With a man winning 11 championships in a 14 year span AND was a player-coach, you do not just leave him off Mt. Rushmore. Apparently he thinks so too and he won’t hold his tongue about his displacement even with Lebron James.
During All Star weekend, Craig Sager said Russell had a few words with Lebron about his Mt. Rushmore.
“LeBron James was talking to Bill Russell and Bill said, ‘Hey, thank you for leaving me off your Mount Rushmore.’ He said, ‘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, nine in between. And that, Mr. James, is etched in stone.”
Burn. What do you even say after that? 80 year old Bill Russell just schooled you.
Im glad Russell said something to Lebron, he has been feeling himself a lot lately. Im all for being your own biggest supporter but to put yourself on your own Mt. Rushmore, is kind of a slap in the face to others around you. This debate is kind of silly; there is no possible way to name 4 NBA players that changed the game better than decades of others. The question would be better if they divided it up in decades or every certain amount of years. No one can name 4 players, too many have elevated this game and 4 just isn’t enough.