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Top 30 Best Lakers Basketball Players Of All Time

One of the most famous NBA teams in history, the Los Angeles Lakers has a long history of glory and success. Some of the greatest basketball players in history have contributed to the team’s success over the years. First established as a club in 1947, they were then known as Minneapolis Lakers. The club has undergone a lot of change since then giving opportunities to different athletes to display their prowess. These athletes have taken on the role of the franchise’s public face, and the community benefits from both the court and the community contributions they make. Be it the “Showtime era” or the Kobe Bryant era, these players’ possession of a rare combination of skill, athleticism, and leadership allowed them to elevate their team to new heights.

However, individual success does not always translate into team success. To win an NBA championship, a team effort was required because these players had to work together to achieve a common objective. Some well-known names have played for the team, establishing themselves as some of the best players to ever compete for the Lakers and the NBA as a whole. These are 30 of the best Lakers basketball players of all time since the club’s formation.

1. Magic Johnson

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American professional basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. is frequently recognized as the best point guard of all time. Johnson played professionally for several years in a career that spanned 13 years. The Los Angeles Lakers selected Johnson first overall in the 1979 NBA draft after he had won a national championship with Michigan State that year. Johnson went on to lead the franchise to five NBA titles during the Showtime era. 

Nine NBA Finals appearances, three NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA MVP Awards, 12 All-Star Games, and nine All-NBA First Team selections are just a few of Johnson’s career accomplishments.

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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Many believe Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He was a centre in the NBA for 20 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, where he earned six NBA Most Valuable Player honours. Kareem was chosen for the NBA All-Star Game 19 times, made the All-NBA Team 15 times, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team 11 times.

Kareem won six NBA championships with two separate teams, twice being named MVP. He also coached and won two more titles. He had the most points of any active or past NBA player from 1984 until 2023, until he was eclipsed by LeBron James.

Read More: Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Lew Alcindor

3. Kobe Bryant

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In the NBA, Kobe Bryant played as a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers for the entirety of his 20-year career. He is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and scorers of all time. He won 5 NBA championships as an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time member of the All-NBA team, and a 12-time member of the ALL-defensive team.

Bryant is fourth in the league鈥檚 all-time regular season and postseason scoring, and he also twice led the NBA in scoring. In 2020, he received a posthumous induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2021, he was selected for the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

4. Shaquille O’Neal

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O’Neal is regarded as one of the best centres and basketball players of all time. Throughout his career, Shaquille O’Neal played for several teams, including the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. The Orlando Magic selected O’Neal with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. After earning Rookie of the Year in 1992鈥�1993 and guiding his club to the 1995 NBA Finals, he immediately established himself as one of the league’s top centres. O’Neal joined the Magic for four years before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent. They achieved three straight title victories in 2000, 2001, and 2002. 

5. Jerry West

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O’Neal is regarded as one of the best centres and basketball players of all time. Throughout his career, Shaquille O’Neal played for several teams, including the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. The Orlando Magic selected O’Neal with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. After earning Rookie of the Year in 1992鈥�1993 and guiding his club to the 1995 NBA Finals, he immediately established himself as one of the league’s top centres. O’Neal joined the Magic for four years before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent. They achieved three straight title victories in 2000, 2001, and 2002. 

With 46.3 as his average points per game in a playoff series, he holds the NBA record for the highest points per game. He has been in nine NBA Finals and is the first player in league history to win Finals MVP honours despite playing for the losing team in 1969. West was chosen for the NBA 35th Anniversary Team and received induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.

6. Wilt Chamberlain

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American basketball player Wilt Chamberlain spent 14 years as an NBA player, playing centre and is considered one of the game’s all-time greats. Several players and publications have argued that Chamberlain is the greatest of all time. In the areas of scoring, rebounding, and durability, he holds multiple NBA regular season records; during his career, blocks were not taken into account.

Before finally succeeding and leading the 76ers to the 1967 NBA Finals, Chamberlain, a perennially bad free throw shooter, battled the “loser” label. Chamberlain won his second championship as a member of the 1972 Lakers, a team that set a record with a 33-game winning streak.

