Joined: 29 Aug 2004 Posts: 11197 Location: The Other Perspective
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2018 5:34 am Post subject:
I may sound crazy, but I'd take Cap and Shaq over Wilt without hesitation. _________________ "Chick lived and breathed Lakers basketball…but he was also fair and objective and called every game the way it was played."
-from Chick: His Unpublished Memoirs and the Memories of Those Who Knew Him
Kareem all over Shaq. Shaq gets the nod over Wilt because he won 3 titles for the Lakers to Wilt's 1, but Shaq's lack of concern for his conditioning led to a premature end of dominance for that era of Lakers basketball and for that, I probably have a softer spot in my heart for Wilt, despite some of his drawbacks.
It's too early to list LeBron over Elgin Baylor. I'm very happy LeBron is a Laker, but he's played a handful of games in a Lakers uni. Outside of my respect for his accomplishments, what he won in Miami and Cleveland doesn't mean much to me as a Lakers fan.
The Lakers had another pretty good point guard named Norm Nixon that I would rate above Byron Scott and Nick Van Exel. Michael Cooper was a swiss army knife kind of guy, kind of hard to qualify in any one position, and an all-time great Laker and he certainly deserves his mention on this list. Jamaal Wilkes, despite being in the HOF, is a criminally underrated player.
Lakers also had two pretty good true power forwards who each played several strong seasons, Rudy LaRusso and Harold "Happy" Hairston.
Or, if you don't want to have Shaq out of position
Magic
Kobe
Worthy
LeBron
Shaq
I know people will say LeBron hasn't done enough as a Laker, and I wouldn't put him on the all-time team if we were honoring great Lakers, but if you're just talking the best players the franchise has put on the court, being honest, there's really no question that he is the best forward who has ever played for the Lakers.
Wouldn't Kareem be more suited as the PF in a hypothetical Shaq-Kareem frontcourt?
Possibly. Kareem at least had a decent midrange shot, though he didn't use it very often. I was just thinking of Shaq as a supercharged version of an old school dirty work power forward.
Joined: 29 Aug 2004 Posts: 11197 Location: The Other Perspective
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2018 7:09 am Post subject:
LKA wrote:
Imagine making Kareem a backup
Nah, that wouldn't work since Kareem is the best Center in NBA history. _________________ "Chick lived and breathed Lakers basketball…but he was also fair and objective and called every game the way it was played."
-from Chick: His Unpublished Memoirs and the Memories of Those Who Knew Him
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2018 9:22 am Post subject: Re: [OFFICIAL] Constructing the Greatest Lakers Team of All-Time
Arbitrary wrote:
Code:
PG: Magic Johnson
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: LeBron James
PF: James Worthy
C: Shaquille O'Neal
PG: Jerry West
SG: Gail Goodrich
SF: Elgin Baylor
PF: Pau Gasol
C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
PG: Byron Scott
SG: Michael Cooper
SF: Jamaal Wilkes
PF: Bob McAdoo
C: Wilt Chamberlain
Two-way contracts:
- Lamar Odom
- Nick Van Exel
dont see how Odom could get anywhere near a list like this. He never even sniffed an all star game. Eddie Jones would have been a more fitting player. _________________ (bleep) Kawhi
Joined: 15 May 2001 Posts: 2146 Location: Tega Cay, South Carolina
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2018 11:56 am Post subject:
Base on time and production with Lakers
PG Magic no debate
SG Kobe over West
SF Baylor should not be close though Worthy was really good.
PF Weak position probably Gasol. Worthy/Shaq are not PF
C Kareem over Shaq but Shaq was great. Wilt was at end of career.
I know many did not see Baylor but he was the best player in the league except for Wilt who really should be mentioned as the best of all time, certainly the dominant of all time.
Jerry West was a great play and this was before the 3pt line. He was an all time great outside shooter.
Lebron if he keeps playing the PF will move into the first team in a few years over Gasol. Right now our weakest position. The center position is insane with maybe the 3 best ever to play the game.
PG Magic no debate
SG Kobe over West
SF Baylor should not be close though Worthy was really good.
PF Weak position probably Gasol. Worthy/Shaq are not PF
C Kareem over Shaq but Shaq was great. Wilt was at end of career.
I know many did not see Baylor but he was the best player in the league except for Wilt who really should be mentioned as the best of all time, certainly the dominant of all time.
Jerry West was a great play and this was before the 3pt line. He was an all time great outside shooter.
Lebron if he keeps playing the PF will move into the first team in a few years over Gasol. Right now our weakest position. The center position is insane with maybe the 3 best ever to play the game.
If there was a 3 pt line... West would have averaged 30 points a game instead of 27. Kobe averaged 25.
