An "Interesting" Question: Who Is the Greatest Laker of All-Time?

Leave it to Kobe Bryant to make things interesting.

After capturing his fifth NBA Championship against his team’s most hated rivals, the 2010 NBA Finals MVP has pushed a debate further into the forefront of NBA fans' minds and Lakers fans' minds alike: Who is the greatest Laker of all-time?

Now, there is a long and talented list to observe here. The Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers have had so many different dynasties, and this may seem like quite the arduous and difficult task. However, yours truly will iron out the wrinkles as it pertains to the top of the heap in Lakers’ lore.

The Lakers have obviously had many greats don the purple and gold over the years. Some have been there since day one; players such as Bryant, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, James Worthy, and Magic Johnson come to mind in that category.

Others were acquired in the prime of their careers, most notably Wilt Chamberlin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, and Pau Gasol.

A few were also with the franchise for the majority of their careers, making major contributions to the richness and tradition of the team. That list includes Derek Fisher, Byron Scott, Gail Goodrich, and Robert Horry.

Now, my sincerest apologies to any Lakers omitted from the mentions, but these are just a few examples of some of the greatest Lakers in history.

Now, in narrowing this down to one, eliminations need to be made. The third set of Lakers in this piece can all be set aside, although none of their accomplishments as Lakers can ever be taken for granted.

That leaves us nine incredible talents: Bryant, West, Baylor, Worthy, Johnson, Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, O’Neal, and Gasol.

Despite his solid career numbers, Gasol hasn’t been a Laker long enough to be considered in this list. He may after his career is over, but for now, he doesn’t have that purple-and-gold tenure.

Down to eight, and now for the hard part. We can take Baylor off the list. His career highlights of 27.4 career points per game, 10-time All-NBA First Teamer, 11 All-Star appearances (and one All-Star MVP in 1959), Rookie of the Year honors in 1959, and has a 71-point game and a 61-point Finals game to his name. He also has an NBA Executive of the Year on his resume, winning it in 2006. Nevertheless, having his career cut short due to injuries along with the fact that he did not win a championship knocks him off the list.

Seven to go. Not too shabby. The only player left on the list who wasn’t the top one or two members of his respective squad was James Worthy. This is a case of right place, wrong time for “Big Game James.” With three championships, seven All-Star appearances, and a 21.1 career playoff scoring average to his name, not to mention the 1988 Finals MVP Award, Worthy is certainly worthy to be mentioned in this conversation, especially due to his clutch play in the postseason, but with teammates Magic and Kareem overshadowing his accolades, he drops from the list at this point.

With six to go, this is where things get a bit dicey. Three hall-of-fame guards and three top-of-the-line centers remain. Who gets eliminated next?

Well, the next to go would be Wilt Chamberlain. In terms of thinking specifically on the Lakers, the others on the list have accomplished more with Los Angeles than Chamberlain did in his six years with the club. Wilt had one of the best careers anyone could ever dream of. He averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 boards per contest in the 1961-62 season. He won two NBA titles, was awarded four MVP awards, made it to 14 All-Star games, was selected to seven All-NBA First Teams, won the scoring title seven times and the rebounding title eleven times. He also has an NBA Finals MVP and a Rookie of the Year award to his credit.

However, with most of those achievements coming as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, it doesn’t help his case as the greatest Laker. If Wilt “The Stilt” would have spent his entire career in L.A., he may have very well topped this list. Nevertheless, Wilt is now officially eliminated.

Now, just five remain. The biggest man left happens to be the next one to be taken away. That man is Shaquille O’Neal. He falls victim, like Wilt, to being in L.A. for only so many years (although to a lesser extent). Shaq ushered in another “Showtime” era in Hollywood, leading the Lakers to three finals in three years. In that span, he won three Finals MVP awards along with the regular season’s Most Valuable Player achievement in 2000. He was also the scoring champ that year as well. Being a 15-time All-Star (winning the game’s MVP honors three times) and an eight-time All-NBA First Teamer has to count for something, doesn’t it? It sure does, and Laker fans will not forget his on-the-court achievements along with his off-the-court charisma that made him a perennial favorite in Lakers history.

