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Best Laker? It's not Kobe
Published: 6/18/2010 9:49 AM
Last Modified: 6/18/2010 9:49 AM

There is much debate this morning over who is the greatest Laker of all time. The correct answer is, of course, Jimmy Houston, who does his best work at lakes.

But if the question is who is the best Los Angeles Laker of all time, the answer isn't flavor of the day Kobe Bryant.

In fact, if it's a race between Magic Johnson and Bryant, Magic is a no-brainer choice. This is why: Magic was all about making things easy. Get guys an easy basket. Score the surest way.

Bryant trends the opposite direction. Seen his shot selection? He seems to think pro basketball is judged like competitive diving or ice skating, where you are assigned more points if you achieve a higher degree of difficulty. During game seven of the NBA Finals, he was double-teamed and still attempted a step-back 3-pointer, which he missed.

Bryant finished 6-of-24 from the field in game seven. What's magic about that? The best player in Lakers history should take the best -- not the worst -- shots he can get. If Bryant wasn't his own worst enemy, he might have a resume to be the greatest Laker.




Reader Comments 10 Total
Frizzy (3 years ago)
Friday morning quarterbacks try to make invidious comparisons between two totally different players and fail, because they are not the same. Trying to make Kobe into Magic is foolish; Kobe had his trials with Shaq, but that also is history. Kobe has his own genius; leave it at that. He also is a terrific team organizer and supporter. End of story--the Lakers have the gold ball, and Kobe was there, not Magic.
sctsports77 (3 years ago)
Actually, Magic was there...he's part of the front office/ownership group with the Lakers.
Mom in Claremore (3 years ago)
Magic also played with Kareem for most of his career (one of the best Lakers ever). Another thing that goes unmentioned is Kobe re-created his shot to play the entire playoffs with a broken finger that had actually calcified into an arthritic joint. That is unheard of. I love Magic and still think he's the best but Kobe is a different breed of player.
dcood (3 years ago)
You cant be serious. Just watched the '84 game 7 and saw Magic commit two ridiculous turnovers in the last minute of a 5 point game. Magic was playin with the leading scorer in NBA history! Not some dork from Spain and a kid who's always hurt(Bynum). No comparison in talent... and I love Magic too but Kobe is the greatest Laker of them all.
Surfin'USA (3 years ago)
Not even close. Magic Johnson by a mile. He made "Showtime" hum and go. A consummate play maker who could play any position in a team set up.

Bryant is a one trick pony, all shooting offense who happens to play good defense. But he doesn't "shake and bake" the Lakers like Magic could.

I'd say Bryant also takes a second seat to Michael Jordan. Kobe can deliver in the clutch like Michael, but Jordan dominated the floor every time he walked out there. It was his office, it didn't belong to anyone else.
dcood (3 years ago)
Dont you think maybe he'd play a little differently if he had Worthy, Jabaar, Scott, Cooper, McAdoo, etc? No one on the Laker's current roster is in the same league as any of the aforementioned players... EXCEPT Kobe.
tulsandn (3 years ago)
Greatest Laker of all-time....

With a nickname like Mr. Clutch, that plus, he is the NBA logo....

It's a simple answer for me to know that the geatest Laker ever is not named Magic or Kobe....
G-Block (3 years ago)
Yesterday I was trying to create a starting five for the best Lakers of all time. Kobe made my starting five, and I believe he's the best ative player in the NBA, but I'm still not ready to crown him as the "best of all time" - yet.

PG = Magic Johnson
SG = Kobe Bryant
SF = James Worthy
PF = Pau Gasol
C = Kareem Abdul Jabbar
tulsandn (3 years ago)
PG - Jerry West
SG - Kobe
SF - James Worthy
PF - Bob McAdoo
C - Kareem

You could insert Magic at the 2 & slide Kobe to 3 & Worthy to 4.... Or leave it as it is & insert Magic at the 4.... Wilt & Shaq backing up Kareem is an amazing thought but Wilt was not a longtime Laker but he was an alltime Laker.... Wilt in his prime would be an easy choice for alltime Laker....

And where do you put ELGIN BAYLOR ????
deejay (3 years ago)
Have even the Celtics had more great players than the Lakers?
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Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

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