TIMESTAMPS BELOW: Wanted some closure on this era of Lakers basketball, but also wanted to tackle the Nuggets and Timberwolves. Hope you guys enjoy the conversation! Stay tuned for upcoming videos about Anthony Edwards, and JJ Redick’s thoughts on the 90s being “watered down”. APOLOGIES, I think my audio was getting picked up from the wrong mic… ugh. 0:17 What was your level of emotional attachment to this Lakers team? 5:05 Is LeBron on the Lakers Mount Rushmore? 10:40 Should the Lakers use a 1st Round pick to take Bronny? 24:13 Lakers Vs Nuggets in hindsight/Nuggets Vs Timberwolves 47:16 Appreciating Ant and his Leadership
Kobe Magic Shaq Kareem Kinda hard to put LeBron over those 4 when arguing "whos the best laker of all time" 1 championship, no awards, only 1 legit good season
@@IchigoKurosaki911wilt has an assist title and was part of the greatest team not a bubble ring. Worthy finals mvp never missed the playoffs. Bron missed the playoffs twice and AD was the real finals mvp
He's probably around 7 or 8, won a championship, fmvp, and an assist title as the no 1 option and became the all time leading scorer as a Laker. No where near the mount rushmore though when the top guys have all won 5+ championships as lakers.
Yeah, the LeFaker era should have never started, but Jeannie is the sort to let Magic Phil and Logo walk in order to roll with Pelinka and LeGM. Shiny toys for an ex-cheerleader to play with, is what the franchise has become - the real deal died with Kobe.
@@IchigoKurosaki911winning a assist title, and breaking the all time scoring record ( when he got most of those points on another franchise). Aren’t franchise specific accomplishments. There just personal ones💀. Those do nothing for the lakers franchise or fans. He’s won a chip for them and a finals mvp that’s it. And they’ve missed the playoffs or been a low seed consistently. With AD a top 10-5 player. Only bronsexuals will say he’s on their Mount Rushmore
Wow,kareem,west,magic,Kobe,shaq,worthy,Elgin Baylor,George mikan,pau gasol two time champ, so many great players in laker history that spent either their entire careers or long durations, so little space in Rushmore
@@jonnyarnett With that in mind, I think LeBron should not hint to go where Bronny will go but talk in private to teams who develop young players. So he could sign after he's drafted and can teach him before his time in the NBA runs out.
As a younger fan who views lebron positively the answer is no lmfao. not only has there been a bunch of controversy but he hasn’t even been there long enough to justify it. Off the top of my head i named 7 players who have more of an argument than LeBron and there could be more argued.
Lebron on the lakers feels like the one student that didn’t help in the group project but still gets the same credit as everyone else. His lakers tenure feels cheap and gimmicky in my opinion
What a mic drop metaphor for the ages. The big picture perspective expanse, once a closed off chamber of mystery and secrets, instantly now the floodgates explode into the great wide open and we see the whole panoramic view. You are a code cracker who solved the cosmic LaBron riddle with a single euphemism.
The bubble is a short season with quite some ppl out of shape. You can argue both ways, but it was lucky for older people with load balancing like Lebron for sure. Just look at the conversation about de Lakers vs Nuggets. "The only chance they had with the Nuggets is to get them early."
Lakers fans send way too much hate LeBron's way, but no, he's not on their Mt. Rushmore. Magic, Kobe, Kareem, Shaq, and West outrank him easy. Mikan's far more important to the franchise (unless we're counting LA only). Baylor, Wilt, and Worthy are debatable.
Agree on the rankings , but it's worth recognizing that LeBron generated mountains of narcissistic hatred all by himself. And he was doing it long before there was any possibility of help from so-called "Laker fans" (just thinly-disguised LeStans, really), and it's gotten worse since.
Baylor is not debatable. Elgin is really only 2nd to Mikan in terms of the franchise bc he bridged the gap btwn Minny and LA. They don't sell the team to go West if they don't have him in Minny to begin with; they fold. This to speak nothing of his numerous Finals runs.
No Rushmore. He should think about his son and go to a non-contender, that way they can develop Bronny. A contender will just drop Bronny the instant LeBron retires. I fear that LeBrons gonna make his sons career too much about himself.
Eesh, I know this will sound like a hater but I don't even think Lebron is in the Lakers Mount Rushmore waiting room. Kobe, Magic, Kareem and Shaq seem to take the top spots with Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain both ahead of Bron in my rankings. Again, this isn't total career but just Laker time and I don't see how he tops any of those other guys.
Yes jerry west and lebron share the 1 title but jerry also went to like 9 finals with the lakers. Lebron only went there once. I think lebron shares more with wilt than jerry.
