NBA Way to Goat for franchise: Los Angeles Lakers

Welcome to the Ranking Goat Franchice to franchise. Today, with the Angelino team, there is debate: from LeBron to Kobe, on a tour that seeks definitions.

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Welcome to Ranking Goat franchise to NBA franchise. Before starting, it is important to define the evaluation criteria: it is not the best players but the most impact for the team in their history. We put, in a situation, trajectory, championships won, faithfulness and, of course, quality.

This committee composed of a single person has decided to immerse yourself in swampy waters to bring definitions. We will be inflexible. We will be dogmatic. And we will bring answers.

Made the respective clarifications, We get into the Top 10 of Los Angeles Lakers.

Adjust your belts. It is time to take off.

If this ranking were better players, LeBron would be much higher on the list. But it is only the Lakers, and there it has a place only in the Top 10. Champion in the Orlando Bubble in 2020, being MVP of the finals, and of the NBA CUP in 2023 (yes, we have to tell it), LeBron It is not an original laker. In fact, he was born in Cleveland Cavaliers, moved his talents to South Beach to play in Miami Heat and after a return to Cleveland he reached the seven-time All-Star with the purple and gold team, James was responsible for returning the brightness to the franchise after the magical years of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Phil Jackson and company.

26.6 points, 8.1 assists and 7.9 rebounds in 419 games in the Lakers. It also became the top scorer in the history of the NBA surpassing another Angelina legend: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. A superstar, but in the Lakers, there were more relevant geniuses.

Chosen in the first position of the 1958 draft, Baylor was a rookie of the year. It was the precursor of Julius Erving and Michael Jordan. An artist from the skies. It was, for the time, a revolutionary. Disruption and avant -garde in 14 years wearing the Lakers uniform. He never won a championship, but the footprint was so great, so important the legacy for future generations, that the franchise honored him with a champion ring, that of 1972, although he retired before.

He played eight finals in the Boston Celtics domain era. He averaged 27.4 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 846 games in Hollywood. Ten times All-Star, it was also MVP of the All-Star Game of 1959.

It looks a lot like LeBron in Los Angeles. It is not an original laker, but the difference with James is that Wilt, with the purple and gold team, played four NBA finalssomething that James could not. He only played one. Chamberlain He achieved the 1972 title, in a perfect combo with Jerry Westthe logo man. When he arrived at the franchise, his prime was no longer, but he rushed them to average 17.7 points, 19.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, in a five years of experience.

Chamberlainthe 100 points, wearing the Philadelphia Warriors uniform in 1972, the nemesis of Bill Russellhe died in 1999 at 63. He left very early, but he left the memory of being a man of steel, an impossible physical for his time. The infinite legend of record man.

7. George Mikan (1947-1956)

Perhaps the most undervalued talent in the history of the Lakers. Mikan was a true center of attentionbut committed a single sin: dominate in the wrong time. Or rather, when there was still no video as a primary source of analysis and monitoring. That said, He won five championships with the Lakersbut when they were still in Minneapolis. It was a transition genius, because his first title was given when the League was the BAA, then it became the NBL and finally the NBA.

Three of his championships (1952 to 1954) were consecutive. It was the first dominant center in history: it averaged 23.1 points and 13.4 rebounds. He played only seven seasons, it was four times All-Star and three times maximum scorer of the league. His presence was so great under the boards that forced the rules to change.

Achieving something like that is a few thing. And yes: it was a matter of Mikan.

6. James Worthy (1982-1994)

His glasses were registered trademark. Chosen with the Pick 1 in the 1982 draft, he played twelve seasons with the Lakers. It was a key piece of the showtime team, the creation of Jack McKinney that continued Paul Westhead and Pat Riley, with Magic Johnson as a creation engine and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as surgeon in the painted area. Few remember that It was MVP of the 1988 finals, in addition to winning three titles With the purple and gold franchise.

