The Kareem of the Crop

There was an interesting interview recently with #LeBron James. He was asked who he would put on the "Mount Rushmore" of NBA basketball. James answered that he thought he would belong up there by the end of his career, but for now his top four included #Magic Johnson, #Larry Bird and #Michael Jordan along with #Oscar Robertson.
The Big O would abdicate for James, of course.
Few could can argue, effectively anyway, against the other three. Magic, Bird and Jordan built the NBA into what it is now. The reason the league can have players like Dirk Nowitzki and Tony Parker is because that holy trinity inspired an entire globe of would-be ballers to reach for their dreams.
Take nothing away from anyone else who came before these three, but the whole reason old timers can complain about how much money players make these days is because Bird, Magic and Jordan made fans of the game understand fully what a gifted player could do for his team. And not just their respective teams either. To compete, teams like the #Warriors, #Pistons, #Rockets and others were forced to improve dramatically. As they did, more fans had more fun at more games.
But what about that last spot? Robertson is certainly a good choice. Other NBA analysts have suggested players like Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell. Good choices still. Nobody, in these moments of "best ever" comparisons, ever seems to mention #Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Weird.
The point of basketball is to score more points than your opponent. Nobody did that more effectively than Kareem. He is the all-time scoring leader in NBA history-and it seems unlikely anyone will catch him.
#Kobe Bryant will have to have three consecutive MVP caliber seasons to come close. The dropoff after Kobe is massive. #LeBron will need to average 28 points a game every year for the next seven years...which will be tough since he's currently averaging a touch over 26 PPG and Kareem has the all-time highest PPG in league history at 29.
And it extends beyond points. Kareem set that lofty point tally despite leading the league is scoring just twice. He's a three-time NCAA champion, a six-time NBA champion, a six-time NBA MVP, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and a 19-time NBA all star. To my recollection, he's also the only NBA player to ever appear in a Bruce Lee movie, which, let's face it, is the coolest of any of these accomplishments. And never mind his performance in Airplane!
And maybe my opinion will change by the time LeBron's playing days are over, but for now, I just think Kareem gets overlooked far too often in times like these...which is odd for a guy 7' 2".