As I noted in my own post... he had 2.6 steals per game in his last season at 35 years of age... Kobe peaked at 2.2 when he was 24.
Kobe did play in a more athletic era, but West is one of those players like Stockton who would have been good no matter when they played.
West put up MVP numbers against Boston in the playoffs so I think he'd have been fine playing in this era.
Starters:
PG: 88-89 Magic Johnson
SG: 05-06 Kobe Bryant
SF: 11-12 LeBron James
PF: 73-74 Bob McAdoo
C: 71-72 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bench:
PG: 64-65 Jerry West
SG: 86-87 Michael Cooper
SF: 62-63 Elgin Baylor / 88-89 James Worthy
PF: 09-10 Pau Gasol
C: 66-67 Wilt Chamberlain / 99-00 Shaquille O'Neal
Two Inactives:
81-82 Norm Nixon
07-08 Lamar Odom
If you're choosing any player who wore a Lakers jersey but ranking them by their best year regardless of whether they were a Laker at the time, Karl Malone should be PF and/or Nash or Payton the backup point guard.
I don't get why choosing LeBron and not Malone or Nash. Either we get a player for what he did in as a Laker or in his career. LeBron will probably be in any great Laker list, as of today, he has played less than 20 games.
After all is said and done, I believe it will be like Wilt, two of the NBA GOATs, but not the best Lakers, as they had their best years in other teams.
For what they did as Lakers and sticking to their primary positions:
PG- Magic
SG- Kobe
SF- Baylor
PF- Gasol
C- Kareem
PG- West
SG- Goodrich
SF- Worthy
PF- Mikkelsen
C- O'Neal
PG- Martin
SG- Scott
SF- Wilkes
PF- Green
C- Mikan
Remarks:
- Although Worthy was mostly a SF, I'd probably have him as PF, instead of Pau in a real game.
- All time Wilt would backup Kareem, but I could try him as PF in the 1st team. Laker's Wilt, not.
- Considering he won't have more than 4 years as a Laker, I doubt LeBron steals Baylor or Worthy places, if we consider him a SF. Problem is, Idk which position he plays exactly... _________________ ....
Last edited by Eindhoven on Wed Nov 21, 2018 8:15 am; edited 1 time in total
PG Magic no debate
SG Kobe over West
SF Baylor should not be close though Worthy was really good.
PF Weak position probably Gasol. Worthy/Shaq are not PF
C Kareem over Shaq but Shaq was great. Wilt was at end of career.
I know many did not see Baylor but he was the best player in the league except for Wilt who really should be mentioned as the best of all time, certainly the dominant of all time.
Jerry West was a great play and this was before the 3pt line. He was an all time great outside shooter.
Lebron if he keeps playing the PF will move into the first team in a few years over Gasol. Right now our weakest position. The center position is insane with maybe the 3 best ever to play the game.
If there was a 3 pt line... West would have averaged 30 points a game instead of 27. Kobe averaged 25.
As I noted in my own post... he had 2.6 steals per game in his last season at 35 years of age... Kobe peaked at 2.2 when he was 24.
Kobe did play in a more athletic era, but West is one of those players like Stockton who would have been good no matter when they played.
West put up MVP numbers against Boston in the playoffs so I think he'd have been fine playing in this era.
Dude give it a rest, we get it you don't like Kobe.
Starters:
PG: 88-89 Magic Johnson
SG: 05-06 Kobe Bryant
SF: 11-12 LeBron James
PF: 73-74 Bob McAdoo
C: 71-72 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bench:
PG: 64-65 Jerry West
SG: 86-87 Michael Cooper
SF: 62-63 Elgin Baylor / 88-89 James Worthy
PF: 09-10 Pau Gasol
C: 66-67 Wilt Chamberlain / 99-00 Shaquille O'Neal
Two Inactives:
81-82 Norm Nixon
07-08 Lamar Odom
If you're choosing any player who wore a Lakers jersey but ranking them by their best year regardless of whether they were a Laker at the time, Karl Malone should be PF and/or Nash or Payton the backup point guard.
You also have Spencer Hayward and Adrien Dantley.
The guy said that Malone didn't count.
But then said Generational Stars get a pass (ie LeBron James)
and if we want to talk about prime for prime, Karl Malone was a generational star, and if not for having to try to go through MJ every other year, he'd be likely universally recognized as the greatest PF of all time. And is without question top 2.
So if we're counting Karl Malone as a Generational Talent Then yes I'd use Malone.