One who does not fall victim to tenure despite spending much of his career somewhere else is Mr. Skyhook himself, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The former Lew Alcindor, who was seemingly unguardable at times, may have given the most to Lakers fans over the years. His five titles in the 80s, including wins over the Celtics for the first time in Finals history adorned Kareem to the Laker faithful. He also won two championships as an assistant to Phil Jackson, mentoring Andrew Bynum into a vital piece to the Lakers’ most recent championship puzzle.

Six times the NBA MVP, 19 times an All-Star and 10 times an NBA First Team member, Kareem is arguably the most decorated player in basketball history. Not to mention, his all-time NBA scoring record doesn’t hurt either. Kareem’s contributions on and off the court endear him to Laker fans and basketball fans alike, and his overall kind and gentle demeanor make him and all-time fan favorite. Yes, you can’t do much better than Kareem, but a few surpassed him on this list…
Kareem’s exit leads us to the final three. This was as tough of a decision as it was lengthy, but the reasoning behind will certainly do it justice. Clocking in at third-best Laker of all time is none other than the logo, Jerry West.

West has the resume to make him the best of all-time. He has All-Star appearances (14 with one MVP in 1972) and the NBA All-First Team slots (10). He’s the Lakers second all-time leading scorer, and he won his lone championship in 1972. However, West may be defined by his NBA Finals MVP award in 1969. West is the only player in NBA history to win the honor while being on the losing side. Yeah, he was that good.

Like Kareem, West also has had success with the Lakers after his playing career ended. He may have created another dynasty in Lakerland in 1996 when he signed Shaquille O’Neal and traded Vlade Divac for the 13th overall draft pick of the Charlotte Hornets, a guy by the name of Kobe Bryant. Good moves, huh?

Yes, West has done it all, and with that single championship hurting his stock, he defines what the Lakers are all about, and he defines basketball by being one of the best ambassadors of the game ever.

With two Lakers remaining, it’s easy to tell who’s left to name. However, who’s taking number one?

Lastly being taken off the list is arguably the best player in the game today, Kobe Bryant. This runner-up spot for Bryant is placed with an asterisk, as “Black Mamba” still has a few years left in the 31-year-old frame to add to his already Hall-of-Fame legacy.

Bryant has the distinction of being part of two separate dynasties. With his instrumental involvement in the Lakers’ “Three-peat” from 2000-02 and his leadership in the team’s back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, Bryant has proven that he can be a spark plug, a sidekick, and the best player on the planet. He’s arguably the best defensive player of the last decade (He’s been on the NBA All-defensive First-Team eight times). His five rings (including two Finals MVPs), his regular season MVP award in 2008, his 12 All-Star Game appearances (with three MVP awards in those contests), and his two scoring titles, it may appear to the Laker faithful that Bryant has nothing left to prove. But Kobe would disagree.

Kobe wants to be not only the best Laker in history, but the best basketball player ever. That’s what drives him, and that is why he has matured into the player he is today. If he hadn’t matured from the days after Shaq’s departure, who knows what would have happened to his career.

Nevertheless, Bryant has done it in every way imaginable, and if this still hungry legend continues to play at this high of a level, we may be calling him the greatest ever. Period.

Which brings us to number one: Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Simply put, Magic is the best Laker of all-time because is defines everything the Lakers are all about. He’s flashy yet he’s efficient. He’s charismatic yet he’s serious. Magic was always having fun during his tenure in L.A., and when it came down to business, he delivered tenfold.

Magic, like Kobe, has five rings. Magic has three Finals MVP awards. Magic has 12 All-Star games to his name, and Magic has three regular-season MVP awards.

But the Michigan State product was more than that. He was fun to watch. You never knew was he was going to do next. He was creative with his style of play, and he made you love watching the game. He was not only the main usher of the era known as “Showtime”: Magic was “Showtime.” More aptly put: Magic was “magic.”

We’ve never seen anyone like Magic Johnson before, and we’ll be hard pressed to see anyone like him again.

Well, there you have it. Magic is No. 1 in Lakerland, with Kobe looking to overtake him in the next few years. Will he do it? Only time will tell, but in getting back to the opening line of this piece: Yes, Bryant has certainly made it interesting, and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

Let the debate continue!