NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar doesn't think Miami Heat star LeBron James is anywhere close to being the best NBA player of all time. Abdul-Jabbar said James isn't on the same level as Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
"LeBron James was talking about how he's the best ever, but he never saw Wilt (Chamberlain) play," Abdul-Jabbar told The Daily News. "If he had, he wouldn't say that. Whenever he averages 55 points a game, then I might want to listen to what he has to say. I'm not trying to put LeBron down. He's awesome. He's the best player in this era at this point.
"But he didn't see Bill Russell play. When his team wins eight consecutive NBA championships, maybe I'll compare him to Bill Russell."
James stirred the "greatest ever" debate in February during the All-Star break when he named which players would make his Mount Rushmore.
"Four NBA greats - I would say, obviously, the easy three, that we talk about in our league: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson," James said, via SI.com. "I would say my fourth, wow, this is so tough. The greatest players of all time, that I would like to see on Mount Rushmore. This is not fair. This is not fair. You know how many great players there is? Oh my god, Oscar Robertson. Those are my four."
TNT's Craig Sager asked Russell about James's comments, and like Abdul-Jabbar, Russell didn't hold back.
"Before the game," Sager said during the telecast, via MassLive.com, "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.'"
