Los Angeles Lakers: 17 former Lakers make ESPN’s top-74 players list

With the NBA at a standstill, ESPN’s NBA experts decided to come together and rank the top-74 basketball players of all-time. And as expected, there were a lot of Los Angeles Lakers players that made the list.

ESPN split the list into three parts — nos. 74-41, nos. 40-11 and then the top 10, which was released on Wednesday.

To nobody’s surprise, Michael Jordan was named the greatest player of all-time by ESPN’s NBA experts. The rest of the top-10, though, was dominated by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Los Angeles Lakers players that cracked ESPN’s top-10 list:

10. Shaquille O’Neal

Shaq comes in as the 10th-best NBA player of all-time and it is a fitting spot for the Big Diesel. In his prime, Shaq was one of the most dominant centers in NBA history and he is recognized as such as the 10th-best player in NBA history. Some may say that it too high, it is just right.

9. Kobe Bryant

Laker fans might disagree with Kobe Byrant being this low on this list but it is understandable with who is in front of him. You absolutely could flip-flop him with Tim Duncan, who was eighth, but I think you still have to put him lower than Larry Bird and the rest of the top-seven.

6. Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain’s best days came with the Warriors but he was still great with the Los Angeles Lakers after his prime. He was the Finals MVP on the only Lakers team with Jerry West that won a championship.

Wilt absolutely dominated his era but it is his era that always holds him back. The question always remains how Wilt would have performed in a more modern NBA with newer rules, hence why he is number six, probably.

5. Magic Johnson

Well, this gives ESPN’s answer to who the greatest Los Angeles Lakers is of all-time. All of the other players ahead of Kobe built up their resume elsewhere while Magic is the lone exception of being a lifetime Laker, like Kobe.

The best Laker of all-time debate is between Magic and Kobe and ESPN gives the edge to Magic, citing him as the fifth-best NBA player of all-time.

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem has the case to be number one on this list, but alas, he comes in at number two. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer is a six-time champion, six-time MVP, two-time Finals MVP, 19-time all-star and a 15-time All-NBA member.

With Kareem also being part of the most dominant college basketball team of all-time, you could absolutely make the case that he has the best overall claim to being the most successful basketball player of all-time.

2. LeBron James

LeBron James loses the GOAT debate with Michael Jordan and rightfully so. And while we are all numb to LeBron’s greatness at this point, it is fitting that he cracks the top-three.

We have arguably never seen an NBA player that is as well-rounded as LeBron. While defense now is not his strong suit, LeBron’s only legitimate weakness as a basketball player is his free-throw shooting.

Six players on the all-time top-10 list suited up in the purple and gold, and if LeBron wins a title with the team, all six would have been champions with the Lakers. Here are the rest of the former Lakers that cracked the top-74:

• 65. Pau Gasol (2008-2014)
• 62. Dennis Rodman (1999)
• 59. Bob McAdoo (1981-1985)
• 53. Gary Payton (2003-2004)
• 51. James Worthy (1982-1984)
• 45. Anthony Davis (2019-2020)
• 34. George Mikan (1948-1954, 1956)
• 30. Steve Nash (2012-2014)
• 22. Elgin Baylor (1958-1972)
• 17. Karl Malone (2003-2004)
• 16. Jerry West (1960-1974)

Some of these players just briefly played for the Lakers and did not have much of an impact, but it shows the kind of star power that the Lakers have had over the years. Overall, 17 of the 74 players played on the Los Angeles Lakers (23%)

There are two big snubs that did not make the list:

1. Gail Goodrich

Gail Goodrich was a big part of the Los Angeles Lakers’ lone championship with Jerry West and he absolutely could have cracked the back-end of the top-24 instead of some of the players that did get named.

2. Jamaal Wilkes

Jamaal Wilkes has less of a case to make the top-74 than Goodrich but you absolutely could still throw him on the list as he was a big component to the early years of the Showtime Lakers and is a Hall of Famer.

If you expand the list to 80 players then both Goodrich and Wilkes probably would have made the cut. That is how close they are to being in the top-74, and arguably should be.