Nickname Big Game James for his lethal contribution in the ‘clutch’, Worthyglue in each team of the Lakers that he integrated, averaged 17.6 points per game in his passage through the franchise. As silent as unforgettable.

Shaq was a force of nature. Like Mikan in his time, O’Neal was a center of domination par excellence. And also caused rules changes. It’s true, he won next to Kobe Bryant In the Three-Pat from 2000 to 2002, but in those years, the primary reference was always the former Orlando Magic.

It was MVP of the three finals that the Lakers playedin what was a mini-dysty with Phil Jackson as teacher Zen to regulate egos. O’NealThe Rompe-Tablos, had a stage in which it was basically impossible to defend. His only Kryptonite were the free throws: he averaged 27 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. He is not above in the ranking because of his lack of fidelity: not only ‘was born’ in the NBA in Orlando, but had steps for the Heat, the Suns, the Cavaliers and also … the Celtics.

There are things that hurt and it costs to forgive.

4. Jerry West (1960-1974)

May not be the number one player in the history of the Lakers, but Yes is the most important man in the history of the franchise. Without any doubt. Westthe logo man played 14 years in the team and led his own to play nine NBA finals. 12 times there, his scoring power was incomparable, with 27 points of average per game.

We say that he was an extraordinary man for the Lakers, because he not only won a championship (1972) as a player, but that he designed the showtime from the offices as executive and the tricampeonato of 2002, being responsible for the change with Charlotte Hornets by Kobe Bryant on the 1996 Draft night.

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1975-1989)

The infinite Sky-Hook. The impossible movement that defined basketball in the 1980s. It’s true, he was first champion with Milwaukee Bucks, but When he stepped on the Lakers, the history of the franchise changed. In fact, he won five championships in Los Angeles, including three of his six MVP.

It was a points. He averaged, with the purple and gold franchise, 22.1 units, 9.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He played much of his career without a three -point line and still became the top scorer of all time in 1984. The record remained for 39 years until LeBron James dethroned him in February 2023.

Kareem, known in the first instance as Lew AlcindorHe was also a staunch defender of minorities outside the court. Eccentric, apathetic but also of unwavering values, was an icon of the wonderful ’80 years in the forum.

The smile of basketball. The joy of the game. Say Magic Johnson, that is, Los Angeles Lakers. It is the most iconic piece of the franchise and its rivalry with Larry Bird as an emblem of Boston Celtics, in the ’80s, it could never be matched. With 2.06 meters, it was the first hybrid of basketball. High dribbling, open eyes, rhythm, explosion and ecstasy.

He won five championships in the Lakersincluding that of 1980, with injured Kareem, in which it was MVP of the finals playing center and as a rookie. Unforgettable. He was not just a basketball player: it was a stamp. A brand. A beautiful Époque. They all wanted to Magic. Everyone wanted to be like Magic.

19.5 points, 11.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game. 13 seasons. It was noun, but also verb. Action. The No-Look Pass. The open partner. And the maxim that always defined it: “An annotation makes a person happy. An assistance, to two.”

Winning spirit. Contraction to work. The perfect definition of the extreme competitor. He had chances of leaving the franchise, but he never did. He won five championships in the Lakers, but it was a mantra for those who accompanied him. For those who happened. Black Mamba: Extreme mentality. Always appear an hour before. Always stay an hour later: it doesn’t matter what you do in life, but how you do it. His determination was in itself a message. With Phil Jackson as a sports father, he won in two different teams, with Shaq as Ladero and also with Pau Gasol.

He played 20 seasons, it was 18 times All-Star, he was in 15 All-NBA teams, 12 defensive teams, he was twice the top scorer of the NBA, won the MVP in 2008, four MVP of All-Star Game and is fourth among the top scorers of all time. Ah, leads the franchise in matches, minutes, points, triple, converted field shots and robberies. An absurd summary for an unforgettable player.

Michael Jordan’s main heir, a perfect copycat, Kobe has infinite feats that serve as inspiration for current talents and also for those who will come.