Who was the best Laker to never win a championship with the team?

[MultiTroll]

Saw this on another db.
Anyone outside of the Laker Bois have any thoughts?
You Laker Bois are welcome to comment too.

Not Shaq, he had 1 in 2001.
Not Odom he also got 1 with MVPau.
Not that almond headed guy that got in the helicopter accident. I think he was able to ride Shaqs coatails in 2001.
Rudy Larusso? I had to look that up.

[Thebesteva]

Karl Malone

[Killakobe81]

Elgin, technically
I know the answer should be the pedophille or Russ
I’ll say my boy GP the glove

[baseline bum]

Easily Elgin Baylor

[baseline bum]

Elgin, technically
I know the answer should be the pedophille or Russ
I’ll say my boy GP the glove

Malone, Payton were both role players by the time they got to the Lakers and Westbrook is dogshit

[MultiTroll]

Easily Elgin Baylor
I haven't seen a lot of replays of late 50's and 60's hoop but Elgins numbers are by far #1 for the Nons.

Sidepoint.
Rudy Larruso was his teamate. In 1962 Larruso scored 50 points, at that point the most ever by a Jewish NBA basketball player.
Also 5Xs All Star. Not sure if Lakers bought all star votes as far back as then. I think the extreme corruption came in with Buss.

[FrostKing]

Lebron James. Covid bubble isn't fooling me.

[lefty]

Lebron James. Covid bubble isn't fooling me.
Neither ate Jordan’s 6 titles against shitty opposition tbh

[FrostKing]

Neither ate Jordan’s 6 titles against shitty opposition tbh
He beat like half the Dream Team in the NBA Finals

[lefty]

He beat like half the Dream Team in the NBA Finals

Excellent analysis, will forward your resume to ESPN

[ambchang]

Excellent analysis, will forward your resume to ESPN

To be fair the bulls did have some decent competition in the finals. It’s in the eastern conference that is the issue.

To jordanstans point on dream team, look at the makeup of the dream team:

Jordan and Pippen - on bulls
East - Ewing, bird (beat Jordan’s ass over and over and when jordan starts his “reign” bird was pretty much retired).
West - Laettner (:lol), robinson, drexler, Malone, Stockton, mullin, Barkley (mostly in the west), magic (mostly retired, faced jordan when the team was mostly a shell).

So by the time the west gets to the final, they were all beat up.

[lefty]

To be fair the bulls did have some decent competition in the finals. It’s in the eastern conference that is the issue.

To jordanstans point on dream team, look at the makeup of the dream team:

Jordan and Pippen - on bulls
East - Ewing, bird (beat Jordan’s ass over and over and when jordan starts his “reign” bird was pretty much retired).
West - Laettner (:lol), robinson, drexler, Malone, Stockton, mullin, Barkley (mostly in the west), magic (mostly retired, faced jordan when the team was mostly a shell).

So by the time the west gets to the final, they were all beat up.
They were beat up indeed

The Suns really missed Ceballos in 93 , he matched up well vs Pippen
KJ was also playing on a bum ankle and Barkley played a few games with an injured elbow.

The 91 Lakers weren’t the Showtime team anymore to begin with. and they also had injuries to key players

But still, the Suns defense was horrible, no interior D and on the perimeter Majerle was a traffic cone (lol at The Last Dance hyping him up as a good defender, that cracker couldn’t even guard TOSB Ricky Pierce). And KJ was way too short to guard him

Blazers’ best 2nd player was Porter. Jordan had Pippen.
No offense to Tery but Pippen is vastly superior

The Sonics hsd a good team but McMillan missed a few games
Their 2nd best perimeter defender, a leader, their onlty combo guard and also their only ball handler besides Payton, whicjh was key because the Bulls were good a full court pressing and they sent everyone at Payton because they knew nobody else could handle the ball

Jazz ? lmao

That was a watered down Jazz team, their best version was 88 when they pushed the showtime Lakers to a game 7

And yes the East except the 98 Pavers was utter shit in the 90s, Chicago should have swept NY every season tbh

[FrostKing]

- 91 Pistons were better than all those teams listed

- 90s Knicks? The one that pushed Hakeem to 7 games. Jordan was 15-6 against them in the Playoffs.

- Shaq and Penny were shit? Jordan was the central reason Shaq ran off to the West and what happened when he got there? 3Peat.

- Zo's Heat were very on par with the Jazz just not as seasoned or experienced

- 1993 wasn't the only time Jordan defeated Barkley in the 90s Playoffs...

[ambchang]

They were beat up indeed

The Suns really missed Ceballos in 93 , he matched up well vs Pippen
KJ was also playing on a bum ankle and Barkley played a few games with an injured elbow.

