Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal Statues Rise Above Rest Among NBA Players Immortalized in Statues (Photos)

Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal Statues Rise Above Rest Among NBA Players Immortalized in Statues (Photos)

by NESN Staff on Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 2:42PM

Bill Russell will soon have a statue near city hall in Boston, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will join former Lakers teammate Magic Johnson in statue form outside Staples Center in Los Angeles. For generations to come, basketball fans will be able to stand at the feet of those two great centers — or at least at a bronze version of those two great centers.

The list of NBA players with statues is much shorter than in some other sports, such as baseball and especially football, where every Pro Football Hall of Fame member has a bust in the museum in Canton, Ohio. But many of the NBA's greats — and not-so-greats — stand rigid and stoic over public parks, arena concourses and college campuses.

Rating the statues is a little different than rating the players themselves. While a statue may depict a legendary player, the artist's rendering may not be All-Star caliber. We're not art critics, but in our opinion, the great works of art not only capture the player's style but also resemble the guy, too.