Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss recently appeared on Dwight Howard’s Above The Rim with DH 12 podcast, where she was asked to name her all-time starting lineup for the franchise. Buss was keen to avoid offending anyone and hilariously gave the same answer that her dad Dr. Jerry Buss once gave.
“My dad was asked that question one time so I’m gonna borrow his answer,” Buss said. “His answer was that the starting point guard Magic Johnson. Shooting guard Magic Johnson. Power forward Magic Johnson… Small forward Magic Johnson. Center Magic Johnson, ’cause you know what? He could play every one of those positions.”
Well, Magic Johnson could probably play all five positions very well. Magic famously played at center in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers in his rookie season and put on a show. He recorded 42 points 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and a block to lead the Lakers to a 123-107 win and was named Finals MVP.
I don’t blame Buss one bit for giving that answer considering so many great players have played for the Lakers. The 63-year-old would have had to leave out a few big names there and would have inevitably gotten a lot of pushback for that. Giving the same answer as her father was definitely the right decision.
Jeanie Buss Once Shared Her All-Time Most Important Lakers List
Buss might have learned her lesson not to give out lists regarding the Lakers because of what happened last time. Some years ago, she was asked to give her list of the five most important Lakers of all time during an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast, and here’s who she went with.
“You have to start with Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and Kobe (Bryant) and LeBron (James), Buss said. “And, oh this is hard… Magic (Johnson), yes, of course Magic. Magic might be No. 1. No, Kareem. I don’t know… It’s so hard.”
With Buss struggling to come up with a fifth name, co-host Matt Barnes brought up Phil Jackson.
“Does he count as a Laker? Okay,” Buss stated.
Buss was unsurprisingly blasted for that list, as she had left off some big names, with the most notable omission being Jerry West. In my opinion, West is the most important Laker of all time thanks to his contributions as a player and an executive, so leaving him off was certainly a questionable decision. The man himself wasn’t happy either, as West called out Buss for leaving him off her list.
“I saw the other day Jeanie Buss made a statement, the five most important Lakers, one of the most offensive things I’ve ever heard in my life. I was there a lot of times, had a lot of success,” West told Vescey, via CBS Los Angeles. “Be curious to know if they would have had that success if I hadn’t been there.”
“And I don’t ever take credit for stuff, I don’t. When I was around, maybe I was just a good luck charm,” West went on. “But I do know, that when this thing fell apart, there was a lot of years where they weren’t very good.”
West and Buss’ relationship had gone south over the years, so it wasn’t shocking as such that she left him off. The fact that he chose to become a consultant for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2017 only made matters worse. Any chance of reconciliation is now gone too, following West’s passing in June earlier this year.
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