The 91 Lakers weren’t the Showtime team anymore to begin with. and they also had injuries to key players

But still, the Suns defense was horrible, no interior D and on the perimeter Majerle was a traffic cone (lol at The Last Dance hyping him up as a good defender, that cracker couldn’t even guard TOSB Ricky Pierce). And KJ was way too shoty to guard him

Blazers’ best 2nd player was Porter. Jordan had Pippen.
No offense to Tery but Pippen is vastly superior

The Sonics hsd a good team but McMillan missed a few games
Their 2nd best perimeter defender, a leader, their onlty combo guard and also their only ball handler besides Payton, whicjh was key because the Bulls were good a full court pressing and they sent everyone at Payton because they knew nobody else could handle the ball

Jazz ? lmao

That was a watered down Jazz team, their nest version was 88 when they pushed the showtime Lakers to a game 7

And yes the East except the 98 Pavers was utter shit in the 90s, Chicago should have swept NY every season tbh

Truth.

Not saying the finals competition was anything crazy good but those were teams that could make the finals or WCF any year. Just that those teams were all tired and beat up from playing all the other teams that were just as good.

Another point I forgot to make is the bulls had two dream teamers on them, the only other team that has that were the jazz. Malone though is really the only guy I would call a choker in the history of the league.

[lefty]

Malone was a choker no question
Good player though

The WC playoffs were fun in the 90s, some competitive series tbh

[Neo.]

- 91 Pistons were better than all those teams listed

:lol no


- 90s Knicks? The one that pushed Hakeem to 7 games. Jordan was 15-6 against them in the Playoffs.

they matched up far better with houston. and still lost.


- Shaq and Penny were shit? Jordan was the central reason Shaq ran off to the West and what happened when he got there? 3Peat.

they weren't. the rest of the team was, especially with grant being hurt. lol nick anderson choking.

and the lakers didnt 3peat instantly when shaq went there. took him 4 years to get to that point.


- Zo's Heat were very on par with the Jazz just not as seasoned or experienced

are you retarded?


- 1993 wasn't the only time Jordan defeated Barkley in the 90s Playoffs...

:lol that junk philly team? :lmao

[baseline bum]

- 91 Pistons were better than all those teams listed

- 90s Knicks? The one that pushed Hakeem to 7 games. Jordan was 15-6 against them in the Playoffs.

- Shaq and Penny were shit? Jordan was the central reason Shaq ran off to the West and what happened when he got there? 3Peat.

- Zo's Heat were very on par with the Jazz just not as seasoned or experienced

- 1993 wasn't the only time Jordan defeated Barkley in the 90s Playoffs...

The central reason Shaq left Orlando was because his feelings got hurt after a poll in the local newspaper said he wasn't worth the money the Lakers were offering.

[lefty]

The central reason Shaq left Orlando was because his feelings got hurt after a poll in the local newspaper said he wasn't worth the money the Lakers were offering.
It thought it was because of Magic didn't want to pay him at least what Zo was making in Miami, regardless of the poll

[lefty]

:lol no



they matched up far better with houston. and still lost.



they weren't. the rest of the team was, especially with grant being hurt. lol nick anderson choking.

and the lakers didnt 3peat instantly when shaq went there. took him 4 years to get to that point.



are you retarded?



:lol that junk philly team? :lmao
Son, context and facts are too much to handle for nostalgic people tbh

[Brazil]

Always take Lefty's take on Jordan bulls with a pint of salt tbh... for him Jordan is DeRozan in today's NBA :lol

[lefty]

... for him Jordan is DeRozan in today's NBA :lol
Tbh that would be his ceiling

Not saying Jordan and the Bulls weren't great, but context matters......

[FrostKing]

Tbh that would be his ceiling

Not saying Jordan and the Bulls weren't great, but context matters......
Remind me how today's mental midgets are superior.

Giannis has little technical skills and he's unstoppable today.

[ambchang]

- 91 Pistons were better than all those teams listed

The Pistons were no longer the bad boys at that point. Expansions significantly reduced the bench strength of the Pistons and the league was clamping down on the hard fouls because Jordan kept complaining about them. For all your complaints about the league being soft today, Jordan started it all.


- 90s Knicks? The one that pushed Hakeem to 7 games. Jordan was 15-6 against them in the Playoffs.

You do know the Knicks pushed the Rockets team without Drexler to seven games, right? That Rockets team was actually viewed as one of the weaker champs, until Kenny Smith came on air and kept hyping them. That said, I still think the Rockets would have dethroned the Bulls in 94 even if Jordan was there, they were just out of gas.


- Shaq and Penny were shit? Jordan was the central reason Shaq ran off to the West and what happened when he got there? 3Peat.

There is just so much wrong here I don't know where to start. First, Shaq and Penny were known to be immature. They derailed a dynasty due to petty egos. They also had a history of getting swept, things don't go well, they implode.