Rushmore isn't necessarily your best four players it's the four that define the franchise into the future. 1 Mikan 2 Elgin 3 Magic 4 Kobe. If you include what he did as a player and after playing days were finished Jerry West is number one. It's questionable if there is a Lakers franchise today with out Mikan and Elgin. Mikan made the league viable and the team was in the financial trouble before drafting Baylor and moving to LA.
Jerry West is my personal goat Laker because a good percentage of the greats just beneath him would NEVER have played for LA if it was for him and his hard work in the front office.
@@RTBiz I would probably have him at fifth based on his importance as a player to the franchise identity. Shaq Wilt LeBron are great players but have identities with other teams.
If you include not just as players in addition to Jerry West being boosted you got Dr. Buss, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and of course Chick Hearn are all up there as far as important and defining the franchise.
It's a tough call, because for some reason we've almost been programmed to put him in the top two or five or ten. To be honest, to me he never really cracked the top. When he made the 2007 finals, it was a very easy playoff run and he got swept and underperformed. That's ok. Every great needs the bar set somewhere, a challenge and obstacle to be overcome. MJ had that with the Celtics and Pistons. 2007 was when LeBron's bar was set. How would he respond? Would he take his team back to the finals? Would he lift his performance? Would he win some finals games or even get a ring? The challenge was on to see LeBron prove himself and get further. But what happened? The next year he lost to the Celtics. The two years after that the Cavs are a 60 win team, number one seed and home court advantage, and they lose to the third and fourth seeds. Something seems missing with LeBron, and when he faced legit comp in the playoffs he went BACKWARDS from 2007. He couldn't get it done. Losing to lower seeded teams and other guys (Kobe) winning rings. Instead of staying and slugging it out and getting the Cavs back to the finals, he quit on them. He went from competing with everyone to jumping ship to play with two highly established all-stars. And even THEN he went backwards again, choking against Dallas and disappearing. Ever since then, yes he won rings, two of which were lucky his teammates hit huge 3's at the end of key games, otherwise he'd be 2-8. But he needed a lot of help. Was he a GREAT player during those rings, or just a very very good player being largely held up by other all-stars? Given that since leaving those two stacked teams in Miami and Cleveland for Los Angeles and playing with just one consistent all-star in AD, they haven't been that good, it leaves me to wonder just how great he is. A failure to rise to the challenge during his first stint in Cleveland. A largely average result and record with LA. Most of his 'great' years needing to be surrounded by All-Stars and HOF'ers and how he ended up on those teams. I don't think LeBron is in the same league as MJ, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Kobe, Shaq, or guys like Steph and Tim Duncan. I even wonder if he hadn't gone to Miami if he'd have ever won a ring at all. I don't think he's a winner and he's not a killer. He just doesn't have that 'win at all costs, no excuses' mentality combined with the skill. To me, he'll largely always be that guy who couldn't get it done in Cleveland the first time, so ran to make it easier.
He is like 12 to Q14 on an alltime Laker list. Derek Fisher and Robert Harry over him. Putting LeBron over Elkins Baylor as a alltime Laker is ludacris
Lbj isnt top 15 All Time Laker. Accountability, heart, humility and consistently elevating your game over 20 plus years by adding handles, counters, midrange and low post moves to your bag gets respect in Laker Nation. Not just stats.
Ad is the best defender against joker because of his mobility. Kat too small and gobert too slow without as good of footwork and won't make joker work on defense as much as AD did because he can only dunk. Joker gonna eat and if they double he is kicking out. I think the lakers are a tougher match up. Nuggets just have to get healthy.
22ppg on 35/20/69 shooting splits against the Spurs in 2007 along with 4.5 turnovers per game. Scoring just 21 points three games in a row Vs Celtics in 2008 on terrible shooting splits. Blowing a 2-1 lead Vs Celtics in 2010 with a peak 15 point performance on 3-14 shooting in game 5 Complete meltdown in 2011, blown 2-1 lead, outplayed by Jason Terry, scored 8 points in a Finals game whilst being completely healthy Saved by Ray Allen in 2013 Vs Spurs after having 18 points in game 1, 17 points in game 2 and 15 points in game 3 Choked the third time (no charm) against the spurs in 2014. I can see a pattern here Outplayed by KD in 2017 Pretended to have a broken hand in 2018 LOL Failed to make the playoffs in 2019 after activating "playoff mode". Got embarrassed several times, including getting clamped and blocked by Mario Hezonja on a potential game winning isolation play Sent home in the first round in 2021 after being a preseason favourite to win the championship. Didn't make the playoffs in 2022 after having second best preseason odds to win the championship 2023/24 - won 1 out of 13 games against the Nuggets whilst having AD on the team putting up prime Shaq numbers
I feel like I have a very unique perspective on this conversation. I’m from Sacramento but my dad was a lakers fan my first basketball memory was watching Kobe win his last ring against Boston. Kobe is my favorite player of all time and bron is somewhere in my top 5. I have Kobe’s numbers tattooed on me. LeBron is not on the Mount Rushmore of lakers that would be magic shaq Kareem and Kobe. But he is in that next tier and top 10 with worthy, elgin, west, Mikan, wilt, pau. As rough as his time here has been at times as a real laker fan he is very much appreciated. He brought us a ring, multiple conference finals, and Led the league in assists in 20’. LeBron embraced the city even when it didn’t embrace him and respected the history of the franchise. And he will probably be the first player to play with their own son and even if that’s not impressive it would be a very amazing achievement.
