Bleacher Report Excludes LeBron James From Lakers' 21st-Century Mount Rushmore
Bleacher Report has released every NBA team's Mount Rushmore for the 21st century, and there are a fair few interesting selections in it. The one that stands out the most is the Los Angeles Lakers', as Derek Fisher has made it in over LeBron James.
PG Derek Fisher
SG Kobe Bryant
PF Pau Gasol
C Shaquille O'Neal
Fisher's inclusion here was explained by his being part of the Lakers' title-winning teams in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2010. He is one of two players to have been part of both of those iterations of the team
.Spurs Could Land Bam Adebayo In Trade Package Featuring Two Young PlayersSpurs Could Land Bam Adebayo In Trade Package Featuring Two Young Players
Fisher wasn't some passenger on those Lakers teams either, as he hit some huge clutch shots over the years. The one that immediately comes to mind is his game-winning buzzer-beater against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals with just 0.4 seconds remaining.
That said, does Fisher deserve to make it in over James? He played his part extremely well, but averaged 9.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game for the franchise in the 21st century.
James, on the other hand, has averaged 26.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in his seven seasons as a Laker. He has made seven All-Star and seven All-NBA teams during his time with the franchise, and finished runner-up for MVP in 2020.
Fisher, meanwhile, didn't make an All-Star or All-NBA team as a Laker. He was undoubtedly a great role player, but that shouldn't get him a spot on Mount Rushmore.
James hasn't won four titles with the Lakers in the 21st century like Fisher, but he was the driving force behind the 2020 title run. He won Finals MVP and was the best player on that team, something Fisher never was.
As for the rest of the selections, there is no debate when it comes to two of them. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were obvious picks as they led the Lakers to titles in 2001 and 2002. They won it all in 2000 as well, but that doesn't come under this century.
Bryant would then go on to win two more titles in 2009 and 2010 to cement his status as the greatest Laker of this century, if not all time. He won those two titles with Pau Gasol as his sidekick, and while the Spaniard is a solid pick, you could argue that Anthony Davis should get the nod here.
Davis averaged 24.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game as a Laker. He won a title and made three All-Star, two All-NBA, and two All-Defensive teams in his six and a half seasons with the franchise.
As for Gasol, he put up 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game as a Laker. He won those two titles and made three All-Star and three All-NBA teams in six and a half seasons.
Davis' peak was better than Gasol's, but he perhaps wasn't quite as consistent. So, there is a case to be made for both men, and you can't really go wrong with either selection.
Brian Daboll Mum on NY Giants Injuries, Roster Battle Results Ahead of Week 1 Opener
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll continued to be tight-lipped when it came to the questions on many Big Blue fans' minds, including injury updates and the “winners” of three key training camp battles.
From an injury perspective, the biggest question mark surrounds left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is still working his way back from a Lisfranc injury suffered last season.
Thomas, who spent the bulk of the summer on the PUP list, has been trying to work his way back into playing shape, but sounded unsure as to whether he’d be ready for Sunday’s regular-season opener at Washington when he spoke with reporters last week.
“Obviously, I want to be back, but if I don't feel comfortable being able to perform at the level I think I can, I don't think it makes sense for me to be out there,” Thomas said.
The challenge for Thomas has been distinguishing between “good soreness” associated with getting back into football shape and “bad soreness” associated with his still-healing foot.
If Thomas can’t play — and it seems like it would take a miracle at this point for him to be ready for Week 1 —the Giants will start James Hudson III at left tackle, as they have done all preseason.
“He's a guy I'm glad we signed,” Daboll said of Hudson. “He's done everything we've asked him to do, just like all the other guys have.
“Offensive line is five collective guys seeing it through the same set of eyes, or two tight ends, one tight end, whatever it may be. So those guys are doing everything they can do each day to be as productive as they can.”
Two other injuries of note that are worth monitoring for the Giants include cornerback Deonte Banks and tight end Theo Johnson, both of whom missed time with undisclosed injuries.
However, for those looking for a shred of hope in the injury situation, Daboll did say that everyone would take part in the team’s Monday walkthrough.
Will New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart share the QB2 duties with Jameis Wisnton this season? / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Daboll refused to offer any hints as to how some of the training camp battles that took center stage – QB2, RG1, and CB2 – were settled.
"Yeah, any roster decisions based on who's going to be in the backup or who this player is going to be, we'll have that out there on Sunday," he said.
However, by following what the Giants have done this summer, those questions might have already been answered.
Starting with quarterback, the backup to Russell Wilson will, in all likelihood, be Jameis Winston despite the rookie Jaxson Dart’s impressive summer.
However, it would not be a surprise if Daboll leaves himself some flexibility, where, depending on the circumstances, he has a choice between Winston or Dart, assuming Dart is not designated as the emergency quarterback.
For instance, if the Giants get into any early-season blowouts, Dart would likely get an opportunity to take some snaps, allowing him to continue progressing in his development. But if Wilson were to become unavailable in a tight game early in the season, Winston would probably have his number called.
New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal isn't beleived to have won the starting right guard spot in his battle with Greg Van Roten. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
At right guard, what started as a competition came to a quick resolution as Evan Neal, who worked on converting to guard after playing his first three seasons at tackle, likely didn’t progress enough to beat out incumbent Greg Van Roten.
Neal missed the preseason opener, which didn’t help his chances, nor did his performance in the games he did play.
Per Pro Football Focus, Neal posted a disappointing 47.1 run blocking grade, which was 15th out of 15 offensive linemen.
His pass-blocking grade was just as bad: 49.0, which ranked 12th out of 15 offensive linemen. And overall, Neal’s grade was 14th out of 15th offensive linemen for the Giants this summer.
The second starting cornerback seems to be the cloudiest of the three, but the best guess is that there will be a rotation between Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott.
Injuries muddied that competition somewhat, as both Flott and Banks missed time in the summer due to undisclosed injuries.
However, Banks is not destined to sit on the bench this year, as the Giants will have to decide whether to exercise his option for the following year.
That said, Flott, who all summer long was listed as “OR” with Banks on the team’s unofficial depth chart (the only position where that “or” designation was used), did more with his snaps than Banks did with his.
Flott, who gave the Giants 25 preseason snaps, finished with the best overall grade among the Giants’ cornerbacks (92.3), and it wasn’t even close (Paulson Adebo was the next closest Giant with a 70.2 grade).
Flott also posted one pass breakup to Banks’s zero (in 20 snaps), and did not allow a pass completion in two pass targets, whereas Banks gave up one. However, lest anyone think Banks had a bad start, he showed some solid coverage that he didn’t always necessarily display last season.
The Giants will be off on Tuesday and then return to the practice field on Wednesday to prepare for their Week 1 matchup against the Washington Commanders.
