In recent weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers’ all-time lineup has been in the news recently as Shaquille O’Neal and Scottie Pippen got in a pretty heated beef over which team’s starting five would win in a seven-game series. With the Lakers history of outstanding players, even selecting who would be on the all-time starting five is an exercise in itself.
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For his part, Lakers legend James Worthy gave his choice on who would be on his all-time Lakers starting five on Sirius XM NBA Radio:
.@JamesWorthy42 gave his all time @Lakers starting 5 – Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, & Elgin Baylor
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 27, 2015
The lineup is an impressive one and spans a wide range of eras in Lakers history. Elgin Baylor was one of the biggest stars of his time and his presence made the Lakers relevant at a time when the team almost went bankrupt. Jerry West is also considered one of the greatest Lakers ever and helped bring the team its first NBA Championship in Los Angeles.
Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are each considered one of, if not, the best players at their respective positions in NBA history and won five championships in the 1980s during the ‘Showtime’ era. Kobe Bryant is the greatest Laker of this era and some would say ever. He also won five championships and is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.
The lineup is impressive, and even more impressive when you consider the players Worthy left off. Wilt Chamberlain, Shaq, Gail Goodrich, and himself are all Hall of Famers as well. It just goes to show the level of greatness that the Lakers are known for.
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