Lakers: Past championship teams compared to this current squad

During the showtime years, the Los Angeles Lakers were hotter than any Broadway show. They had the master magician in Magic Johnson and the captain in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

There was also a great bunch of players such as James Worthy, A.C. Green, and Byron Scott as well as head coach Pat Riley and all the glitz, glam, and stars of Hollywood. Those Lakers would go to war with rivals such as the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons.

These were the gladiator days of the NBA.

The three-peat years were the time of a young Kobe Bryant and the Shaq Diesel. What a duo they were. O’Neal was an unstoppable force in the middle, back when the game was made up around the big men. No one could contend with him and Bryant was just starting to spread his wings. Phil Jackson, the master Yoda of the Triangle Offense was in charge.

Then came the Black Mamba years when the Lakers would win back to back championships in 2008-09, and 2009-10. Kobe Bryant was the leader and the greatest player in all of the NBA. The Batman to his Superman was no other than Pau Gasol but there were other great role players such as Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom.

The Zen Master(Phil Jackson) was once again the coach for both teams. Kobe had proved to the world that he could win it all not once but twice in the post-Shaq era.

This current Los Angeles Lakers team is under the guidance of the great LeBron James.

The greatest player in the NBA and one of the finest who is playing at an all-time high at an age when many are on the downside of their careers or are retired. His partner in crime is of course is no other than Anthony Davis.  The great Dr. Jerry Buss may no longer be the owner but his daughter Jeanie Buss is doing a superb job.

These Laker teams all had killer dynamic duos. Magic and Kareem, Shaq and Kobe, Kobe and Pau, and LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They also had wonderful role players and supporting casts. James Worthy, A.C. Green, Byron Scott, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry, Horace Grant, Lamar Odom, Metta World Peace, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo and more.

When it comes to coaches, Frank Vogel may not have had the flash and flare of Pat Riley or the Zen of Phil Jackson, but he brings his own special talents to this team. Perhaps that is one of the things that makes these teams different.

Riley and Jackson were well known but Vogel was not at that tier just yet. However, each coach had wonderful talent in front of them as well as one direct player that could take over and be both the star and the coach on the floor. (Magic, Shaq, Kobe, and LeBron.)

Another thing these teams had in common was that when it came to defense, they had extremely good defensive players and were good defensive teams as a whole. Michael Cooper, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Anthony Davis, etc. There was no doubt that these teams played solid defense (Even in this current day, when it seems like everyone is scoring150 points per game).

The offensive systems and the players in which they revolve around have changed. Pat Riley’s offense revolved around Magic mainly as he was their fuel and main distributor. Shaq’s Lakers used the Triangle Offense of Phil Jackson. O’Neal was the main go-to man.

No one could deal with the immense talent and intensity that Shaq brought. Years later when Shaq was gone, the Lakers revolved around Kobe Bryant. They still had Jackson as their coach and utilized the Triangle. In this current day, LeBron is the man. Everything revolves around him.

Whether it was good shooters, (Byron Scott, Glen Rice, Sasha Vujacic, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.) rebounders, (A.C. Green, Shaq, Gasol, and Anthony Davis.) or all-out hustlers,( Michael Cooper, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher, and  Alex Caruso.) these teams have one thing in common and that is that they have all been champions.