Los Angeles Lakers: Building the all-time underappreciated team
By Jason Elbaum
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports, and this is largely because of the nine (soon to be 10) men who have their jerseys hanging in the rafters of the Staples Center.
The Lakers are a franchise who have enjoyed success over generations of fans and players. It began in Minneapolis when George Mikan’s dominance of the league for the Minneapolis Lakers paved the way to establish what we know as the NBA’s modern-day center position.
The Lakers made the move to Los Angeles in 1960, rendering their team name somewhat meaningless. This didn’t do anything to halt their dominance of the league as the 1971-1972 Laker team consisting of Hall of Famers Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Gail Goodrich won 69 games that season, a record that stood tall until 1996.
When Los Angeles took Earvin “Magic” Johnson with the first pick in the 1979 NBA Draft to pair him with Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, it signaled the beginning of the Showtime era in Laker history. These star-studded teams popularized the game of basketball and put the NBA on the map as a major player in the entertainment industry.
After a title drought in the 1990’s when Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls ruled the league, the Lakers returned to glory in a big way with the arrival of Shaquille O’Neal from Orlando and the draft-day trade that brought Kobe Bryant to LA. These teams dominated the early 2000’s, winning three straight championships before Kobe went on to win two more without Shaq in 2009 and 2010.
However, it’s proven time and time again in the NBA that basketball is truly a team sport. Between the Lakers five championships in Minneapolis, and 11 championships in Los Angeles, there have been key role players who have been instrumental in their teams’ title runs. This gave me the idea to name the Lakers All-Time Underappreciated team.
These are the guys who may not have led the team in scoring, rebounding, or assists, but still played an important part in the tradition of Laker champions. This was extremely difficult to choose, as there have been so many Lakers who have stepped up and supported their superstar teammates over the years.
Let’s take a look back and appreciate some of the players who may have been overshadowed by their Hall of Fame counterparts.