The all-time homegrown Lakers vs. the all-time imported Lakers

The all-time homegrown Los Angeles Lakers:

PG: Magic Johnson, 1989-90

For my money’s worth, I think the best version of Magic Johnson came in his age 30 season in 1989-90. This was the only season that Magic actively shot the three-point ball and did so well, shooting 38.4% from beyond the arc in 3.4 attempts per game.

Magic averaged 21.6 points, 11.1 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game. He had better traditional box score numbers in other seasons but this was his best year in terms of win shares and VORP.

SG: Kobe Bryant, 2005-06

We are not taking the MVP version of Kobe Bryant, instead, we are taking the version that should have won the MVP in 2005-06. Kobe led the league in scoring, averaging 35.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

And of course, we cannot mention this season without bringing up the fact that Kobe scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors.

SF: Elgin Baylor, 1961-62

Elgin Baylor was remarkable and he is arguably the greatest player in NBA history to not win a championship. He certainly is one of the most overlooked players in NBA history.

Baylor averaged 38.3 points and 18.6 rebounds per game in what was the Lakers’ second season in LA. Of course, the level of competition was much different back then, but that is absurd numbers.

PF: James Worthy, 1989-90

James Worthy’s best season also came in 1989-90. In that season, Worthy posted a career-high VORP and win shares, being the only season of the Hall of Famers career in which he accumulated double-digit win shares.

Worthy averaged 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and we know that he would fit on any team alongside any other stars and be just fine being the third, or even fourth, option. He plays power forward so Baylor can play the three.

C: George Mikan, 1950-51

George Mikan absolutely dominated his era on the Minneapolis Lakers. Mikan led the Lakers to their first five championships by dominating on the glass. In 1950-51, Mikan led the league in scoring with 28.4 points per game with 14.1 rebounds per game.

The level of competition is even more extreme than it was with Baylor, though. While Mikan was great for his era, I am not sure if he can handle the bigs on the imported Lakers.

The bench: Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, A.C. Green, Vern Mikkelsen, Andrew Bynum

This is a solid bench. Jerry West is an all-timer, Gail Goodrich was really good in his prime, A.C. Green is gritty and reliable and the best version of Andrew Bynum would be really good off the bench.

The only player that I would be concerned with in how they would play against other all-time greats is Vern Mikkelsen, who was Mikan’s Robin.