Lebron James has another big statement that sweeps the basketball world. ESPN will cover it. Those are the two certainties in life. The NBA "Mount Rushmore" discussions deal with the four players who should be designated as the best who ever set foot on the court.

Of course, Lebron James will get the ball rolling by declaring that he will be there! In an interview with NBA TV, when asked to make his NBA Mount Rushmore (in reference to the face sculptures of American Presidents etched on the historic mountain):

"The easy three, that we all talk about in our league, you've got Michael Jordan, you got Larry Bird and you've got Magic Johnson. And I would say the fourth... wow, this is so tough. The greatest players of all time that I'd like to see on Mount Rushmore? This is not fair ... Oscar Robertson. Those are my four."

Note the hesitation before naming The Big O.

The direct question had to be asked-will he make it to the NBA's all time top four?

 "I'm going to be one of the top four that's ever played this game, for sure. And if they don't want me to have one of those top four spots, they'd better find another spot on that mountain. Somebody's gotta get bumped, but that's not for me to decide. That's for the architects."

ESPN asks their panel of experts, which is probably a more objective bunch than the King himself. Should we pull out our chisels when Lebron retires?

Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN: Without question. If LeBron never played another game, he'd still have a compelling case. He's already in the top 20 in overall career win shares and second to Jordan in PER. But stats and on-court contribution aside, James will go down as the athlete who ushered sports into the social media era. Simply put, LeBron was the world's first viral athlete."

Marc Stein, ESPN: "Love his confidence. Love his ambition. Love how he just raised the bar on himself when he's already trying to get to a fourth straight Finals. But I can't see him bumping any of the aforementioned four. Let's not forget that he also has to fully leapfrog Kareem, Wilt, The Big O -- and that likewise assumes his résumé will automatically eclipse a few fairly recent successes named Shaq, Kobe and Duncan -- to get us all scurrying for chisels."

Ethan Strauss, True Hoop: "I believe he's there already, and he'll be there for awhile. The threat comes not from the past, but from the present and future. Kevin Durant is young enough to eventually usurp LeBron in the minds of many. Also, there are a bunch of superstars who will play in future generations. They'll be pretty good, I think."