On Friday, Shaquille O’Neal posted a photo to his Instagram that featured the Lakers’ All-Time starting five against the “non-Lakers” starting five. Naturally, fans were split on the issue, with some choosing the Lakers five and others picking the field.
While that debate is still ongoing, it does emphasize just how much talent the Lakers have had over the years.
From Wilt Chamberlain to Jerry West, to Magic Johnson, and then to Kobe, Shaq, and LeBron, there is no team in history that has had as many historically great superstars.
In fact, according to ESPN’s Max Kellerman, the franchise will soon have a claim to being the home to the best player at every position.
“And I’ll tell you this right now: now that he’s on the Lakers and he already won a Chip, and he’s locked up with LeBron on a great organization, he [Anthony Davis] has a chance to become the greatest power forward ever. He has a chance to be remembered that way. When you think about the Lakers 1-5 All-Time, Magic’s the greatest point guard ever, Kobe is next to Jordan at the two as the greatest ever, at the three you have LeBron. At the five you have Kareem, Wilt, Shaq. Now at the four you have AD. The Lakers are going to have a claim pretty soon to having the best ever, or very close to it, at every single position on the court 1-5.”
Magic at PG
Kobe at SG
LeBron at SF
Anthony Davis at PF
Kareem/Shaq/Wilt at C@maxkellerman: "The Lakers are going to have a claim pretty soon to having the best ever, or very close to it, at every single position on the court 1-5." pic.twitter.com/JsCTtjXdMn
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 3, 2020
The Lakers are set at point guard, small forward, and center with Magic, LeBron, and any of the three bigs Kellerman mentions.
Where the argument starts to get a bit murky is with Kobe. While he is definitely closest to MJ, many still consider Jordan a significantly better player, poking an obvious hole in the claim that LA has the best player at every position.
For Davis, even Max wasn’t quite ready to give him the All-Time power forward title. With just one Championship, he’ll have to win some more if he wants to pass some other greats like KG and, especially, Tim Duncan. But with LeBron and a great organization by his side, he’s certainly got the chance to do that.
The 6-10 big man, who is still just 27 years old, is already a 7x All-Star, 3x Block Champ, and 4x All-NBA player.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3EdXYTANRE