Kobe is above Magic _according to Magic_ and any standard of dominance and winning. Kareem is a greater overall player for his career, but Shaq led us in a 3-peat. Mikan absolutely belongs ahead of Wilt and arguably ahead of Shaq, too. Yes the league was segregated then _but that wasn't up to the Lakers or Mikan to decide._ What Mikan DID decide: The most titles won by any Laker ever (6). That's why he was voted "Greatest Player of the First Half-Century" back in 1950.
@@shaft9000reasonable arguments and Mikan suffers due to era, Jerry West is Mr Laker both during and after his career. And there's no way you can leave out Magic, Kareem, or Kobe.
I’m not a lakers fan but I don’t believe he is on the lakers Mount Rushmore. A lot of lakers fans will hate on lebron because they love kobe so much which is stupid in my opinion, but I do agree lebron isn’t on the Mount Rushmore. I think he is one of the if not the best players the lakers have had, but he wasn’t there long enough.
The bubble championship is historic for being the first mickey mouse rec league championship and arguably the easiest championship in NBA history in terms of actual team quality.
Lakers fans are split on even claiming it as a championship. It's better than losing the Disney Series but still...it's Disney series. Ms. James is gorgeous though so they could have made her the Disney Princess.
@@shaft9000 I proposed it to be lopsided, one sided rivalry. It's a rivalry as the teams have played many times, including the playoffs but one team just can't get over the hump of beating that team. Like the examples of the recent Nuggets vs Lakers, 12-1 since last years playoffs. Lebron led teams vs Toronto. Maybe even the Bulls vs Knicks in the 90s where the only time the Knicks won was because Jordan retired.
Magic, Kobe, Kareem, Shaq, West, Mikan, Chamberlain, Worthy. These are the players I would say need to be ahead of LeBron in Lakers history. After that, the conversation can begin.
That’s just who Kobe was, Lebron has always been a pass first guy, He’ll take the last shot, but most of the time he’ll have someone open and He trusts them to make the shot
@@Comicedits39you mean he was a choke first guy? 😂 glazing his balls will not erase the fact that he is a pathetic loser who always disappears in big moments. He will never be even close to the great Kobe Bryant. True basketball fans will support me on this
Top 10 Lakers imo 1. Kobe 2. Magic 3. Kareem 4. Shaq 5. Jerry West 6. Elgin Baylor 7. Wilt Chamberlain 8. James Worthy 9. George Mikan 10. LeBron James
@@kenw2225 I say Magic is a greater player hes number 4 on my all time list where Kobe is 6 but as a Laker i usually give Kobe the nod for all of his impact
Jonny, what about a video: the all-time best inter-conference series that were the best 2 teams or probably the best 2 teams or something to that effect. 54:06
We're not Cleveland. He's not even top 10. He wasn't here long enough, wasn't even at his best here, and won one bubble ring that doesn't really count.
Life long Laker here. Never wanted Lebron on the team. Can't wait til he is gone and takes his IST banner with him. And NO, his will NEVER be on the Lakers Mt Rushmore.
Is LeBron on the Lakers mount Rushmore?... not even close 1 Magic 2 Kobe 3 Jerry (He needs more respect) 4 Kareem Shaq did win three rings so it hurts to leave him out but he was not there long
Mikan is absolutely top 5 and Rushmore - he won more titles than any other Laker. It's not his fault when they happened. Shaq's 3-peat FMVPs and MVP in a chip year gives him an edge over Kareem, imho. I can't decide on Shaq over Mr Clutch, though. Hippy Shaq with Elgin isnt beating those Celtics for 9-10 yrs, either.... It's extremely difficult!!
