Who are the top five Lakers of all time?

[Real Deal]

List the top five, in order, 1-5.

 

If you need a little help: http://www.otrbasketball.com/lakers/roster.php

 

Keep in mind that the top ROSTER of all time is not the same as the top five best players of the franchise, so obviously, those rosters will be leaving out players that could very well be in the top five, but were slotted behind a better player at that position.

 

Just for kicks, explain your selections.

[?QuestionMark?]

5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

One of the most accomplished Lakers of all-time. Won 5 Titles and three MVP awards with LA. Was also the face of the Lakers after West and until the arrival of Magic.

 

4. Jerry West

Can't leave out the Logo. Was one of the best two-way players of his era. Could lock you up and drop 30 on you. Was versatile and could play both guard spots effectively. Only managed one ring thanks to the Celtics but is an all-time great. His tenure with LA extended beyond just the court. He was a player, coach, and one of the best GMs with LA who helped build the 80s team and the three-peat team of the 2000s.

 

3. Kobe Bryant

Is the longest tenured player in Lakers history having played in more games than anyone else. Has become the face of the franchise since Shaq left and is one of the greatest players ever. Has helped bring LA 5 rings and still has a chance to add more hardware. The only reason he's second to Magic, IMO, is Magic 3 MVPs to Kobe 1. But if Kobe can add another title, he'll move past Erving in Laker lore.

 

2. Magic Johnson

The greatest PG of all time and, IMO, the second best player after Jordan (and gap between them isn't as wide as you may believe). He made the Lakers into Showtime where you had Jack, Lakers girls, up-tempo games, and 5 titles to show for it. Plus he beat Bird and the hated Celtics twice so he gets the nod as the greatest Lakers player ever.

 

1. Chick Hearn

You said top 5 Lakers, not top 5 Lakers players. It may be different for fans who grew up outside LA, but for those who grew up here, Chick Hearn was the Lakers. He was the one constant from Jerry West to Kobe Bryant, from Fred Shaus to Phil Jackson, from Jack Kent Cooke to Jerry Buss. Chick was always there. He called 3,338 consecutive games, thats over 36 years without missing a game. People grew up listening to him, he became family to all the fans. I used to fall asleep listening to him on the radio when the Lakers had their pre-season openers in Hawaii. His voice was comforting. Owners, coaches, and players changed but you always knew Chick would be there.

 

Besides just longevity, he was great at what he did. He's the greatest play-by-play guy EVER. Period. Marv Albert is great and yet he can't sniff what Chick did. Chick Hearn created the basketball lingo that every other announcer uses. Mike Breen's "It'll count if it goes..." was created by Chick.

 

Slam Dunk

Air Ball

Give and Go

Finger Roll

And one

Charity Stripe

Didn't Draw Iron

Ticky Tack

No Harm, No Foul

Yo-Yoing up and down

Boo Birds

Triple Double

 

He created these terms and more that EVERYONE uses now. He was awesome. I hate listening to radio now, but when Chick called games, I could picture what was happening on the court because he was so good. There was no dead air with him. The slightest things he would comment on so you can picture it. He was so good that even when games were on national tv, a lot of people would mute their TVs to listen to him on the radio. And even though he was the Lakers guy, he wasn't a homer. He was brutal when the Lakers played bad, and always gave props to opposing teams and players.

 

To me, he's the greatest Laker ever by far.

[Sħãlïq™]

List the top five, in order, 1-5.

 

If you need a little help: http://www.otrbasketball.com/lakers/roster.php

RD, why you got Pau Gasol on your All-Time list?!! :o

[Real Deal]

RD, why you got Pau Gasol on your All-Time list?!! :o

Sad, huh? The Lakers really never had a better PF than Gasol. I would put Worthy, but he was primarily a small forward, and I can't say that AC Green was better than Pau.

 

It was really either Gasol, or Odom. Clyde Lovellette put up three big seasons with the Lakers (four total, but his rookie season wasn't impressive, so I'm not going to bother with that), better scoring numbers than Pau and better rebounding, but I doubt he was the better player. Plus, this was back in the mid-50's, and his three big seasons were after Mikan was basically done, so Lovellette was starting at center for two of those three. Dukes came in during that fourth season, started at center and bumped Lovellette down to PF.

 

So, it was one productive season of Lovellette at PF, versus Gasol winning two championships and spending four seasons (so far) as a guy that can put up around 18/12.