To honor 75 years of the franchise, the LA Times has pulled out the salt shaker and compiled its list of the 75 best Lakers of all time. Inevitably, there are happy and disappointed, it’s the principle of a list, everyone is aware… especially at this time.
The complete list of the 75 best players in Lakers history according to the LA Times :
- 1. Magic Johnson
- 2. Kobe Bryant
- 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- 4. Jerry West
- 5. Elgin Baylor
- 6. Shaquille O’Neal
- 7. (tie) LeBron James
- 7. (tie) George Mikan
- 9. James Worthy
- 10. Wilt Chamberlain
- 11. Gail Goodrich
- 12. Paul Gasol
- 13. Vern Mikkelsen
- 14. (tie) Byron Scott
- 14. (tie) Jamaal Wilkes
- 16. Michael Cooper
- 17. Slater Martin
- 18. Anthony Davis
- 19. Norm Nixon
- 20. (tie) Derek Fisher
- 20. (tie) AC Green
- 22. (tie) Clyde Lovellette
- 22. (tie) Jim Pollard
- 24. Happy Hairston
- 25. Lamar Odom
- 26. (tie) Bob McAdoo
- 26. (tie) Robert Horry
- 28. Rudy LaRusso
- 29. Vlade Divac
- 30. Kurt Rambis
- 31. Jim McMillian
- 32. Eddie Jones
- 33. Rick Fox
- 34. Andrew Bynum
- 35. Mychal Thompson
- 36. Metta Sandiford-Artest
- 37. Nick VanExel
- 38. Sam Perkins
- 39. Cedric Ceballos
- 40. Elden Campbell
- 41. Dick Barnett
- 42. Kyle Kuzma
- 43. Adrian Dantley
- 44. Glen Rice
- 45. Luke Walton
- 46. Dwight Howard
- 47. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- 48. Jim Chones
- 49. Frank Selvy
- 50. Brian Shaw
- 51. Julius Randle
- 52. Hot Rod Hundley
- 53. Tom Hawkins
- 54. Brandon Ingram
- 55. Pat Riley
- 56. Sedale Threatt
- 57. Dick Garmaker
- 58. Jordan Clarkson
- 59. Keith Erickson
- 60. Lucius Allen
- 61. (tie) Alex Caruso
- 61. (tie) Elmore Smith
- 63. Archie Clark
- 64. (tie) Leroy Ellis
- 64. (tie) Larry Foust
- 66. (tie) Cazzie Russell
- 66. (tie) Whitey Skoog
- 68. Devean George
- 69. Connie Hawkins
- 70. Mike McGee
- 71. Lou Williams
- 72. Horace Grant
- 73. Mitch Kupchak
- 74. Trevor Ariza
- 75. Darrall Imhoff
The @latimes’ greatest 75 @Lakers.https://t.co/xB2ihv7IX1 pic.twitter.com/bIjS8mOd7Q
— David Carrillo Peñaloza (@ByDCP) November 14, 2022
So that’s it for this list which brings together a bunch of glorious blazes, offers us a visual with small onions and reminds us that the panda friend has changed its name yet once more. To fully understand behind the scenes of this ranking, a bit of context. In order to honor the 75th anniversary of the Lakers, the LA Times assembled a small committee made up of columnists and journalists to work on the issue. Each member should then draw up a Top 75 of the best all-time Lakers. Only one constraint, the classification can only include players who have played 100 games under Californian colors, that’s why Russell Westbrook and his 90 games are not on this list (no). If the order can be questioned, we still find the big faces of the Lakers from Magic to Kobe via Kareem, Jerry West, Wilt, Shaq, LeBron or even George Mikan and James Worthy. Without forgetting the great lieutenants like Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher or Robert Horry. In short, all eras are present, from the great conquests to the young core of the reconstruction, which offers a place to Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram and Jordan Clarkson but not to Lonzo Ball. Certain presences give the banana like that Alex Caruso, others make smile… Kyle Kuzma 42nd, really ?
To choose is to give up, but in the radius of the great absentees, we can still cite certain emblematic Zouaves such as Jordan Farmar, Steve Blake or Sasha Vujacic who perhaps deserve just as much as Lou Williams. To avoid getting emotional, we won’t even talk to you regarding Gary Payton Robert Sacre, who knew how to win the hearts of the Angelinos in his own way, that is to say by making antics on the bench. the LA Times decided, to swing his 75 best Lakers in history, Nick Young is not one of them and inevitably, he had to react in his own particular way.
“Hate is very real, why do you hate me when you love me? Nick Young.
The hate is real why y’all hate me but love me.. https://t.co/Oe5d8gRHiG
— Nick Young (@NickSwagyPYoung) November 15, 2022
The Lakers are therefore celebrating their 75th anniversary, 75 NBA seasons, 62 appearances in the Playoffs, 17 titles and 3463 regular season victories. The franchise is a behemoth of the NBA, choosing its 75 best players is therefore not easy. For our friend Nick Young, he only has to wait ten years before appearing on the list of the 85 best Lakers, unless Austin Reaves steals the place from him first.
Source text : LA Times, David Carrillo Peñaloza, Nick Young.