Starting lineup would be this
Starters:
PG: 88-89 Magic Johnson
SG: 05-06 Kobe Bryant
SF: 11-12 LeBron James
PF: 89-90 Karl Malone
C: 71-72 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bench:
PG: 64-65 Jerry West
SG: 86-87 Michael Cooper
SF: 62-63 Elgin Baylor / 88-89 James Worthy
PF: 09-10 Pau Gasol
C: 66-67 Wilt Chamberlain / 99-00 Shaquille O'Neal _________________ How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 10:01 am Post subject: Re: [OFFICIAL] Constructing the Greatest Lakers Team of All-Time
Arbitrary wrote:
First off, mods, I apologize if this isn't the correct section. Please move if necessary.
Anyway, I can't sleep right now, so I was wondering which players can we use to create a 15-man roster today from our pool of all-time players.
I feel like there should be a few rules, and these things come to my mind right away:
1) Assume that we get them at their absolute prime that they have sustained for a few years.
2) Players who just played one year are disqualified (I was thinking about Malone/Payton).
3) Players who didn't contribute as much (like a championship) due to injuries/general decline (but were great before) are also disqualified (I was thinking about Nash here; Chamberlain played hurt on some seasons, but he helped us win a ring).
4) Generational stars (LeBron James) get a pass.
5) Players that were taken off for "better" players can still be added to round up the roster as we should not limit them because of position (I just tried to see if I can make 3 1-5 rosters).
Basically, I'm coming from an impact perspective. As much as I'd like to use Malone, Payton, Rodman, or Nash, they really didn't do much, stayed long enough, or were more known from their previous teams.
Here's my list so far:
Code:
PG: Magic Johnson
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: LeBron James
PF: James Worthy
C: Shaquille O'Neal
PG: Jerry West
SG: Gail Goodrich
SF: Elgin Baylor
PF: Pau Gasol
C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
PG: Byron Scott
SG: Michael Cooper
SF: Jamaal Wilkes
PF: Bob McAdoo
C: Wilt Chamberlain
Two-way contracts:
- Lamar Odom
- Nick Van Exel
I'm hoping for serious answers here. Yes, I added Kevin Durant for fun as I thought he's likelier to be had than him AND Anthony Davis.
New/better rules can be added to make this a critical thought process. I'm sure this thread might have been up before, but I want to have a contemporary take given our recent rise back to prominence.
I hope, and I can't wait, for people to try and make a constructive case on which people should be on the roster.
I'll probably recreate the best result in NBA 2K.
EDIT: I love our all-time players. Best team in the NBA.
Update:
- Nick Van Exel out. Michael Cooper in.
- Added rule #5.
Update 2:
- Kevin Durant out. Worthy, Gasol, McAdoo, and Van Exel all get shifted up.
Update 3:
- Eddie Jones out. Byron Scott in. Michael Cooper shifted to SG from PG.
Shaq at the 4...Cap at the 5...cant ask the greatest player of all time to come off the bench. _________________ "If You're Afraid To Fail...Then You're Probably Going To Fail."
- Kobe
PG Magic no debate
SG Kobe over West
SF Baylor should not be close though Worthy was really good.
PF Weak position probably Gasol. Worthy/Shaq are not PF
C Kareem over Shaq but Shaq was great. Wilt was at end of career.
I know many did not see Baylor but he was the best player in the league except for Wilt who really should be mentioned as the best of all time, certainly the dominant of all time.
Jerry West was a great play and this was before the 3pt line. He was an all time great outside shooter.
Lebron if he keeps playing the PF will move into the first team in a few years over Gasol. Right now our weakest position. The center position is insane with maybe the 3 best ever to play the game.
If there was a 3 pt line... West would have averaged 30 points a game instead of 27. Kobe averaged 25.
As I noted in my own post... he had 2.6 steals per game in his last season at 35 years of age... Kobe peaked at 2.2 when he was 24.
Kobe did play in a more athletic era, but West is one of those players like Stockton who would have been good no matter when they played.
West put up MVP numbers against Boston in the playoffs so I think he'd have been fine playing in this era.
Dude give it a rest, we get it you don't like Kobe.
Joined: 02 Jan 2011 Posts: 36081 Location: 502 Bad Gateway
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 1:22 pm Post subject:
The 4 is by far the weakest position in team history. I'd put Pau on the first team simply because he was the best player to officially log significant minutes there. Worthy didn't, to my knowledge Baylor didn't, and Malone was washed (that shouldn't be used as any answer). 2nd and 3rd teams I guess would be toss ups between Happy Hairston (before my time), A.C., or Lamar. I'm unsure how much McAdoo was used there, but like Lamar he came off the bench.
Horry, too, might be a decent 2nd or 3rd team choice.
Last edited by greenfrog on Wed Nov 21, 2018 4:23 pm; edited 1 time in total
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