NBA legend deserves to have statue

A former player can be honored by an NBA team in a variety of ways. These days, it seems that every person who has worn a jersey for longer than a year or two receives a tribute video when they visit their former haunts. For team legends, retired jerseys are the norm, and they have a permanence that should only be afforded to a chosen few. After all, there’s only so many numbers you can retire in theory before you run out of them.

However, there’s a rare that goes beyond even jersey retirements: the monument outside the arena. There are currently just thirteen of them. These memorials are intended for a purpose bigger than honoring a legendary player. They are a part of local heroes, athletes whose ties to a community go beyond the confines of time and even the game. The Chicago Bulls will always be the team that Michael Jordan plays for. Bulls supporters seeing his likeness prior to each home game is appropriate.

Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas caused a stir on Monday when he declared that LeBron James ought not to be honored with a statue in Los Angeles. I agree with his viewpoint for reasons I’ll explain momentarily, but the idea made me wonder who in the NBA deserves a statue and where it should be placed.

I have two strict guidelines in mind going into this practice. First, in order to receive a statue, one must win a championship. A statue ought to honor achieving the highest point in the sport in part. Notably, Elgin Baylor, John Stockton, Karl Malone, and Dominique Wilkins are the four current statuary players without championships. They’ll just have to make do with retired jerseys in our more rigid environment.

No one is allowed to own a statue in more than one city, second. Obviously, this presents some challenges for players who have won titles in several different places, but statues are more than just achievements made on the court. They need to symbolize an unbreakable link that exists only between a person and his city.

In light of this, a total of 26 individuals—22 players and 4 coaches—are eligible for immortality. Ten of the 26 have statues already. Let’s go over those briefly.

The statues that exist now
Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls: I would be interested in hearing an objection to a statue of Michael Jordan.
Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks of Dallas: At this time, the statue has no notes. By displaying his most well-known shot, it almost seems to defy gravity to perfectly encapsulate the spirit of the greatest Maverick in history.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ Jerry West: West’s case is indisputable; he was a five-star player, a former coach, and the most significant executive in Laker history.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers of Los Angeles: This is another instance of us going against our one-statue rule, but at least we’re sticking to one city. We’re going to make sure an Abdul-Jabbar statue is outside of Pauley Pavilion as well. While we acknowledge that Abdul-Jabbar may have meant even more to Los Angeles during his time as a UCLA Bruin, we still feel that he deserves a statue at Crypto.com Arena for his five Laker titles.

Magic Johnson, a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, is credited with creating the modern Lakerdom stereotype. In and out of the court, he made Showtime possible. It’s true that players of today aspire to play in Los Angeles because of the climate and opportunities for success, but Johnson was the guy that brought home the sheer splendor of being a Laker great.

Los Angeles Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal: O’Neal was essentially Johnson’s replacement in Los Angeles. Although he didn’t have quite the same thrilling playing style as Johnson, he nonetheless personified the fame that comes with being a Laker champion. In contrast to their more subdued colleagues, they welcomed celebrity. It may not have much of an impact on some teams, but it is the essence of the Laker brand.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant: The Lakers appear to be contemplating three different Bryant statues, in actuality. That’s excessive, therefore the next point is, what should Bryant’s one monument look like if he can only have one? According to Vanessa Bryant, Kobe selected the initial one-finger salute he did after tallying 81 points in a game. But if striking an iconic stance is the aim, then it must feature his trademark fadeaway shot.

Minneapolis Lakers star George Mikan is presently honored with a statue inside an arena—just not the one where he used to play. The majority of Mikan’s career was spent as a championship-winning Laker, albeit a Minneapolis Laker. His number was retired by the Los Angeles Lakers, but his statue is still present in the Target Center, home of the Minnesota Timberwolves. That’s the wise decision. A player who did not play in a city should not get a statue honoring them.

Wilt Chamberlain of the 76ers in Philadelphia: The current, oddly shaped statue is being redone. He’ll be holding up his recognizable 100-point sign in our updated version.
Houston Rockets’ Hakeem Olajuwon: Unlike previous statues, Olajuwon’s is not a monument created in his likeness. Because it is forbidden by his Islamic faith for a statue to be erected in his appearance or likeness, the Rockets constructed a statue that featured his No. 34 jersey instead.

o, who are our other 16 statue recipients, and who just barely missed the cut? Here’s the final breakdown:

The sixteen newly commissioned statues

Here are our 16 new statues, listed in alphabetical order by the city in which their statue belongs:

1. Bill Russell, Boston Celtics: An obvious pick. When your number is retired league-wide, you obviously deserve a statue. Russell currently has one in Boston, but it’s at City Hall Plaza, not TD Garden.
2. Larry Bird, Boston Celtics: Russell is history’s greatest Celtic, but Bird was the star who ensured that the team’s legacy would survive beyond him. Yes, Boston won championships between Russell and Bird, but did so with Russell’s teammate, John Havlicek, as one of the catalysts. Bird was the first player to lead Boston to the promised land with no lingering remnants of Russell’s team.
3. Red Auerbach, Boston Celtics: Yes, his statue will include a cigar. As a non-expert on statue technology, I can pledge to look into whether or not we can rig that cigar to automatically light after Celtics victories.
4. Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls: This one is long overdue. Pippen may have said several uncomfortable things about Jordan and the Bulls in recent years, but he has a valid point. Credit for those six championships tends to be disproportionally given to Jordan. A Pippen statue would be an acknowledgment that he was part of a team. In a way, a Pippen statue would be validation for every other player who helped Jordan win his championships. As the only other player who was around for all six, it would certainly be appropriate.
5. Phil Jackson, Chicago Bulls: Anyone in Chicago will tell you that hardware comes best in groups of three, so let’s put Jackson alongside Jordan and Pippen.
6. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers: The question here isn’t whether or not James deserves a statue, it’s where his statue belongs. All three of his cities have credible arguments. He won more championships in Miami (two) than he has in Los Angeles or Cleveland (one each). If James extends with the Lakers this offseason, he’ll be positioning himself to possibly reach eight straight seasons as a Laker, which would be his longest consecutive stretch with any single team. Still, his statue has to be in Cleveland. He’s the kid from Akron, not Glendale or Aventura. Perhaps no athlete has ever been as intimately connected to his hometown as James. He could play 100 years in Los Angeles and he’d still forever be associated with Cleveland.
7. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets: Our youngest honoree might need a statue to set himself apart. Carmelo Anthony has made it clear that he’s bitter about the Nuggets giving Jokic his No. 15 jersey, and eventually, they might feel compelled to retire it for both of them. Anthony will never get a statue in Denver, though, so giving one to Jokic ensures that the greatest Nugget of all time stands alone on, at least on one front.
8. Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons: The man ended both the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird dynasties while holding off Jordan’s for as long as possible. He’ll never get the respect he’s due being sandwiched between those icons, but he should at least get that acknowledgment in Detroit.
9. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: I’m going to make an exception here. Curry should have two statues. One would obviously go in front of the Chase Center in San Francisco, where the Warriors currently play, and the other should be erected across the bay in front of the former-Oracle Arena, where Curry spent the bulk of his prime. The Warriors may no longer play there, but as long as that arena stands, it will belong to Curry.
10. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat: Fun fact: the city of Miami once officially renamed its county after Wade for a full week. That’s statue material.
11. Pat Riley, Miami Heat: You could argue that Riley’s proper statue would be in Los Angeles, where he was a part of five championship teams as a coach and another as a player. But the Miami Heat have played 36 total seasons of NBA basketball, and Riley has been running the show for 29 of them. When you’ve been in charge of a team for 75% of its existence and helped lead it to three titles, that’s where your statue belongs.
12. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks: Antetokounmpo joins Jokic as the only two players in their 20’s to earn statues, and their cases are built on the same principles: one championship, two MVPs and an entire career spent in a single city.
13. Walt Frazier, New York Knicks: His two championships as a player might be enough for a statue, but if there was any doubt, his decades as a Knicks broadcaster clinch it. Frazier is an icon to every generation of Knicks fans. How many other players can say the same?
14. Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers: Erving has an existing statue outside of the 76ers’ practice facility, and it’s an appropriate dunking pose, but if possible, a more elaborate setup showcasing his legendary Finals layup from behind the backboard would be a nice way to differentiate a new monument if the 76ers ever chose to erect one.
15. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs: The problem here is that Duncan is so averse to attention that he’d probably prefer not to get a statue. Fortunately, we have a workaround …
16. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs: Let’s put the Duncan and Popovich statues together. Not only would it be an appropriate representation of arguably the greatest player-coach combination in history, but it might hold just enough symbolic sway to actually convince the two of them to accept such an honor.

Moses Malone has a statue-like quality to him. Three MVPs went to him! However, the first two occurred in Houston, the city he called home the most, a place he failed to win a championship. The best player on that team, he finally took home the ring in Philadelphia. However, his tenure was limited to five seasons. The duration of his engagement with the city was insufficient for him to receive a statue.
Alonzo Mourning and David Robinson belong in the same category. These are legendary players from the club who went on to become local heroes with amazing records of charitable giving back to their communities after winning titles.

However, consider the athletes on this roster. Of all the players on championship teams, how many of them were never the best? Pippen, for sure, but he took home six championships. Maybe West, but his impressive stretch as GM strengthened his résumé. As the best 76er, Erving at least advanced to the Finals. But in general? The guys in question were among the top players on Champions. Mourning and Robinson were not.

If Bill Walton had remained well, there would be a statue honoring him in Portland. He didn’t, and as a result of those wounds, he left Portland too soon to receive one.
The most excruciating honorable mention went to Kyle Lowry. As terrible as it is to write, the straightforward truth is that, save from the one that went about a few years ago, he has just never been talented enough to merit a statue. The best Raptor ever is Lowry. Without him, Toronto would not have a ring. However, he was never even ranked among the NBA’s top 10. His only All-NBA team was one. Though a statue is a step too far for a player with Lowry’s caliber, Lowry will eventually become the first Raptor to have his jersey retired.

Although none of the players won championships in the cities in question, Steve Nash (Phoenix), James Harden (Houston), Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City), Kevin Garnett (Minnesota), and Reggie Miller (Indiana) would have qualified with crowns. Joel Embiid is clearly still able to play in Philadelphia, but for the time being that is the only thing preventing him from doing so. This group includes the four players that were previously listed as having sculptures sans rings.
Just a little reminder: In this area, we have only discussed players and coaches. There is now one statue that does not fit the description we went over, and it belonged to Chick Hearn, the former Lakers commentator. He gets to avoid the standards we set for players and coaches because he is the greatest NBA broadcaster in history.