“Magic at point, Jordan at two, Kobe at three, Kevin Durant at four, and Big Diesel at five”: Sacramento Kings legend Mitch Richmond omits LeBron James from his All-Time NBA starting 5

Add another legend to the list who does not have LeBron James in their top-5 list. Mitch Richmond skips Lakers star from his all-time list.

Like NBA fans, the players themselves like to have their all-time lists and it gets very entertaining when they reveal it publicly. Generally, they do it behind closed walls, in a barbershop, or with friends.

But with the rise of social media and podcasts, we now get to hear the top-5s of many former players. The list is totally supposed to have everyone’s own set of players as it is their personal list. But most former players get heat from the fans for missing their favorite players who are playing currently.

As there’s always been discussion of which era of basketball is best, former stars tend to pick more players of their own era because everyone feels they played in the best one.

Also read: NBA Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond opens up about his rivalry with the Bulls GOAT

Although everyone can have their personal choice on their all-time list, you know the list will not be very credible when someone misses Michael Jordan.

Most people don’t do that but more often they do forget to include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the topmost scorer of all time, Tim Duncan probably the best power forward of all time, and more recently LeBron James.

LeBron James is missing from many former players’ all-time lists. Not just because they consider this era of basketball the easiest, but probably because their list would make it into the mainstream media.

Mitch Richmond omits LeBron James from his top-5 All-time

Recently NBA Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond joined former NFL stars Terrell Owens and Matthew Hatchettein in their podcast “Getcha Popcorn Ready” on fubo Sports Network. On being asked the famous question, the 6-time All-Star after giving it a thought said,

“Magic at the point, Mike at the two, Kobe at the three, Kevin Durant at the four. And I need a beast down there, so at the five I gotta go with Big Diesel, I gotta go Shaq.” 

While all three of them looked very animated and never mentioned LeBron James in any of their top-5s, the Sacramento legend explained himself on why he didn’t pick Tim Duncan and went for Shaq.

Mitch continued, “The reason I went Shaq at the end, you can’t have Shaq and Duncan because there ain’t enough room. So that’s why I put shooters around and Shaq got the middle.”

Also read: NBA Twitter explodes as the Lakers superstar displays his incredible court vision to find a wide-open Anthony Davis

It’s their own personal top-5s nobody should ask them why none of them even mention the man’s name who made it to straight 8 Finals in the last 11 years, but as LeBron says, he should get his Damn respect.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

Read More