Lakers News: 6 LA Superstars Make Fresh NBA All-Time Top 10 List

NBA all-time player rankings are some of the more fun debates for fans to have. It pits people up against one another to see who really knows the game, including the history of the sport.

Most people agree that LeBron James or Michael Jordan take the top spot on the list, but who follows?

Luckily, the staff over at HoopsHype put together their list of the top 77 NBA players to ever grace a court, and there were quite a few members of your Los Angeles Lakers that made the cut.

There were multiple Lakers that were in the top 10, including LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. All were great players, and they all transcended history for the better.

For this piece, I will be focusing on Chamberlain, Bryant and O’Neal. You can check out the article on the other three Lakers right here!

Coming in ranked at number six was Chamberlain, and while he deserves to be there, he may be a little high for my liking. Chamberlain was a dominant player, but the level of competition that he faced does need to be taken into account.

“The most dominant big man offensively in NBA history, though that partially had to do with the level of competition Wilt Chamberlain faced in his era. Still, when you dominate at the level Chamberlain did, who cares who he did it against?”

Per HoopsHype Staff

He also only won two NBA titles, and in basketball, titles tend to mean more when ranking players. So I don’t have a problem with the ranking, but personally, he would just be a little lower.

Next up would be Bryant, who came in ranked at eight. Bryant is one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, and his five NBA titles help put him toward the top of the list too.

“Winning five titles overall, two of which he earned Finals MVPs for. Bryant, who finished his career with more All-NBA 1st Team selections than Jordan (!), also probably turned more people into basketball fans than any player not named Michael (or Earvin).”

Per HoopsHype Staff

With respect to Larry Bird and Chamberlain, I would move Bryant up slightly. He changed the game in ways that some of the guys ahead of him didn't, and that should be rewarded in my opinion.

And finally, coming in right behind Bryant would be O'Neal at number nine. O'Neal was unlike any player that we had ever seen before. His ability to dominate games as a big man was special, and hasn't been replicated by anyone.

"The most dominant physical specimen in the NBA since the days of Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal was an absolute freak with his blend of size, strength and unreal explosiveness. During O’Neal’s peak years, teams were making moves with the sole intention of containing the big man"

Per HoopsHype Staff

The four rings that O'Neal won help him make his case for where he landed in the rankings, and I'm good with where they put him. He is a top-10 player of all time and deserves to be seen as one.

All in all, the ranking was pretty solid, and there seemed to be a good understanding of NBA history. It's clear that the Lakers have their fingerprints all over the history of the league, and they continue to be one of the premier franchises in the league today.

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