Los Angeles Lakers with the most All-NBA First-Team selections

7. George Mikan (6)

George Mikan is regarded by many as the first superstar of basketball. He is one of the reasons why basketball is played the way it is today.

At 6’10 Mikan was one of the first big men to play for the Minneapolis Lakers. He used his height to his advantage, getting easy baskets over smaller opponents who dominated the league at the time.

Mikan’s legendary hook shot became such a problem for smaller defenders to guard that in 1951 the league widened the lane from 6ft to 12ft. He supposedly was also the reason why the 24-second shot clock was created.

Mikan was known to be a slow player. It would take him longer than most players to get up and down the court, and the coach for the Fort Wayne Pistons used that to his advantage.

When they played the Lakers, the Pistons purposely held onto the ball for a long time to take time off the clock and prevent Mikan from getting a chance to score. The Pistons won the game and the final score was 19-18.

As one would think, no one was happy with how that game was played and as a result the 24-second clock was introduced a few years later.

Despite the changes made and tactics used by other teams to stop Mikan, he still had a legendary career. He won six championships, was a one-time rebounds leader and three-time scoring leader and was selected to the All-NBA First-team six times.