10 Best Los Angeles Lakers Playoff Performers of All Time

The Los Angeles Lakers are a team with a history longer than any other basketball team that doesn't dress up in green and white on a daily basis, which means there's a lot of playoffs to ponder in that long history.

With guys like Kobe Bryant and Shaq recently and as far back as Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, they aren't short on amazing players who ratcheted up their intensity in the playoffs, and that's a big reason why they've appeared in 59 playoffs in 64 years and won 16 titles in those 64 years.

However, as with everything else sports-related, there's something we need to do with these playoff performances. We need to pick them apart, of course.

So, who is the greatest playoff performer in Lakers history? Well, just click on and find out for yourself.

10. Robert Horry

Los Angeles Playoff Stats: 7.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 42-32-71 shooting percentages

It seems a bit hard to justify that a guy who never averaged double-figures in a playoff series for the Lakers is one of their best playoff performers of all time, but he's a huge reason why the Lakers won three rings in the early 2000s.

Among his big shots include his dagger of a three against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 in the 2001 NBA Finals. He put the Lakers up by four late in that game which proved to be the turning point of that series. Los Angeles won in five games.

He also hit two game-winners in the playoffs in 2002, first against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 with the Lakers down two and just seconds remaining on the clock and second against the Sacramento Kings in Game 4 with what was possibly the most famous buzzer-beater of all time.

9. Wilt Chamberlain

Los Angeles Playoff Stats: 15.8 points, 22.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 53-45 shooting percentages

Wilt Chamberlain was one of the two best big men of his time, eventually ending up with the Los Angeles Lakers for the final five years of his career where he would win his second championship in 1972.

He was up-and-down for the Lakers in the playoffs in his first few years, creating a controversy when he sat out the final six minutes of Game 7 of the 1969 Finals when his team lost by just two points.

Chamberlain was on the losing end of a Game 7 again the following season when the Lakers made it to the Finals again, this time matched up against the Knicks when Willis Reed hobbled down from the stands.

Wilt finally did win his ring with the Lakers in 1972, however, when he averaged 15 points and 21 rebounds throughout the playoffs to go along with 56 percent shooting.

8. George Mikan

Minneapolis Playoff Stats: 24 points, 13.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 40-79 shooting percentages

It's a bit hard to leave out a guy who won five championships, even if it was in a time when he was towering over the rest of the league and straddling the lane with his long, lanky legs.

George Mikan put up the numbers that big men of the 50s would put up, averaging a double-double throughout his playoff career but shooting just 40 percent, as was the way the game worked in those days.

Mikan was the reason for the start of the greatness of the Lakers, even if he did kick it off in Minneapolis.

7. James Worthy

Los Angeles Playoff Stats: 21.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 54-21-72 shooting percentages

You don't get a nickname like "Big Game James" for being a slouch in the playoffs, you know.

The first ring to go on his finger came along with a playoff performance of the ages, as Worthy averaged 22 points and five rebounds, but did so while shooting an incredible 62 percent.

To go along with this three career championships, Big Game James was also the Finals MVP Award winner in 1988 when Kareem was deteriorated and Magic was playing the role of the glue that kept the team together. Worthy averaged 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the series, but his real production came in Games 6 and 7, scoring 28 and grabbing nine rebounds in Game 6 and notching a triple-double in Game 7 with 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 dimes.

6. Elgin Baylor

Los Angeles Playoff Stats: 27 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4 assists, 44-77 shooting percentages

Elgin Baylor, who oftentimes is the forgotten Lakers legend, just happens to be the second leading scorer in Lakers history in the playoffs (behind Jerry West) and the fifth best playoff scorer of all time with his 27-point average.

Baylor was the leading scorer in the playoffs for four years running, including a two-year stretch when he averaged over 38 points per game in the playoffs in 1961 and 1962.

Unfortunately, Baylor would have to go down as the best player in NBA history to walk away from the game having never won a ring. The Lakers won the title just six months after his retirement.

5. Shaquille O'Neal

Los Angeles Playoff Stats: 27.7 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 56-52 shooting percentages

Shaquille O'Neal was famous for being able to play himself into shape for the playoffs and really take off once things started to matter—and it showed.

His dominance was unrivaled by any other center since Hakeem Olajuwan in the stretch run in 2000 and 2001 when he averaged 30.7 and 30.4 points respectively to go along with 15.4 rebounds in both years and more than two blocks a game.

In that three-year run, Shaq would go on to dominate everyone from David Robinson to Rik Smits to Vlade Divac to Arvydas Sabonis...a lot.

4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Los Angeles Playoff Stats: 22.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3 assists, 54-0-76 shooting percentages

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went from being the afro-ed, sideburned rebellious looking young man to the shiny-domed life form from another planet in his years with the Lakers, but his playoff performances almost never fell short when the Lakers truly needed him.

Kareem was there for every championship of the 80s, even winning the Finals MVP Award in 1985—a full 14 years after winning his first in 1971.

He fluctuated depending on what the Lakers needed him to do, scoring early on in his career with the Lakers as he averaged 31 points and 14 rebounds in his first five years, but allowed Magic to take over soon thereafter.

Kareem never failed to realize what he needed to do for Los Angeles, which allowed them to dominate the 80s.

3. Kobe Bryant

Los Angeles Playoff Stats: 25.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 45-33-82 shooting percentages

Kobe Bryant was the unquestioned leader for two of the Lakers last five championships, debatably the leader for another two and quite possibly the best damn second option of all time for another.

Kobe won back-to-back Finals MVP Awards in 2009 and 2010 when he averaged nearly 30 points, six rebounds and six assists combined for the two years to go along with a 32-point, seven assist per game performance against the Magic in 2009 and a 29-point, eight rebound per game performance against the Celtics in 2010.

Sure, there was a period of time in the middle of his career when Kobe's volatile attitude may have done way more harm than good for the Lakers, but at the end of the day, he's the reason they've won five titles since 2000.

2. Jerry West

Los Angeles Playoff Stats: 29.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 47-81 shooting percentages

Jerry West ended up winning just one championship in his years with the Lakers back in 1972, but his legacy stems from other playoff performances, not just his ring-winning ways. After all, he was playing in an era when the Boston Celtics were vacuuming up rings like they were looking to deck themselves out like pimps.

West is the only player in NBA history to have won the Finals MVP Award as the member of a losing team, a feat he accomplished while averaging 31 points and eight assists throughout the 1969 playoffs. West averaged 38 points in the series and had a triple-double in Game 7 with 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists—he just didn't have the team to get the job done.

West may only have one ring, but few players have played as well as he has in the playoffs. His 29.1-point average is a Los Angeles Lakers record and third-most all-time behind Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan.

1. Magic Johnson

Los Angeles Playoff Stats: 19.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 51-24-84 shooting percentages

He may have earned the nickname "Tragic Johnson" early on in his career for a playoff failure or two, but the nickname proved to be unwarranted when judging the entire scope of his career.

Magic started off his playoff mastery in his rookie season when he was inserted at center in the lineup in place of the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the 76ers. Magic played every position that night and ended up finishing with 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, a performance that led to him being the only rookie to ever win the Finals MVP Award.

He would end up winning that award twice more, along with four more championships altogether and would finish his career as the all-time leader in assists per game, a record he still holds over John Stockton.

If you are one of those Twitterers, you can follow me @JDorsey33.