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Kyrie or Jason Williams? Reggie Miller and Shaq clash over the ultimate point guard "Mount Rushmore"
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- Kyrie or Jason Williams? Reggie Miller and Shaq clash over the ultimate point guard "Mount Rushmore"
Hall of Famers Reggie Miller and Shaquille O'Neal were recent guests on the "Rushmore Podcast", a unique show where hosts Ari Emanuel and Ben Persky debate with their visitors the Mount Rushmore of any topic.
With Reggie and Shaq as guests, the subject matter was the greatest NBA point guards shorter than 6'3". Reggie was the first to give his picks, and the Indiana Pacers wasted no time in naming his first three faces on his iconic mountain, but it took him a while to complete his list.
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" There is no number one, but Steph en Curry, that's easy to say. Isiah Thomas, no brainer. Allen Iverson, no brainer. Even though he's not a point guard, but you said 6'3" and under. This is where it gets tricky…My fourth is either between Kyrie, Steve Nash, CP3, John Stockton, or Damian Lillard… I'm going with Kyrie," said Miller.
Reggie and Shaq picked the same first three names
Reggie's first three picks were easy. Steph is the first unanimous MVP in league history. Zeke is the shortest player to win the NBA Finals MVP award, while AI is the shortest to win the regular season MVP award. While he did not explain his pick, among the players he considered for his fourth face, only Kyrie Irving has an NBA championship.
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Meanwhile, O'Neal's first three picks were the same as Miller's. For his fourth name, he chose his former Miami Heat teammate Jason "White Chocolate" Williams . According to O'Neal, he was a white guy who did not play like his 'color' and played with a lot of flair. Reggie, however, was not convinced.
"My criteria for this was if we're lining up on the playground and we have all the point guards in front of us, so Shaq, you got White Chocolate, Jason Williams right there, and you have Kyrie Irving right next to him, the last two. You're telling me that you're going with White Chocolate over Kyrie?" He asked Shaq.
" All day, every day. White Chocolate. I ain't worry about defense. Defense does not win championships, scoring does," replied the Lakers legend.
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White Chocolate or Kyrie?
Career-wise, it's not even a comparison as Irving clearly had the greater NBA tenure. However, when it comes to skillset, both are considered among the players with the best handles of all time. And if you ask both, they have mutual respect for each other.
Irving admitted to watching highlights of Williams, Iverson, and Rod Strickland growing up and used them as his basketball inspirations .
"I'd watch the highlights on YouTube, and I'd go out on my driveway and try it. And then I'd watch more YouTube videos, and I'd go back out and try it. It would be an all-night thing," shared Irving.
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Meanwhile, Williams crowned Kyrie as the best ball-handler of all time and a once-in-a-lifetime player.
"He's the top as it gets for me, " said Williams. " He's the best ball-handler ever, just because I think that not only can he handle the thing, but he can get through cracks and crevices like no other and spin, and then puts him above everybody, and boy, he could finish at the rim with either hand. I don't think we'll ever see that again, not in our lifetime."
It's hard to fault Miller for picking Irving. You can't blame Shaq too much for choosing White Chocolate. The difference here really depends on preference or criteria. But yeah, you can't go wrong with either. And that's why there are debates like the one they had.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
