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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. Los Angeles Lakers. Wilt Chamberlain. 6. player

  • 5 seasons with Lakers (1968-73)
  • Averaged 17.7 points and 19.2 rebounds per game
  • 4x All-Star, 1x NBA champion with Lakers

Wilt Chamberlain is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to ever play basketball, but he only manages to land sixth on this list. That is, of course, because we’re ranking contributions specific to the Lakers organization and not necessarily his entire career.

Chamberlain averaged a ridiculous 41.5 points and 25.1 rebounds per game in six seasons split between the Philadelphia and San Francisco Warriors, and then put up 27.6 points and 23.9 rebounds per game with the 76ers.

By the time he joined the Lakers in 1968, Chamberlain was already 32 years old with career averages of 36 points and 24.6 rebounds per game to that point. And to think that the 17.7 and 19.2 he averaged with the Lakers only dragged those career numbers down…

(And don’t forget that blocked shots weren’t recorded as an official statistic during The Big Dipper’s time in pro basketball, either. Those stat lines would have looked even more impressive had they been tallied.)

Despite his dominance throughout the ’60s and into the ’70s, he only won two career championships. His Lakers ring came in 1972, his age-35 season. Wilt only averaged 14.7 points and 21 rebounds in the playoffs that year, but was really playing a supporting role to Jerry West and Gail Goodrich, who drove the team’s offense.

Chamberlain, of course, is famous for his 100-point game, of which there is unfortunately no footage.

The video game numbers he put up during his 13-year career were a product of many things. This includes his huge size advantage (Chamberlain stood 7-foot-1) over many NBA players back in his day, a split talent pool with the ABA operating throughout his career, and a huge number of minutes played. (Chamberlain averaged an insane 45.8 minutes per game over the course of his career.)

Of course, there’s the obviously immense amount of talent that Wilt had, too. And all that was enough to get him to No. 6 on the list of the best Lakers of all-time.

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