@@shaft9000 I disagree with you,I’m not trying to diss ball in the 40’s-50’s but it’s not the same at all and lakers really became the lakers when they came to LA,that’s when it became cultural,west and elgins era is when true laker culture started,it’s more than rings,that 72 chip is worth more to Los Angeles than the 5 in Minneapolis
How is the first part even a real question??? I can think of 6 guys ahead of Lebron that are “Lakers Greats” Probably even more And 2020 is a * title. It really should not count
Laker Rushmore, West, Magic, Kareem, Kobe. Mikan instead of West is an option, but I pick West for what he has done after playing and because he played more years and he was a lifer (Mikan played one year in Chicago) but is close.
Kobe was such an Jordan Stan that Dario thinks Antman have to be the same with modeling his game after MJ. Like Jonny said it’s just god given talent, high level skills
@@Comicedits39 it is personal, If LeBron had come to the Lakers and not acted like he was the best the game has ever seen totally disregarding the greats before him aaaand stop blaming their losses on his fellow teammates...I might give him his due. You really see the character of an individual when their down and when Lebron's down, he takes his whole team down with him. I haven't even got to his constantly whining at the refs for calls... it is hard to watch from a fans perspective. The way he carries himself is about as far from Mamba mentality as you can get. If he didn't wear the blue & gold I wouldn't care... but he does!
Lakers Mount Rushmore is: Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal. Honorable Mentions include: Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and George Mikan.
@@Ill.righteous31 Lakers Rushmore isn't just rings - Horry doesn't belong. West built the Lakers value as both a player and GM - the League made him the Logo, they won't with LeBlame. West led with class, LeBlame embarasses.
I think the top 4 are pretty decided upon at this point. 1) Kobe 2) Magic 3) Kareem 4) Shaq And then after that you're going to have Jerry West for sure. Big Game James Worthy is also around there. Then you have Elgin Baylor, Pao Gaso,l and Wilt Chamberlin. I mostly have Elgin above him simply because Elgin helped build the Lakers after they moved to LA. Depending on how you feel about their time before LA you could throw Mikan in there. I think after that is when you start talking AD/LeBron. If they had won one more title then they move up a tier.
One cannot simply "throw in" Mikan. He won more titles than any Laker ever. Whatever the circumstances of segregation about it were _he did not create them._ He fought against them, in fact. "The most" is still the most, then and now.
Kobe, Magic, West, …Kareem or Shaq?!?…then we are still leaving off Baylor?! Probably a couple others worth some mention too. Lebron definitely not on there.
Last 4 years of the Bryant Era, no one outside of LA, except the Clippers fans, even talked about the Lakers. They were an NBA joke and the Laker fans were bellyaching. Magic opted for Lonzo Ball vs Tatum or even Mitchell. Six years of nothing, well 9 years of being just another NBA team or worse. That dude went there and flexed, got you another star because you sure to hell weren't winning with those other guys, and won a title with the same advantages and disadvantages as the rest of the league. Y'all think a team of Ingram, Ball, Kuzma, KCP, Hart and Randle would be elite right now or that the national media would be talking about the franchise? Oh maybe you would've gotten PG and Kawhi lol. They'd be hurt and scuffling in the playoffs anyways. He's not on the Lakers Rushmore, but he at least deserves some respect for making LAL viable again.
People who think the young core would become a dynasty are delusional. LeBron and AD won us a championship for that reason alone it was worth it. Lakers fans in this comment section are also conveniently forgetting our FO isn't that great and have routinely failed on the margins and Westbrook was literally the worst trade in franchise history. It's better than when Jim Buss was in charge but that's a really low bar.
LeBron isn't a top 5 laker he might not even be top 10...Magic,Kobe, Kareem, George Mikan, Shaq, Jerry West, Elgin, James Worthy, are easily above LeBron.. and then Gail Goodrich, Wilt, Pau Gasol, Fisher, Michael Cooper, all had better Lakers careers...
Not a Lakers fan, but it seems to me that there is very little room for Lebron to maneuver. I imagine the definitive locks for Lakers Rushmore are Kareem, Magic, Shaq, and Kobe.
Wolves in 6 or 7. Gobert will be on Gordon, he’ll be able to stay near the rim. KAT is big enough to be on Jokic, if he can avoid fouling too much they will hold up defensively but I think the series will be so close
6 is awfully optimistic for a low IQ team in uncharted territory vs the defending champs. Something that Rudy Tomjonavic said decades ago comes to mind... DEN has lost some depth, but I think the main Q is whether Murray's legs hold up.