Second, you don't seem to understand winning championships is a team concept. The Lakers were not the Magic.


- Zo's Heat were very on par with the Jazz just not as seasoned or experienced The Zo Heat were a bunch of stupid thugs. They were basically bad boys wannabes but ended up being a poor man's Knicks team.


- 1993 wasn't the only time Jordan defeated Barkley in the 90s Playoffs... You want to count those times when Barkley were pairing with Tim Perry or something?

[lefty]

Remind me how today's mental midgets are superior..

Sure no problem

You mean like Jordan who repeatedly cried to Stern, forcing him to change the rules, because he got his ass handed to him by a midget for 3 straight years?

The same Jordan who to this day is the most coddled, ref and media protected player in the history of sports?

The same Jordan who almost didn’t go to Barcelona if Isiah was part of Team USA? :cry

The super ass sensitive Jordan who still holds grudges a million years after you dared look at him?

THAT’S YOUR TOUGH ERA? :lmao

[ambchang]

Or as an nba owner, so mentally weak he drafted Adam Morrison just to get the love of those white hillbillies. :lol insecure.

[FrostKing]

.
I liked your post. We can poke holes in each of these teams. I don't understand how it is difficult to comprehend that NBA is story line/drama fueled

- Jordan failed and steadily rose up the ladder to defeat his boogeyman. Became the bully.
- Returned and failed
- Regrouped, conquered and remained the Man on the hill

These are story lines everyone connects with. Jordan doesn't just have the best story on the hardwood, he has great one off it. Hardwork, focus and sacrifice.

[Neo.]

Giannis has little technical skills and he's unstoppable today.

completely untrue. wtf are you smoking?

[Rummpd]

LeBron easily as that bubble Disney crap tourney does not count as a chip.

[LkrFan]

Elgin, technically
I know the answer should be the pedophille or Russ
I’ll say my boy GP the glove

This is the correct answer. For me, 2nd would be Eddie Jones.

[LkrFan]

Lebron James. Covid bubble isn't fooling me.

2020 >>> 1999PERIODT! :lol

[ambchang]

I liked your post. We can poke holes in each of these teams. I don't understand how it is difficult to comprehend that NBA is story line/drama fueled

- Jordan failed and steadily rose up the ladder to defeat his boogeyman. Became the bully.
- Returned and failed
- Regrouped, conquered and remained the Man on the hill

These are story lines everyone connects with. Jordan doesn't just have the best story on the hardwood, he has great one off it. Hardwork, focus and sacrifice.

I agree with most. And that the story was heavily controlled by jordan. He had a great relationship with the press and used it to his advantage. He forced the league to adopt rules to his advantage. He kept his past in the dark to keep a squeaky clean image, his womanizing didn’t come up until recently. Him being an absolutely horrible human being is changed to his competitive and driven he is.

If jordan landed on an incompetent team, like the hawks or the kings, his career would be like that of Nique or tmac. Dominant individual with no playoff success. He’d probably do better than those two but his legacy will be nowhere close to what it is today. Yet he continuously clashed with ownership who expertly built a team around him. He is now trashing his teammates to buildup his own legacy. His HoF speech was so cringy that even his media fanbois couldn’t twist it into a positive and chose to ignore it.

Jordan was great, the GoAT based on accolades, narratives and such, but his edge over Lebron, wilt and Kareem are almost exclusively due to narratives and image.

[lefty]

Agree with both of you

[FrostKing]

I agree with most. And that the story was heavily controlled by jordan. He had a great relationship with the press and used it to his advantage. He forced the league to adopt rules to his advantage. He kept his past in the dark to keep a squeaky clean image, his womanizing didn’t come up until recently. Him being an absolutely horrible human being is changed to his competitive and driven he is.

If jordan landed on an incompetent team, like the hawks or the kings, his career would be like that of Nique or tmac. Dominant individual with no playoff success. He’d probably do better than those two but his legacy will be nowhere close to what it is today. Yet he continuously clashed with ownership who expertly built a team around him. He is now trashing his teammates to buildup his own legacy. His HoF speech was so cringy that even his media fanbois couldn’t twist it into a positive and chose to ignore it.

Jordan was great, the GoAT based on accolades, narratives and such, but his edge over Lebron, wilt and Kareem are almost exclusively due to narratives and image.
Yes this is fair. But I think it just fuels his story. He was a 6 foot 6 flawed Man.

Overall what you say is in the Documentaries. It's not a secret or unheard of.

We enjoyed a glorious Disney stile athletic showcase. Better than any in sport I've enjoyed since.

[baseline bum]

I agree with most. And that the story was heavily controlled by jordan. He had a great relationship with the press and used it to his advantage. He forced the league to adopt rules to his advantage. He kept his past in the dark to keep a squeaky clean image, his womanizing didn’t come up until recently. Him being an absolutely horrible human being is changed to his competitive and driven he is.

