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

The all-time imported Los Angeles Lakers:

PG: LeBron James, 2019-20

We had to get creative and use LeBron James at point guard and it is fitting that we are taking the best point guard-type season of his career. LeBron was so good last season that he finished second in MVP voting, averaging 25.3 points, 10.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game.

It was not only the best assists-per-game average of his career but LeBron actually led the league in assists with 684. LeBron and Magic going at it at point guard would be a sight to behold.

SG: Jamaal Wilkes, 1980-81

Again, we had to get creative as Jamaal Wilkes was primarily a three/four during his time in the NBA. However, he absolutely could be a two-guard in today’s league. His three-point shooting was not good back then but he did not even utilize it, as the league was different.

Wilkes was fantastic as a slasher and was known for being extremely smooth. In 1980-81, Wilkes averaged 22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game on 52.6% shooting.

SF: Anthony Davis, 2019-20

This team is really big. We didn’t want to put Anthony Davis as the three but we kind of had to out of necessity. We could have went with someone off the bench but AD would be fine as a three, so he makes the starting five.

His rebounding numbers would go down but he is still more than good enough to guard and three that he comes up against, including Elgin Baylor. AD could even play decent defense on Kobe Bryant.

Davis is one of the most talented bigs of the century and he is good enough at shooting the three to get by as a small forward.

PF: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1976-77

Kareem won his first of two MVPs with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1977 and that is the version of him that we are going with. While his absolute best years came with the Milwaukee Bucks, Kareem is still on the Los Angeles Lakers’ Mount Rushmore.

Kareem averaged 26.2 points, 13.3 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game. He is not a modern power forward in the slightest, but he would be a better power forward than our actual starting center.

C: Shaquille O’Neal,1999-2000

There are very few people in NBA history that were as dominant as Shaq was in his prime. Shaq was the league MVP in 1999-2000, leading the league in points per game (29.7) alongside 13.6 rebounds and three blocks per game.

Just imagine a frontcourt of Shaq and Kareem. It cannot space the floor as well as you would want in 2021 but they would be so physically dominant. This is where the biggest difference between the two teams lie as Kareem and Shaq would punish Worthy and Mikan down low.

The bench: Gary Payton, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Wilt Chamberlain

Like the starting five, the bench has really good size and the bigs on the bench are great. The guards are not the best, as we have to go with an old Gary Payton (who was good in 2003-04, to be fair) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, of all people.

Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Wilt Chamberlain are interesting, though, even if we do not get prime Wilt.

So which team do you think would win in a seven-game series? Let us know in the comments down below!