The Greatest Laker

[kiddnoname]

You do realized this was greatest Lakers of ALL TIME, not the greatest Lakers during the period you can remember. Leaving the Logo off your list is amazing not to mention Mikan and a very good case can be made for Baylor being in the top 5 too.

I know all about West, Baylor, Mikan, Wilt etc... But the 3 I mentioned above are all top 10 ALL TIME players. How could West, Mikan or anyone else crack the list. Assuming I only remember the above 3 is quite arrogant

 

[stephenPE]

We got insta arguing Lakers with a kid named noname it felt good to argue all the same
In the forum, you cant remember your name cause Dubs has fckd it up with a list of nicknames
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la la...
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la la...
After two days in the forum here we learn that Wilt and the Lakers are news
After three days with debate still on we are all wondering who will lose.........
And the story it tells is that we all all bored as hell and cant wait till the team and
Mullins have jelled.......................
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la la...
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la la...

In case you are young and not know of this famous song...............

 

[Circle City Gator]

The ignorance about Wilt on this thread is astounding. Yes, Russell won more championships, but if you think Wilt wasn't one of the very best of all time, top 2 or 3, you're a moron. No, it's not a matter of opinion. You're a moron. They didn't keep the stats back then, but in one game he blocked TWENTY-THREE SHOTS. Read that again. He blocked TWENTY-THREE SHOTS! The man blocked dunks, FFS. He AVERAGED 22.9 rebounds per game one season, and in one game got FIFTY-FIVE REBOUNDS! Yeah, he was big, but nobody gets 55 rebounds without position and technique. During one season he AVERAGED 50.4 points per game. He has 72 NBA records, and only shares 4 of them (at one pint he had 128). One year, he led the league in assists. And did you know he NEVER fouled out? Never! And he did that while staying on the floor the whole time. Over his career, he averaged more than 45 minutes per game, and in 61-62, he played 48.53 minutes per game. And yes, he did score 100 points in a game (and for those Kobe pumpers who claim he was a ball hog, do you know who holds the NBA record for most MISSES in a game? Hint- the first four letters of his first name are K-O-B.)

Stats from a couple of Wilt's games:

22 points, 25 rebounds, 21 assists, 14 blocks, 7 steals
54 points, 36 rebounds, 14 assists, 24 blocks, 11 steals

Tell me again about how all he did was dunk and take advantage of his height.

Go to 13:50 and watch. Jump hook. Fadeaway jump shot, and CONTESTED layups and dunks, by skill, not just size.

Seriously, anybody who thinks Wilt was just big is just a big idiot.

 

[Circle City Gator]

Watch this. He was blocking shots 13' in the air. And if you watch about a minute, he blocks a Kareem sky-hook. He blocked the unblockable shot. By the way, his 55 rebound game was against Bill Russell.

 

[78]

The ignorance about Wilt on this thread is astounding. Yes, Russell won more championships, but if you think Wilt wasn't one of the very best of all time, top 2 or 3, you're a moron. No, it's not a matter of opinion. You're a moron. They didn't keep the stats back then, but in one game he blocked TWENTY-THREE SHOTS. Read that again. He blocked TWENTY-THREE SHOTS! The man blocked dunks, FFS. He AVERAGED 22.9 rebounds per game one season, and in one game got FIFTY-FIVE REBOUNDS! Yeah, he was big, but nobody gets 55 rebounds without position and technique. During one season he AVERAGED 50.4 points per game. He has 72 NBA records, and only shares 4 of them (at one pint he had 128). One year, he led the league in assists. And did you know he NEVER fouled out? Never! And he did that while staying on the floor the whole time. Over his career, he averaged more than 45 minutes per game, and in 61-62, he played 48.53 minutes per game. And yes, he did score 100 points in a game (and for those Kobe pumpers who claim he was a ball hog, do you know who holds the NBA record for most MISSES in a game? Hint- the first four letters of his first name are K-O-B.)

Stats from a couple of Wilt's games:

22 points, 25 rebounds, 21 assists, 14 blocks, 7 steals
54 points, 36 rebounds, 14 assists, 24 blocks, 11 steals

Tell me again about how all he did was dunk and take advantage of his height.

Go to 13:50 and watch. Jump hook. Fadeaway jump shot, and CONTESTED layups and dunks, by skill, not just size.

Seriously, anybody who thinks Wilt was just big is just a big idiot.

 

[Circle City Gator]

Had no shot, no post moves and his foul line shooting was awful. Dunk machine when he was the biggest guy in the league. Whooptidoo.

At least Kareem had the sky hook.

Had a fadeaway, great post move (finger-roll from anywhere, dunk from behind the backboard, areyoukiddingme?!), and BLOCKED the sky hook!

 

[Circle City Gator]

Image doesn't show.

 

[78]

He was tall.

