Last Updated on July 25, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake
It is unlikely Lebron James can go down as the best Laker of all time because he spent so much of his career playing for other teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
When the average analyst judges who the best players are, they look at how many games they played and they also compare the player’s performance to other players at the time. When Lebron was a Laker, he wasn’t the best player in the league for most of it. There have definitely been Lakers in the past who were playing for the Lakers while being the best players in the league at the same time. Notable examples include Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, Elgin Baylor, George Mikan, and James Worthy.
One of the reasons Lebron wanted to be a Laker when he had the chance was probably because of the franchise’s storied history which derives from the number of great players they have had in the past.