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Los Angeles Lakers: Top 30 greatest players of all-time

By Ben Beecken

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 13: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts in the first half while taking on the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 13: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts in the first half while taking on the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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20. . Center. Minneapolis Lakers. George Mikan. 7. player

  • 7 seasons with Minneapolis Lakers (1948-54, 1955-56)
  • Averaged 23.1 points and 13.4 rebounds per game
  • 4x All-Star, 5x NBA champion with Minneapolis Lakers

At last, we’ve arrived at the original Mr. Basketball, George Mikan.

Mikan was the center and focal point of the dominant Minneapolis Lakers back in the early 1950s, winning five titles in a span of just six years while averaging 24.3 points and 14.1 rebounds per game over that stretch of time.

After the run of destruction that Mikan had, he retired following just six seasons of playing in the NBA. Retirement lasted for all of one season before he returned for a one-year, 37-game swan song in 1955-56 that did nothing but hurt his career numbers.

Mikan was one of the first generation of true big men playing down low, unleashing a variety of post moves that set the stage for the dominant big men of the next few decades. He was best known for his signature hook shot, which his 6-foot-10 height allowed him to unleash from anywhere — helped, of course, by the lack of explosive athletes in the 1950s version of the NBA.

But that doesn’t change just how good those 1950s Lakers were, nor how dominant Mikan was as an individual. The Minnesota Timberwolves honored Mikan with a statue at Target Center, despite the fact that he technically played for the Lakers franchise, which moved to Los Angeles well before the inaugural season of the Wolves began in 1989.

Mikan is one of the classic examples of just how hard it is to compare NBA greats across eras. nobody is suggesting that he would have reigned over the NBA of the 2000s, but within his era, Mikan was the best of the best, and revolutionized his position with a signature move.

That’s enough to cement the No. 7 spot in Lakers history.

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