Building the Ultimate Los Angeles Lakers Team
The Los Angeles Lakers are the most storied franchise in NBA history. In fact, they are almost the story of NBA history. They've been to one finals shy of half of all finals. They've won a quarter of all of them. On average, a two-year vacation from the finals is a real slump for Lakers fans.
When you start looking at the greatest players in NBA history, it's easier to pick the top 10 players who weren't ever Lakers than those who were. It's pretty easy to compose a top 10 list with six Lakers, and you could add even more to the top 20.
So when you build the ultimate Los Angeles Lakers team, there's a lot to chose from. This will be my third team that I've "built." The rules are simple: Take the best individual seasons to create the best possible team. Backups have to be different players. That's it.
Here's the best Lakers team I could come up with. It's pretty lethal.
PG, Magic Johnson, 1987
1 of 5Starter
In 1987, Magic Johnson had the best of what was one of the most amazing, if short-lived, careers in the history of the NBA. He averaged 23.9 points, 12.2 assists and 6.3 rebounds in a stellar season. His field-goal percentage was .522 and his free-throw percentage was .848. Needless to say, he won the MVP. Just for good measure he won the finals MVP too.
Backup
To say there's a bit of a fall-off at point guard is not a bit of an understatement; it's a massive understatement. The next best point guard season by a player other than Magic would probably be Norm Nixon in 1979. He scored 17.1 points, and averaged nine assists.
He made the All-Star Game with the Lakers in 1982, but his numbers were better in 1979.
SG, Kobe Bryant, 2006
2 of 5Starter
In 2006, Bryant had a season for the ages. He scored 35.4 points, averaging 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists. The only real help he had was Lamar Odom. The rest of the team was essentially D-League talent and Kobe still led them to the playoffs, an accomplishment in spite of the fact they were ousted after one round.
Backup
What does it say about the Lakers' legacy that the Logo doesn't make the starting roster? Jerry West's best season came in 1966 when he scored 31.3 points and added 6.1 assists and 7.1 rebounds.
SF, Elgin Baylor, 1961
3 of 5Starter
With Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Jerry West already on the team, I'm sure you're wondering, "Where is the scoring going to come from?" It's a good thing they still have Elgin Baylor. His best season came in 1961 when he scored 34.8 points and 19.8 rebounds. As if that weren't enough, he had 5.1 assists as well.
Backup
For those of you keeping track, four of the five players named were Hall of Fame players. In 1990 James Worthy scored 21.1 points, and added six rebounds and 3.6 assists. That's another Hall of Famer.
PF, Pau Gasol, 2008
4 of 5Starter
Pau Gasol revolutionized the Lakers franchise when he was acquired, instantly catapulting a team which had been struggling to get past the first round of the playoffs since the departure of Shaquille O'Neal. In his first full year with the Lakers, Pau averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 boards and 3.5 assists.
Backup
Lamar Odom's 2011 season gets him the nod here. It was a choice between him and the 1952 Vern Mikkelsen. I ended up giving Odom the nod because he was the 2011 Sixth Man of the Year winner. Why wouldn't you want him coming off your bench? Aside from that, there's his versatility and all the things that make him such an outstanding sixth man.
Last year Odom averaged 14.4 points, 8.7 boards and three assists in getting the award.
C, Shaquille O'Neal, 2000
5 of 5Starter
Shaquille O'Neal's 2000 season was one of the best seasons by any player in NBA history. His 30.65 PER was the highest in Lakers' history. His 18.6 Win Shares was also the highest by an Laker in history. Shaq scored 29.7 points, grabbed 13.6 boards and dished 3.8 assists. He won the regular season and finals MVP.
Backup
In 1976 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar celebrated the bicentennial by winning the MVP. He averaged 27.7 points and 16.9 boards and passed for five assists.
This can really be a "to-mae-to vs. to-mah-to" situation here at the starting center, but I gave the nod to Shaq based on the single-season WS and PER club records as well as the finals MVP.
To think that Wilt Chamberlain and George Mikan could have just as easily been on this list!
So, your starting five for the Lakers has Magic at the point, Kobe at the 2, Baylor at small forward and then Pau and Shaq shoring up the paint. Is that enough to frighten anyone? The starting five totals 142.7 points!
