The only three people with possible claims to the title are Kareem, Magic, and West. I don't know why Kobe is even a poll option. My vote is for Kareem, who I put as the second best player of all time behind only Wilt Chamberlain.
I've gotten to the point, where you cannot even used those in a discussion, anymore. Because, that award has a weak criteria.
Wilt is a tricky pick, because he didn't play with the Lakers that long and is probably a bigger icon in Philadelphia. Moreover, he was legitimately past his prime with the Lakers, still a great player, but turned into a complimentary player of sorts. If it were who had the best career, he'd probably win fairly easy.
Talent doesn't make the best player. Most people consider Jordan the GOAT, but I still think Magic was better. The guy could do it all and made everyone around him look like an all-star.
Magic, he could play all the positions on the floor. He and Bird brought the NBA out of the doldrums.
It irritates me to hear people in LA talk about Kobe having surpassed Magic. Even the question is laughable. Anyone who has 42pts/15rbs/7assist in the close-out game in the NBA Finals is ridiculous. To do it as a 20 year old rookie is unheard of. Seriously, what rookie can you think of that has had that kind of game? But to do it as a point guard playing center is singular. There has never been anyone who has the ability to play at an elite level at every position. Not even Lebron. Magic's understanding/feel for the game is so deeply intuitive that it's in his bones--he understood completely in the moment what was required of himself and everyone around him to win and was able to translate that awareness into action. Kobe's understanding of the game is phenomenal, but it's an understanding that comes from study, not from something innate. Beyond the physical and mental differences is the difference in character. Kobe is so obsessed with feeding his ego that it is a weakness when makes him do things the hard way. When he wanted to be the man, he forced Shaq out. Even if he's doubleteamed, he wants to take the shot when someone else has a better percentage shot (latest example was Blake's shot at the end of the game). Magic never let his ego override what was obviously the best shot. I go back and forth between Jordan and Magic, because it's really hard to say what is meant by who is the greatest. So it comes down to aesthetics for me. Jordan is weirdly maniacal in his ego-centrism, which means that any team he's on is going to be hierarchical--he's the dictator and everyone defers to him. And there is something to be said for having a clear pecking order and being on the same page in the game of basketball. The risk of a domineering player is that it can stunt the development of some of the other players (See Kwame Brown). And it took a while for Jordan to figure out how to win as a team. But Magic has the exact opposite disposition. He always defers credit to his teammates but at the same time takes responsibility for the team's failures. He's like Miles Davis in the Miles Davis Quintet. He'll get everyone to play amazing together and when someone else like John Coltrane is feeling it, he let's them shine, but when it's time to finish it off, he brings it home. If greatness is measured in terms of one player's ability to dominate the game as an individual, Jordan is #1. But if it's measured in the ability to make your team maximize its potential in the team sport that is basketball, Magic is the GOAT.
Jerry West. He was the one who propeled the Lakers into what they are today. If he doesn't play- Kareem doesn't want to go there, Kobe doesn't want to get traded there, and Shaq doesn't go there. Not only was his playing career great, West was a solid GM for the Lakers, he build that '80s team and traded Divac for Kobe. Of course, as the Memphis GM he provided the Lakers with Gasol- who played a big role in their last two championships.
I don't understand why we don't have anyone else defending Kareem. The first thing is just pure longevity. No one surpassed Kareem in staying so good for so long. No one. He played for twenty years and made all-nba teams fifteen years apart - that's longer than Magic's career! All-time scoring leader, 6 MVPs, a shot more unstoppable than the Dream Shake, 6 titles, it goes on and on. I'd say Magic's peak is probably a little better than Kareem's, but the fact that his career was cut short and that Kareem was able to stay so good for so long means that I think he's clearly the better Laker.
I chose Magic, but I admit that it the deciding factor for me was mostly an emotional one. If Kobe wasn't such a prick all throughout his career, it probably would have been more difficult to choose Magic over him. Each has won 5 championships and each a Laker 4 Life (thus far).
I personally think Elgin Baylor was the greatest Laker. NBA Rookie of the Year (1959) All-NBA First Team 10 times (1959–65, 67-69) Eleven-time NBA All-Star (1959–65, 1967–70) NBA All-Star Game Co-MVP (1959) Holds NBA Finals single-game record for most points (61) on April 14, 1962 against the Boston Celtics Scored 71 points (8th highest in history) against the New York Knicks (Nov. 15, 1960) No. 4 all-time with 87 regular season 40-point games[8] Scored 23,149 points in only 846 games (27.4 points per game, fourth best all-time) and averaged 30 points or more three times (1961–63) Retired as NBA's third all-time leading scorer Retired as fifth leading scorer in All-Star Game history (19.8 points per game) Ranked sixth in NBA Finals all-time scoring (26.4 in 44 games) Ranked seventh in NBA playoffs all-time scoring (27.0 in 134 games) via Wikipedia
soo many great lakers. but i gotta go with Magic. he made showtime happen in the 80s. dude had crazy handles and can pass on a fast break like pistol pete.
Great post and exactly how I feel. I recognize the greatness of Jordan, but he always left me cold. Magic made you want to watch and play basketball. I was a teenager when he came on the scene and the difference in pick-up games after Magic (and Bird) started dishing was remarkable. All of a sudden, everyone wanted to pass. They made the game more fun because everyone could pass, everyone could play team ball, everyone could find their role. Jordan made basketball fun to watch, but he also made playing it more about me than team. Instead of emulating Magic and Bird, people tried to be like Mike, which led to ballhogging and chest-thumping and the best players having to show "leadership" which usually meant they were just assholes who demanded shots. The other thing is that Magic had Bird while Jordan didn't really have an equal. Ewing? Barkley? Payton? Drexler? Stockton/Malone? all great players, all flawed in different ways. I guess you could say the Pistons were Jordan's Bird, but that doesn't really work. The only person out there was Dream and the two never met in the Finals, much less 3 or 4 of them.
If we're talking about the greatest player than it's Kareem, but the greatest Laker in terms of what he provided to the organization is Jerry West.