WEST. KAREEM. MAGIC. KOBE. . . Must be these 4. As much as Shaq hurts, Wilt was great, Mikan deserves but...lost era, Big game James joins them in the backup Rushmore. LeBlame has to be behind Elgin who bled purple and gold, then ... Scott, Cooper, Goodrich, Wilkes, Macadoo... LeCryer just bleeds money/envy green and coward's piss yellow. Check out his "flex" on a woman spectator during game.
Drafting Bronny is like drafting Manny Paquiao in the Philippine Basketball Association. Those 2 can play but they in the league not because of their talents but because of their influces or backers.
NO: For me: There is 4 spots on Rushmore: Jerry W./ Kareem/Magic/Kobe/ My Top 5 is George M./Jerry W./Kareem/Magic/Kobe. And Honorable Mention is Shaq, Elgin, Wilt. & James W.
Hell no. Lakers fans already have to leave one of George Mikan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or Shaq off and all of them did way more for the Lakers franchise than LeBron could ever dream of.
As a Laker? LeBron's probably similar to an all-time great like Wilt. He spent most of his older years with the Lakers. He has won an assist title, NBA championship, Finals MVP, an In-Season Tournament Champion, and an In-Season Tournament MVP. He's probably top 10 as a Laker or just outside the top 10. However, to me, LeBron is the greatest player to put on a Lakers jersey, as overall, I think he's the GOAT. But that's just my opinion
No I don’t think he’s even close to lakers Rushmore BUT people do need to realize he’s maybe arguable top 10 and even if not, without the ring in 2020 he won for the lakers, the Celtics are the best franchise of all time.
How the hell are you going to put lebron near any of the Laker greats when he has done jick shat outside of the bubble chip? 2 missed playoffs 2 first round exits. Swept twice by a team with less talent. Team never won 50 games. was arguably not the best player on his own team when they did win. This whole discussion is a joke that is no longer funny.
There's no way LeBron would play for Utah, Charlotte, Portland (bad small market teams). However, it would be hilarious if the Wizards picked Bronny and LeBron joined him so he could follow in Michael Jordan's footsteps and retire as a Wizard.
Once Kobe retired..i honestly just been a casual Laker fan..Im 100% anllinto NFL and MLB now. idk..Lebrons great, but the connection is nowhere near close for me for lakers and MBA since like 2013
Definitely not the Lakers Mt. Rushmore. If we talking top 4 Lakers, it's definitely Kobe, Magic, Kareem, and Jerry, although one can make an argument for Elgin. Bron would struggle to make the top 10 Lakers, in which you definitely add Elgin along with Shaq, Worthy, Wilt, Mikan, and your choice of Wilkes, Goodrich, or maybe Coop (imho should definitely be top 10 for being the only other Laker besides Magic and Kareem present for all 5 Showtime rings).
Kobe, Magic, Kareem, Shaq. If not Shaq, Jerry West. If not Jerry West, James Worthy. If not James Worthy, George Mikan. If not George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain. Hell, I’d put Pau over LeBron in terms of all time Lakers
Lakers ahead of LeBron on the Lakers All-time list 1 George Mikan 2 Elgin Baylor 3 Jerry West 4 Wilt Chamberlain 5 Kareem Abdul Jabbar 6 Magic Johnson 7 Kobe Bryant 8 Shaquille O'Neal
I'm not a Laker fan but I hope they don't retire his number in LA and I hope nobody will remember him as one of the greats of the franshise, I mean you have 2 huge duos how brought multiple rings to LA like Kareem Magic, Shaq and Kobe, plus other greats like Wilt, West and Baylor, I mean LeBron played few years bringing a single ring in 6 years and what else? He missed 2 times the playoffs and if it wasn't for the play in tournament LA wouldn't even be in the playoffs this season, what are we talking about? He should be forgotten as soon as possible for sure not be remembered as one of the greatest Laker of all time, he has been moving from franchise to franchise chasing rings, how can he be compared to the greatest players who make the Lakers one of the best 2 franchise in NBA history!!!!
Lebron is not on the lakers Rushmore. It’s Mikan, West, Magic, Kobe. I would actually say he’s next in line but these 4 represent the 4 great eras of Lakers ball and 16/17 rings.
Mount Rushmore to me is between six players, and Lebron isn’t one. Mikan, West, Kareem, Magic, Shaq, Kobe. 1 chip doesn’t crack this. I’d say he’s even behind Baylor and Worthy. Worthy is close. Probably around Wilt and Baylor in that 7-10 range
Absolutely not. Here’s what mine would be, though. Magic and Kobe (Duh), Kareem or Jerry West, and George Mikan. I think people are ranking George Mikan way too low. The guy got the Lakers 4 rings and was the reason for most of the leagues foundational rules