 

[Marine1]

Watch this. He was blocking shots 13' in the air. And if you watch about a minute, he blocks a Kareem sky-hook. He blocked the unblockable shot. By the way, his 55 rebound game was against Bill Russell.

I don’t see the link.

 

[Marine1]

He was tall.

So were Bill, Nate, Walt, Willis............

It was actually his athleticism that was the difference. No other big men had ever moved like him. I saw him snag a rebound and go coast to coast leading the break and go behind the back. Young folks have seen pictures of older Wilt....filled out and muscular...playing a power game. They have never seen young, skinny Wilt terrorizing defenses with his speed and quickness at 7’1. All you have to do to be convinced of Wilt’s greatness is listen to Bill Russell talk about him.

More evidence of his athleticism was his beach volleyball days when he was over 50 years old.

 

[78]

Relax, guys. I was just punkin' you. I mean, you did read #24, right?

 

[Circle City Gator]

So were Bill, Nate, Walt, Willis............

It was actually his athleticism that was the difference. No other big men had ever moved like him. I saw him snag a rebound and go coast to coast leading the break and go behind the back. Young folks have seen pictures of older Wilt....filled out and muscular...playing a power game. They have never seen young, skinny Wilt terrorizing defenses with his speed and quickness at 7’1. All you have to do to be convinced of Wilt’s greatness is listen to Bill Russell talk about him.

More evidence of his athleticism was his beach volleyball days when he was over 50 years old.

And strength. At 59 years old, he still bench pressed 460.

 

[78]

And strength. At 59 years old, he still bench pressed 460.

I heard he bench pressed 20k chicks.

 

[BruceWayne]

Magic is the best Laker. I think it can be debated. Magic is the face of the Lakers. Kobe definitely should be in the conversation though. He has Laker records for games played and points scored. That should at least get you in the discussion.
Magic
Kobe
Kareem
West
Wilt

 

[stephenPE]

Statistics are fun to play with. But for most athletes like Jordan and Bird winning is what it was all about. I got your WINNER right here!!

William Felton Russell (born February 12, 1934) is an American retired professional basketball player. Russell played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a twelve-time All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty, winning eleven NBA championships during his thirteen-year career. Russell holds the record for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league (tied with Henri Richard of the National Hockey League). Before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, and he captained the gold-medal winning U.S. national basketball team at the 1956 Summer Olympics.[1]

“Statistics are no substitute for judgment.”
― Henry Clay

 

[Circle City Gator]

Statistics are fun to play with. But for most athletes like Jordan and Bird winning is what it was all about. I got your WINNER right here!!

William Felton Russell (born February 12, 1934) is an American retired professional basketball player. Russell played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a twelve-time All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty, winning eleven NBA championships during his thirteen-year career. Russell holds the record for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league (tied with Henri Richard of the National Hockey League). Before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, and he captained the gold-medal winning U.S. national basketball team at the 1956 Summer Olympics.[1]

“Statistics are no substitute for judgment.”
― Henry Clay

You'll never get an argument from me about Bill Russell.

 

[Marine1]

Statistics are fun to play with. But for most athletes like Jordan and Bird winning is what it was all about. I got your WINNER right here!!

William Felton Russell (born February 12, 1934) is an American retired professional basketball player. Russell played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a twelve-time All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty, winning eleven NBA championships during his thirteen-year career. Russell holds the record for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league (tied with Henri Richard of the National Hockey League). Before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, and he captained the gold-medal winning U.S. national basketball team at the 1956 Summer Olympics.[1]

“Statistics are no substitute for judgment.”
― Henry Clay

I remind folks of Russell’s championships every time the argument is made for GOAT based on championships.

But the truth is....like statistics...championships are fun to play with too. Magic won 5 championships to Birds 3 and beat him for an NCAA championship. Many still believe Larry is better. There are so many comparisons that could be made based on championships.

 

[Marine1]

Magic is the best Laker. I think it can be debated. Magic is the face of the Lakers. Kobe definitely should be in the conversation though. He has Laker records for games played and points scored. That should at least get you in the discussion.
Magic
Kobe
Kareem
West
Wilt

I would probably go with Magic as well. 9 finals in 12 years with 5 championships. Brought so much excitement to the game. I was stationed at Camp Pendleton in SoCal in the 80’s and got to the Forum as often as I could. That was exciting times.

 

[lrtx1]

Such a hard comparison game to play. What could the old guys have done with a three point line? What if the new guys could stay in the paint all day? My vote would be Magic as the greatest Laker followed by West.

The goat would be Bird. He had the IT factor.

 

[78]

I would probably go with Magic as well. 9 finals in 12 years with 5 championships. Brought so much excitement to the game. I was stationed at Camp Pendleton in SoCal in the 80’s and got to the Forum as often as I could. That was exciting times.

Magic had a far better supporting cast than Kobe, esp after Shaq left.