean name down

A Mount Rushmore is made of founding fathers of the sport. The real mt Rushmore should be bill Russell, Kareem, wilt, Jerry west.

The fact that JWill removed KAJ in favor of KBB is a testament of his flaws in evaluating greatness, no wonder he put up LBJ above MJJ...he needs to learn more....MJJ all day...

1:14 Wilt blocked Kareems skyhook so I'd say it ain't completely unstoppable but for most it was for them.

I didn't see it that way but J Will brings up a great point about Kobe. Not that I needed his approval to have Kobe up there. I have: Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Steph Curry

If Luka keeps putting numbers up at this rate and wins at least 3/4 NBA titles in the next 10 years we could make a case he belongs on that Mount Rushmore. This dude put the cherry on top for European/International players PROVING that they can ball in the best league in the world. Greatness awaits 🔥

MJ's last 20 years is like Johnny Lawrence's last 30+ years where he's still stuck in the 80s... MJ stuck in neutral. Good to see Zabka go from hated 80s villain to a Cobra Kai icon. MJ ready to do the same? Willing to embrace people again?

How many times have they done this Rushmore segment

JWILL with the Kobe appreciation