The city of Los Angeles has produced an incredible amount of basketball talent over the course of the near-80 year old history of the NBA. With how vast and expansive the LA area is when you think about places like Inglewood, Long Beach, Anaheim, Pasadena, Santa Monica and so many more, it is far from surprising that such a huge amount of professional athletes have grown up in the area.
There are an incredible amount of avenues to success as a basketball player in LA. Not only are there countless high schools that run solid programs, but there are also 10 NCAA Division I colleges with basketball teams, along with the LA Clippers and Lakers. Excellent opportunities for success exist at every level, and it is no wonder Los Angeles remains one of the most athletically talented places in the United States.
This past season, the Clippers were headed up by four Southern California natives - Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook. And of course, two of those guys will still be on the roster when the Clips take the floor for the 2024-25 season in October.
Of course, plenty more players across the NBA hail from LA. One of them is DeMar DeRozan, who recently made an appearance on ESPN's popular show, First Take. During a segment on the show, he was asked to name his "Mount Rushmore" of Los Angeles-born basketball players. He listed Kawhi, Harden, Westbrook, and Klay Thompson.
I think u gotta have Paul George instead of klay but other than that, demar’s LA basketball Mount Rushmore is on point.
— Jamal Cristopher (@JamCristopher) September 12, 2024
To think what could be the 3 greatest LA basketball players have sported clipper jerseys before. And it probably should’ve been 4. pic.twitter.com/GXh8uLpJjW
DeRozan left Paul George off his LA Mount Rushmore
DeMar's list is far from a bad one, but it does seem to omit one key name: Paul George. Many on social media have suggested that PG should have been the final selection for DeRozan's list over Thompson.
This is not to say Klay has not done enough to be worth mentioning on a list like this, but it is probably still hard to say he deserves it over Paul George. When we consider the magnitude of what these players did to make the city of Los Angeles proud during their careers, PG stands out.
Thompson has won four championship rings, yes, but he did not do it for either the Clippers or the Lakers. In that way, it feels like George's All-NBA selection and three All-Star appearances while leading the Clippers to their first ever conference finals has to carry more weight.
DeRozan was also careful to leave himself out of a list like this. Regardless of who you think deserves to be on the LA Mount Rushmore and who does not, there is no denying how incredibly talented this city is when it comes to professional basketball.