Los Angeles Lakers Mount Rushmore released at FanSided
FanSided recently released the Mount Rushmore for every team in the NBA. Do you agree with who made the cut for the Los Angeles Lakers?
New fans to the NBA may not know this, but the Los Angeles Lakers are one of the greatest franchises in the NBA. Just how amazing are they? They are currently in a four-year playoff drought; the longest drought in franchise history. Some organizations are happy if they make the postseason once every five seasons, but not the Lakers.
While the Lakers are down right now, they will be climbing upwards soon. They have done a great job of stockpiling young talent and will be big players in free agency in 2018. Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram are at the forefront of the youth movement. Los Angeles is hoping LeBron James can lead the veteran infusion next offseason.
Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have made their goals clear since joining the organization. Johnson was named President of Basketball Operations in February, prior to the NBA Trade Deadline. Pelinka was later named General Manager.
Los Angeles Lakers
This offseason they moved closer to their goal. They traded D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets in a cap saving move, slashing Timofey Mozgov‘s contract from the books. There was four draft picks made in the 2017 NBA Draft, adding, even more, youth to the team.
The arrow is certainly looking up in Los Angeles. Johnson and Pelinka named Ball their new face of the franchise. Confidence is high in Ingram, who they refused to part with this offseason in trade talks, even for Paul George.
With Ball leading the show, there is some hope that there can be a reincarnation of the Showtime Lakers. The Showtime Lakers were one of the greatest teams to ever grace an NBA court. It should be no surprise that the Showtime Lakers roster has multiple players end up on the Lakers Mount Rushmore.
Over at Fansided.com, the Mount Rushmore for every NBA franchise was put together. Not surprisingly, the Lakers Mount Rushmore is absolutely loaded with players from different eras.
On the Lakers Mount Rushmore is Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant. It is difficult to argue against that foursome, as they represent winning throughout multiple eras of Lakers basketball.
Johnson, West and Bryant were shoe-ins for this Mount Rushmore. They are Lakers lifers, playing their whole NBA careers with the organization. Abdul-Jabbar played a large portion of his career with the Lakers, playing the final 14 seasons of his 20 season career with Los Angeles. That longevity gives him an edge over other dominant centers such as Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain.
Abdul-Jabbar was as dominant with the Lakers as he was with the Milwaukee Bucks. It would be difficult to remove him from the list, but players such as Elgin Baylor and George Mikan would have strong cases to make the Lakers Mount Rushmore.
Next: 50 Greatest Players In Lakers Franchise History
It is a fun debate for fans to have as you get to compare the greatest players in Lakers franchise history. There are so many amazing players to wear the purple and gold that this debate could rage on for a long time.