Greatest Laker of all time: Who is it?

[miggs]

Kobe is driven by stats and winning, which is where I feel Kobe excels the most, he's more driven than probably any player with the exception of Jordan, who in my opinion had better mechanics than Kobe but that's another debate. Magic had much more than just drive though, he was truly a mastermind out there. Anyone who disagrees with just how great Magic was has clearly only seen some playoff games or worse, just youtube snippets. I've never heard a player say it was an honor and joy to play with Kobe, unless you count scrubs whereas I think ANYONE in the league not a Celtic would have loved to play alongside Magic. He's the ideal teammate and when he needed to put points in the bucket, he did, simple as that. Magic is the ONLY player I know who can dominate a game with less than 5 fg attempts, that's would be MONSTROUS in today's game. He could take Kobe's supporting cast Post-Shaq/Pre-Pau era and probably make major careers for guys like Kwame, Smush and probably even Devean George

[Dagameplaya PnG]

Magic. Not only my favorite player and who made me like basketball, but his combination of accolades(3 MVP's/finals' MVP's, perennial all-star), team success (9 finals, 5 chips) and work in the community/organization ensure his rightful throne atop the Laker landscape.

Kobe will need more personal(unlikely) and team oriented(remains to be seen) accolades to even approach that threshold. Even if Kobe can somehow narrows the gap, the sheer artistry and aesthetic flair that Magic displayed can never be duplicated due to his uniqueness and approach to the game.

Kobe is better than magic hands down, magic wouldn't be as successful as he was in the current era of basketball. He would get pick pocketed everytime in today's game walking down the court, he honestly dribbled the ball like Ron artest. If Lebron was put to defend him, he would stand no chance because he wasn't a great shooter, had no post moves and was much smaller, slower and less athletic than players in today's era . Kobe Bryant is the best laker of all time hands down, he played for the lakers much longer and holds all the most meaningful records

Well if Magic is in todays NBA he has todays work out facilities to improve his body like everyone else. So who knows what would happen.

[GoldKnightRises]

Kobe Bean Bryant, has done it all & broken so many records wearing the purple & gold...#1 scorer in franchise history to go along with all the accomplishments.

[crazy8ights]

Probably a tie for me, Magic was amazing to watch and was just a floor general start to finish. Kobe got it done night in and night out. We'll see when Kobe is done his career if he can finally over take Magic.

[Kilroy]

Both are Lakers greats...
But for me Kobe has always seemed more concerned with his personal legacy rather than that of a "Lakers Great." I always thought he was chasing Wilt and MJ for greatest ever. I just don't feel like he's has as great a commitment to the org as guys like Magic and West of even Kareem for that matter...

Kobe is just a different kind of person... There's nothing wrong with that, and I've rooted for him his whole career...

It's just that to me Magic is the greatest Laker...

[MistyMountain20]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority

[Sedale Threatt]

Both are Lakers greats...
But for me Kobe has always seemed more concerned with his personal legacy rather than that of a "Lakers Great." I always thought he was chasing Wilt and MJ for greatest ever. I just don't feel like he's has as great a commitment to the org as guys like Magic and West of even Kareem for that matter...

Kobe is just a different kind of person... There's nothing wrong with that, and I've rooted for him his whole career...

It's just that to me Magic is the greatest Laker...

Kobe's ambition doesn't necessarily bother me as we've reaped some huge benefits from it. His work ethic is second to none, and that's an amazing thing considering he was set for life as a teenager. It also has to be noted that Magic was incredibly ambitious in his own right.

What it boils down to me is that Magic's playing style is simply more conducive to team play/winning and was much, much more entertaining to watch.

You've got one guy whose mode was inclusive, about bringing the team together in a way that was effortless to him, the other a hero-ball specialist who, although a very capable team player at times, made his biggest impact with exclusive play, and impacting the game as a 1-on-1 scorer.

Another advantage for Magic, in my opinion, is that his attitude and ability to dominate in multiple facets allowed him to play the game seamlessly, doing what needed to be done as each individual possession presented itself. Too often with Kobe it feels like he's trying to smash a round peg through a square hole, unable to change things up and adjust.

That's not even getting into the fact that Magic also brought his abilities to bear while presenting a major mismatch every night thanks to his unique size and skill set. It's a domino effect; put LeBron on Magic, and who covers Worthy?

Both are about as good as you can possibly get for their respective styles, with the obvious exclusion of Michael Jordan in Kobe's case. But I'm always going to side with the former, and that would be the same if I'd grown up watching Kobe instead of Magic. I just think with all things being equal, Magic's going to get the better results.

[Tee212]

Kobe is driven by stats and winning, which is where I feel Kobe excels the most, he's more driven than probably any player with the exception of Jordan, who in my opinion had better mechanics than Kobe but that's another debate. Magic had much more than just drive though, he was truly a mastermind out there. Anyone who disagrees with just how great Magic was has clearly only seen some playoff games or worse, just youtube snippets. I've never heard a player say it was an honor and joy to play with Kobe, unless you count scrubs whereas I think ANYONE in the league not a Celtic would have loved to play alongside Magic. He's the ideal teammate and when he needed to put points in the bucket, he did, simple as that. Magic is the ONLY player I know who can dominate a game with less than 5 fg attempts, that's would be MONSTROUS in today's game. He could take Kobe's supporting cast Post-Shaq/Pre-Pau era and probably make major careers for guys like Kwame, Smush and probably even Devean George

quite the knee slapper for friday

[Beethoven]

Although Lakers are known to have a rich tradition of acquiring world-renowned dominant big men who have helped bring championships
For me, the Ultimate Laker Triumvirate is

Magic Johnson
Kobe Bryant
Jerry West

[GswSucks4Ever]

Completely subjective topic

Do you rank 5 year dominance as the most important factor?
Got to be Shaq

Is career longevity most important?
Got to be Kobe

Are team accomplishments most important?
magic or kobe


Me personally, Shaq is the douchiest/dominant, kobe is the sexiest, kareem is the ugliest, and magic the greatest what if?