LeBron James has revealed his personal Mount Rushmore of basketball and one inclusion has added an interesting twist to the never-ending GOAT debate.

Despite being widely viewed as one of the greatest players in NBA history, James left himself out of his own top four. Instead, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar named Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Julius Erving and Magic Johnson as the four greatest players ever.

The selections themselves are hardly controversial given the accomplishments of each player, but Erving’s place on the list stands out considering the Hall of Famer has openly criticised James in the past over the formation of NBA “superteams.”

As reported by GiveMeSport, James’ choices represent some of the most influential and successful players the game has ever seen.

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• Michael Jordan: A six-time NBA champion and five-time MVP.

• Larry Bird: Honored with three NBA MVP awards and three NBA titles.

• Julius Erving: An MVP in both the ABA and NBA, accumulating over 30,000 points across his ABA and NBA career, alongside three NBA/ABA titles.

• Magic Johnson: A five-time NBA champion, three-time MVP, and three-time Finals MVP.

Erving’s superteam stance

The intriguing aspect of James’s list is the presence of Julius Erving, who has previously been a vocal critic of James’s approach to team building. Erving famously stated that James would only make his “third team” of all-time players, a position rooted in the modern phenomenon of “superteams.”

According to Basketball Network, Erving’s reasoning for excluding James from his top two all-time teams stems from James’s perceived role in “handpicking his teammates” and “creating superteams.” Erving specifically cited James’s influence in assembling rosters in Miami, Cleveland, and Los Angeles.

“He is the guy that lead the charge in terms of superteams being put together,” Erving explained. “When he put a team together in Miami, he put a team together in Cleveland as well and a team in Los Angeles. So he could pick his own team.”

Erving’s own top two all-time teams, which notably do not feature James, highlight his traditionalist view:

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• First Team: Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Elgin Baylor.

• Second Team: Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Karl Malone, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The contrast in perspectives underscores a generational divide in how player legacies are evaluated, particularly concerning player agency in team formation. Erving further elaborated on this point, suggesting that players in his era had less control over their destinations. “Players weren’t picking their teams,” he told Basketball Network. “When Kareem got traded for four players from Milwaukee to Los Angeles, that was a management deal. It wasn’t his deal.”

The revelation of James’s list, especially with Erving’s inclusion, adds another layer to the ongoing, passionate discussions about who truly stands among the NBA’s pantheon of legends, and what criteria define their greatness.

Sources: www.givemesport.com

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