Byron Scott is a Los Angeles Lakers legend, so it was only fitting that when he appeared on the All The Smoke podcast, he was asked to give his all-time starting five for the franchise. Scott put together a great lineup but neither LeBron James nor Shaquille O’Neal made it in and they didn’t get the Sixth Man spot either.
“Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, ooh, god,” Scott said. “… Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and Wilt (Chamberlain) and (Shaquille O’Neal)? Oh my god, I gotta go with Cap. I’mma go with Cap. I’m gonna say James Worthy and Elgin Baylor. I’mma put James at the power forward and bring Elgin at the small forward.”
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Co-host Matt Barnes then asked for the Sixth Man, and Scott went with Jerry West without hesitation. Let’s take a look at all the selections.
Magic Johnson played 13 seasons for the Lakers, during which he averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. Johnson won five titles, three Finals MVPs, three MVPs, four assists titles, and two steals titles along the way.
Scott chose Kobe Bryant to be Johnson’s backcourt partner, and he averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in his 20 seasons with the Lakers. Bryant won five titles, two Finals MVPs, an MVP, and two scoring titles in his storied career.
Elgin Baylor slots in at the small forward spot, and in 14 seasons with the Lakers, he averaged 27.4 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Baylor never won a championship or the MVP award but did help the Lakers reach the NBA Finals eight times and made 11 All-Star teams.
James Worthy is Scott’s power forward, and he averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in 12 seasons with the Lakers. Worthy won three tiles with the franchise and was named Finals MVP once as well.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar beat out some stiff competition to get the nod at center and he is the only one of these five not to spend his entire career with the Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar did a lot in his 14 seasons with them, though, as he averaged 22.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.9 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game as a Laker. He won five titles, a Finals MVP, three MVPs, a rebounding title, and three blocks titles along the way.
Lastly, we get to West, who averaged 27.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game in 14 seasons with the Lakers. He won one title, one Finals MVP, and one scoring title in that time.
Those are all impressive resumes and you can’t deny that all of them are deserving of a spot for what they did for the Lakers. What’s also true, though, is that you can make solid cases for LeBron and O’Neal to make it in.
LeBron is in his seventh season with the Lakers and has averaged 26.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the franchise. He has won a title, a Finals MVP, and an assists title in LA and could yet add to that resume.
As for O’Neal, he was a Laker for eight seasons and averaged 27.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game in those years. He won three titles, three Finals MVPs, an MVP, and a scoring title with the Lakers.
Those resumes would be good enough for LeBron and O’Neal to be locks for all-time starting fives on most teams but not the Lakers. The fact that it’s up for debate shows just how many great players have suited up for the franchise.
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