Kobe Bryant is seen by many NBA fans as one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. The late, great superstar made it his mission to carve out his own legacy in the game, winning multiple titles and even winning the MVP award too.
Following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, Bryant’s career was intrinsically linked with the Chicago Bulls legend, given they both had similar personalities and a relentless will to win.
Given his longevity with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant unsurprisingly can count himself among the best in franchise history. But who did the shooting guard himself say can be considered among the greatest Lakers players of all-time?
Having played with a host of incredible stars, including Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant narrowed it down to a list of the top five. Find out below who he chose, and the big omissions that he made.
Magic Johnson
Unsurprisingly, Bryant named arguably the greatest point guard of all-time as one of the best players in Lakers history. Magic Johnson had a remarkable career that saw him battle tremendous adversity and still come out on top. With vision that was unmatched – not to mention the kind of supreme advantage he had over other guards given his size – Magic could make all types of passes.
His role in helping to create one of the biggest rivalries the NBA has ever seen during the 1980s, cannot be understated. The Lakers’ battles with the Boston Celtics were legendary, and Johnson coming up against Larry Bird saw arguably the two dominant forces of the decade locking horns in the playoffs when the spotlight was at its brightest.
I grew up watching Magic, and I’ve learned so much from him. I can’t say that I’m the greatest Laker ever, to me he is. To keep it real with you, I’ve stolen so much from him, that my game wouldn’t be complete without him!
Jerry West
Still holding the record for the highest average in a playoffs series – he managed 46.3 against the Baltimore Bullets in the first round of the 1965 post-season – West stepped up his game when things were on the line.
As a player, he’s the logo of the league. What he’s done of the league and then also the teams that he’s built — the team that changed the face of basketball. For him to put me in that company, he’s the man that drafted me and you know he’s going to give you his honest response no matter what, it means I must have done something right.
Elgin Baylo
A 11-time All-Star who was named to the All-NBA First Team on ten occasions, Baylor may not have won a championship with the Lakers, but his greatness is recognised by the fact his no.22 jersey has been retired by the franchise.
Everything I heard about Elgin, everything I read about Elgin, was that he was Dr. J and Michael Jordan before Dr. J. & Michael Jordan. He gets to the basket and does all these incredible things. But I want to know how to get to the basket.
It’s cool to be able to do all those fancy things, but how did you get there?… He had great footwork, very explosive first step and very strong. And we forget his size, how big he was and how strong he was. So once he did that shoulder and got by players, it was basically… at his mercy.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The man with the most NBA MVP awards in history with six – one more than Michael Jordan – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was quite simply an unstoppable scorer. Armed with arguably the most dangerous single shot/manoeuver in history with his unguardable sky-hook, Abdul-Jabbar terrorised the association for so many years, first with the Milwaukee Bucks, then with the Los Angeles Lakers.
A multiple-time champion who was a huge part of why the Lakers enjoyed so much success in the post-season in the 1980s, Kareem may no longer hold the record of the most points in NBA history, but still goes down as one of the best to ever play at the center.
Wilt Chamberlain
In terms of the most dominant players the game has ever seen, Wilt Chamberlain is certainly up there in the conversation for being the absolute very best alongside fellow former Laker, Shaquille O’Neal. A towering presence, Wilt the Stilt dominated the boards like no other, leading the league in rebounding an astonishing 11 times across his 14-year career in the NBA – in fact, one game even saw him register the feat of pulling down 55 rebounds.
That’s amazing. It was a different game, still, 50 points and 25 rebounds is 50 points and 25 rebounds. It’s a credit to Wilt’s physical specimen and how talented he was.