7. LeBron James

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LeBron James plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA as a professional basketball player. He is regarded as one of the all-time best basketball players. James ranks fourth in career assists and is the all-time top scorer in the NBA. He has participated in 10 NBA Finals and won four NBA championships鈥攖wo with the Miami Heat, one with the Los Angeles Lakers, and one with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2018, James chose to leave the Cavaliers under his contract option and joined the Lakers, where he went on to win the 2020 NBA title and earn his fourth Finals MVP award. 

Also Read: Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about LeBron James

8. Elgin Baylor

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Elgin Baylor was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He was a forward with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers throughout his NBA career. Baylor was a gifted shooter, a strong rebounder, and an accomplished passer, who was best known for his trademark hanging jump shot. As the first overall pick in the 1958 draft, the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1959, an 11-time All-Star, and a member of the All-NBA first team ten times, Baylor is recognized as one of the all-time greats in the league.

9. James Worthy

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James Worthy is a former professional basketball player turned American sports analyst, pundit, and host. He spent his whole professional playing career with the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Lakers. Worthy was a three-time NBA champion, a seven-time NBA All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA Team, and the NBA Finals MVP in 1988. He was selected for the 50th and 75th-anniversary teams of the NBA.

10. Pau Gasol

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Pau Gasol is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was chosen for four different All-NBA teams and six NBA All-Star games, twice for the second team and twice for the third team. In 2009 and 2010, Gasol won back-to-back NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the first player from a country other than the United States to win NBA Rookie of the Year with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002. He is recognized as one of the all-time great power forwards and one of the all-time best European players. Over his NBA career, Gasol amassed more than 550 double-doubles.

11. George Mikan

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George Mikan played basketball for the Chicago Gears of the National Basketball League(NBL) and the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers of the NBL, The National Basketball Association(NBA), and the Basketball Association of America (BAA). He utilized the underhanded free-throw shooting technique. His size redefined basketball as a 鈥渂ig men鈥檚 game.鈥� His prolific rebounding shot blocking, and talent to shoot over smaller defenders with his ambidextrous hook shot all helped transform basketball.

Mikan enjoyed a very successful playing career, taking home seven NBL, BAA, and NBA trophies in nine seasons, as well as the MVP award from the NBA All-Star Game and three scoring titles. He was a part of the first six All-BAA and All-NBA Teams, as well as the first four NBA All-Star Games. Due to Mikan鈥檚 dominance, the NBA made numerous key rule changes, such as adding the shot clock and the goaltending rule, as well as expanding the foul line eventually being known as the 鈥淢ikan Rule.鈥�

12. Gail Goodrich

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Gail Goodrich was instrumental in UCLA’s upset of Michigan in the NCAA championship game in 1965. During that game, he set a record with 42 points. The Los Angeles Lakers selected him as a territorial pick in 1965. During the 1971-72 season, he was a key figure in the Lakers’ 33-game winning streak, which was an NBA record at the time. He guided the Lakers to their first championship since moving to Los Angeles. In 1996, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

13. Michael Cooper

Michael Cooper is a retired National Basketball Association player who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime period. He was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team eight times, including five times on the first team. In 1987, he was selected as NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

14. Anthony Davis

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Anthony Davis is a professional basketball player with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He is a power forward who also plays centre. Davis has been chosen to four All-NBA First Teams and four NBA All-Defensive Teams during his NBA career. He won the 2020 NBA Finals in his first season with the Lakers. He was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

15. Lamar Odom

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Lamar Odom is a former professional basketball player from the United States. He won titles with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association in 2009 and 2010 and was voted NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011.

16. Dwight Howard

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Dwight Howard is a professional basketball player from the United States who currently plays for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League. After eight seasons in Orlando, Howard was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012, where he served three separate year periods before winning the NBA title in 2020. He is an eight-time All-Star, an eight-time All-NBA Team member, a five-time All-Defensive Team member, and a three-time Defensive Player of the Year.

