The Mt. Rushmore of post-Jordan NBA greats: The experts give their picks
With news of LeBron James’ Mt. Rushmore of his four greatest NBA players getting out before his NBA TV interview this past Monday, the Sports With Biers staff decided they needed to tackle this question themselves. However, we decided to put our own twist on the idea and go with our Mt. Rushmore of favourite players to watch of the post Jordan era, since we aren’t quite old enough to have critically watched most of the players in the 90s. This list can go a number of different ways, as all of us have different styles of play that we each enjoy watching, whether it’s scoring machine, athletic marvels, passing whizzes, hulking big men, or beast defenders, and, as you know, we don’t agree on much. So sit back and enjoy our walk down memory lane. We start with Oakley native, Sacramento-loving, Ryan Rodriguez.
Allen Iverson
I am starting with Allen Iverson, my undisputed favourite athlete of all time. For me, AI is everything I ever wanted in a basketball player: polarizing, fearless, super athletic, true to his home, a trendsetter and trail blazer, and, most of all, someone who believed he was the best player every time he stepped on the court.
I wanted the Iverson jersey (the blue one to be exact), and I even wanted the cornrows. AI embodied everything I wanted to be as an athlete, someone who played with no fear, did whatever it took to win, had the unstoppable will to dominate the person across from him, and every time he got knocked down, he would get right back up. I always respected him for not conforming to mainstream America and staying true to his roots, even if it hurt him at times, because I always liked to believe I would stay the same way if I was famous.
My favourite Iverson memory was probably when he dropped 48 on the Lakers in Game 1 of the 2001 Finals, and in the process, crossed Tyron Lue so badly that he was able to drill the jumper with Lue in his eye and then step over him. Apart from this shot, I practised the iconic Iverson crossover time after time on my driveway court, trying to perfect the move so I could take it into games on the weekend, hoping to break ankles like my boy on TV.
Rooting for Iverson was never about hoping he would win a championship – you knew that probably wasn’t going to happen – but rather about enjoying watching a guy so short and so skinny dominate a game made for giants.
Chris Webber
I had to have a King on this list, and though I had a Mike Bibby jersey growing up, C-Webb is the one who truly had my heart. C-Webb made everything cool and it all started with the behind the back passes he was always throwing around. He started my love of high post passing big men, and it sure helped that he possessed the handles and athleticism of a guard. He was always playing with a smile, making everyone around him better, and I couldn’t help but think how fun it would be to play with this guy.
Did he have a problem when the game got tight? Yeah, but what he would do in the 44 minutes prior to the crunch time was always so great, so beautiful, that it only bothered me because it meant my favourite team might not win the title. It always saddened me that his career was cut short due to the horrible injury he suffered in the 2003 playoffs, but those first five years on the Kings will be hard for anyone to match in my book.
Carmelo Anthony
Let’s put it this way: I’ve loved ‘Melo ever since I read about him in the December issue of Sports Illustrated in his freshman year at Syracuse, when LeBron kept telling him, “You made a mistake going to college”. When he led his team to the title that year I was hooked for life and since then, it’s been a wonderful roller coaster ride. Until Kevin Durant came along, I had never seen a guy score so effortlessly from anywhere on the court. To me, his combination of strength and quickness is one of the greatest things to watch in the game, especially because you don’t expect a guy who looks like him to all of a sudden blow past his man.
People are always bothered by his shooting, and I get the argument, but when you sit back and just watch him, it’s amazing how he consistently opens the tiniest cracks of space with his jab step to get the mid-range jumper off. His release is so quick and so wet that it sometimes looks like he’s flicking the ball at the hoop, and it’s a joy to watch.
When ‘Melo has it going, there are no drives, there are no free throws, it’s just a guy stroking jumpers from the 15-feet out and three-point territory with an assassin’s precision. Maybe it isn’t the best way to score, but just watching him drop 62 on the Bobcats or 50 on the Heat in this fashion really cannot be described; you can only sit back and enjoy the beautiful ride. When it comes to favourite players, I’m always looking for people with an elite skill, and ‘Melo has that in scoring. Highlights are here.
Rajon Rondo
10 and 4. Those are the number of playoff triple-doubles Rondo has in his career and the rank he is on the all-time list, respectively. They tie him with the great Larry Bird and perfectly illustrate his best quality: that the guy raises his game to a true all-round level in the playoffs. I love unique players, and no one is more unique than Rondo. I instantly fell in love with him during the 2009 playoffs when he almost averaged triple-double over 14 games (16.9 points 9.7 boards, 9.8 assists), a truly remarkable feet for a 6’1” point guard. I love how Rondo can affect the game in so many different ways, how he controls the pace on both the fastbreak and the halfcourt, allowing him to pile up assist after assist, and his vision that only four people I have ever seen play possess.
But most of all, I love “playoff Rondo”, the guy who plays with a chip – actually, more like a boulder – on his shoulder, the guy who seems like a tortured genius working towards his point guard PhD in the most pressure-packed situation. It’s like a switch is flipped from regular season to playoffs and this guy goes from pass first, second, and third point guard, to all around, do whatever it takes even if that means dropping 44-point guard. When he wants to and it’s all clicking in a game, he throws in his name, stats-wise, in with people like Magic, Bird, Robertson, James, Chamberlain and Kidd, otherwise known as the standard bearers for the triple-double club. This, above all else, is why I love Rondo, and I can’t wait until he is fully recovered from his ACL tear. Highlights are here.