If jordan landed on an incompetent team, like the hawks or the kings, his career would be like that of Nique or tmac. Dominant individual with no playoff success. He’d probably do better than those two but his legacy will be nowhere close to what it is today. Yet he continuously clashed with ownership who expertly built a team around him. He is now trashing his teammates to buildup his own legacy. His HoF speech was so cringy that even his media fanbois couldn’t twist it into a positive and chose to ignore it.

Jordan was great, the GoAT based on accolades, narratives and such, but his edge over Lebron, wilt and Kareem are almost exclusively due to narratives and image.

How are you even mentioning Kareem in this conversation? Dude wasn't even guaranteed to take you to .500 in his prime when he didn't have Oscar or Magic as a teammate. Magic completely saved Abdul-Jabbar's legacy.

[lefty]

Magic and Oscar Westbrook didn’t win any title without Kream tbh

[ambchang]

How are you even mentioning Kareem in this conversation? Dude wasn't even guaranteed to take you to .500 in his prime when he didn't have Oscar or Magic as a teammate. Magic completely saved Abdul-Jabbar's legacy.

His general story is about as good as it comes, outside of those two years. The league was also weaker than an anorexic as the aba took so much talent with them and Kareem still sucked. That said his years of dominance was just really up there. His absolutely prime was only rivalled by shaq, wilt, bird, jordan, Lebron and hakeem. Duncan, as great as he was, just didn’t have the stats because of the pace of the spurs. M
Kareem’s laker championship years were also not that great given he was putting up about 22/8 when leading players were routinely putting up 30 points or 13 rebounds.

That said, he did have six rings, played twnety years in an age when players generally play about ten, six mvps, led the league in scoring rebounding and blocks multiple times, finals mvp twice, I don’t even know how many all nba teams and allstar teams. His resume is just amazing and not too many people can measure up to that.

[Killakobe81]

Malone, Payton were both role players by the time they got to the Lakers and Westbrook is dogshit

I don’t disagree… depends on if the question was at the time they played or if we speak total resume or talent.
If it’s the latter it’s still Elgin or Pedo
But as a personal favorite non Laker of mine, for me it’s GP (heavy bias)
Physical talent Russ in convo but as a laker he can’t shoot any better than me

[Killakobe81]

Easily Elgin Baylor

Reason I said technically he was on a team that won iirc but retired early that season …

[lefty]

His general story is about as good as it comes, outside of those two years. The league was also weaker than an anorexic as the aba took so much talent with them and Kareem still sucked. That said his years of dominance was just really up there. His absolutely prime was only rivalled by shaq, wilt, bird, jordan, Lebron and hakeem. Duncan, as great as he was, just didn’t have the stats because of the pace of the spurs. M
Kareem’s laker championship years were also not that great given he was putting up about 22/8 when leading players were routinely putting up 30 points or 13 rebounds.

That said, he did have six rings, played twnety years in an age when players generally play about ten, six mvps, led the league in scoring rebounding and blocks multiple times, finals mvp twice, I don’t even know how many all nba teams and allstar teams. His resume is just amazing and not too many people can measure up to that.

Kareem also won FMVP at age 38
And he did it against a pretty good frontline

[Ghazi]

Kareem is the best Laker of all time, a true Muslim

Kobe is DEAF DUMB AND BLIND, HE SHALL NOT SEE

[baseline bum]

Reason I said technically he was on a team that won iirc but retired early that season …

Might as well say Paula Abdul is an NBA champion if you're going to give Baylor a title for being a fan.

[Killakobe81]

Might as well say Paula Abdul is an NBA champion if you're going to give Baylor a title for being a fan.

Nah which is why I said Elgin

[Brazil]

Better question is who was the best Laker to win a championship not being the top dog... even though answer is quite easy.. that's #12

[MultiTroll]

Better question is who was the best Laker to win a championship not being the top dog... even though answer is quite easy.. that's #12
No it's not a better question, you could start another thread if you want to.
Besides Wilt the Stilt wore #13, Kream or Magic by math one of them has to be 2nd dog, healthy Odom #7.

The almond headed helicopter accident dude might make the top 12.

[Rummpd]

I liked your post. We can poke holes in each of these teams. I don't understand how it is difficult to comprehend that NBA is story line/drama fueled

- Jordan failed and steadily rose up the ladder to defeat his boogeyman. Became the bully.
- Returned and failed
- Regrouped, conquered and remained the Man on the hill

These are story lines everyone connects with. Jordan doesn't just have the best story on the hardwood, he has great one off it. Hardwork, focus and sacrifice.


And gambling, and a failed baseball career and rumors of rampant cheating on his wife. Also was not beloved by many teammates. Yes some role model:wow but he had that smile of course.