17. Bob McAdoo

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Robert McAdoo is a former professional basketball player and coach from the United States. He was a five-time NBA All-Star and was voted NBA Most Valuable Player in 1975 during his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association. During the Los Angeles Lakers Showtime era in the 1980s, he won two NBA titles.

18. Byron Scott

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Byron Scott is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association who won three NBA championships With the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s Showtime era.

19. Robert Horry

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Robert Horry is a former professional basketball player and current sports pundit from the United States. He played 16 seasons in the NBA, winning seven NBA titles, the most of any player who did not play for the Boston Celtics in the 1950s and 1960s. He is one of only four players in NBA history to have won championships with three different teams: two with the Houston Rockets, three with the Los Angeles Lakers, and two with the San Antonio Spurs.

20. Jamaal Wilkes

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Jamaal Wilkes is a former American basketball player who played as a small forward in the NBA. He was a three-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. He was voted NBA Rookie of the Year in his first season with the Warriors and helped the team capture the league title. Wilkes went on to win three more NBA titles with the Lakers.

21. Derek Fisher

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Derek Fisher is a former player and professional basketball coach from the United States. Fisher was a professional basketball player for 18 years, spending the majority of his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he won five NBA titles. He also spent time with the Golden State Warriors, the Utah Jazz, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Dallas Mavericks.

22. A. C. Green

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A.C. Green is a retired professional basketball player from the United States who holds the National Basketball Association record for the most consecutive regular-season games played with 1,192. Green played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, and Miami Heat, among other teams. He was most successful with the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he won three championships in 1987, 1988, and 2000, and was selected an NBA All-Star in 1990.

23. Metta World Peace

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Metta Sandiford-Artest is a former professional basketball player from the United States who played in the National Basketball Association for 19 seasons. He won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.

24. Norm Nixon

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Norman Ellard Nixon is a retired professional basketball player from America who played for the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA. He was selected to the NBA All-Star team twice. In 1980 and 1982, during the start of the Lakers’ Showtime era, he won two NBA titles with them.

25. Eddie Jones

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Edward Jones is a former professional basketball player from the United States who played for five teams in his 14-year NBA career. The Los Angeles Lakers selected the three-time NBA All-Star with the tenth overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft.

26. Rick Fox

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Actor and former basketball player Ulrich Alexander Fox hails from Canada. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels as well as NBA basketball with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. In the first round of the 1991 NBA Draft, Fox was selected by the Boston Celtics as the number 24 overall pick. Fox made the 1992 NBA All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 8 points per game while playing for the Celtics, becoming the first rookie starter on opening night since Larry Bird in 1979. He was the owner of the eSports franchise Echo Fox until he departed from the franchise in October 2019.

27. Nick Van Exel

Nick Van Exel is a former player who is the current assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association. Van Exel played for six NBA teams between 1993 and 2006. In 1998, he was an NBA All-Star while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.

28. Gary Payton

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Gary Payton is a former professional basketball point guard from the United States. He is widely regarded as one of the finest point guards of all time, best remembered for his 13-year stint with the Seattle SuperSonics when he set team records in assists and steals. He also played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat. Payton and the Miami Heat won the NBA title in 2006.

29. Vlade Divac

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Vlade Divac is a former NBA basketball player from Serbia who played for the Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, and Los Angeles Lakers. Divac, a centre, was well known for his deadly passing abilities. Given that he was among the first group of European basketball players to join the NBA in the late 1980s, he was recognized as one of the 50 greatest contributions to the EuroLeague.

Alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O鈥橬eal, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Gasol, Vlade is just one of seven basketball players in NBA history to record 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocks. l. He was the first NBA player to play in more than 1,000 games and was born and raised outside of the United States

30. Mychal Thompson

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Former basketball player Mychal Thompson played centre for the University of Minnesota as well as centre and forward for the Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, and Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. With the Lakers during their Showtime glory days in the 1980s, Thompson won two NBA titles.

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