LAKERS FINEST FROM 1-17

Seventeen Lakers National Basketball Association championships ties the Boston Celtics for most in the history of the world’s finest hoops league, the first five while the Minneapolis Lakers and No. 17 by Los Angeles via the recent victory in six games over the Miami Heat.

So where do you start at listing the best Lakers teams? Number one, that’s where, and number one has to be the 1986-87 purple and gold “Showtime” bunch led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They were exciting to watch, had plenty of help for the likes of the 6-foot-9 bundle of versatility Johnson and the 7-foot-2 towering Abdul-Jabbar, who was equally adept on both sides of the ball, and he and Johnson were no doubt two of the best to play the game.

This team was loaded, with the 6-7 forward James Worthy, the 6-3 shooting guard Byron Scott, 6-5 shooting guard Michael Cooper, 6-9 power forward A.C. Green, 6-8 power forward Kurt Rambis, and the 6-9 center Mychal Thompson, and a quality cast of reserves. Pat Riley was the head coach and former Lakers great Jerry West as its top executive.

Seven players scored in double figures, with Johnson leading the way with 23.9 points a game, Worthy at 19.4, Abdul-Jabbar at 17.5,  Scott at 17.0, Cooper at 10.8, Green at 10.6, and Thompson at 10.1. Most rebounds brought down had Green with 7.8. Abdul-Jabbar with 6.7, Johnson with 6.3, and Rambis with 5.8. Tops in assists with 12.2 was Johnson, with Cooper handing out 4.5 and Scott 4.3. Cooper tossed in the most 3s, 89, and Scott was good for 65.

In total minutes played, Johnson’s 2904 were the most, with Worthy totaling 2819.

They turned in a remarkable 65-17 record and defeated the Celtics in six games. They scored in many ways, with Johnson some times directing the offense with his “showtime” game or Scott bringing up the ball. They scored on rebounds that began the fast break, on the inside touch of the 39-year-old Abdul-Jabbar, the outside shooting of probably any player, penetration, and off steals and turnovers. They played like a happy, confident bunch and were the all-time Lakers best.

The number two team played in 2000-01. It was coached by Phil Jackson, was led by the one-two All-Star punch of the 6-4 Kobe Bryant and No. 44, 7-foot Shaquille O’Neal. It was Bryant who provided the leadership at either shooting guard or small forward, was a stellar outside shooter, while O’Neal was the inside weapon who was brutal on moves to the basket and strong on scrubbing the boards for rebounds. These guys cruised through the postseason with only one loss in 16 starts.

The number three team made the scene in 1971-72, a dozen years after the franchise relocated from Minneapolis. and after it had lost in the NBA finals seven times before the sharpshooting, team leader Jerry West, No. 44, and power center Wilt Chamberlain broke through with one of the most dominate teams in league history. West was tough to guard and Chamberlain was just tough in every phase of the game.

In the 1984-85 campaign, this team was number four on the Lakers list. After losing to Boston in seven games in the NBA finals the previous season, the Lakers won the rematch behind Magic Johnson, Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Michael Cooper, and guard Norm Nixon. Worthy played excellent defense against the Celt’s Kevin O’Hale, and Abdul-Jabbar retired two years later.

The number five team played in 1979-80 as the Lakers won the first of five championships in the decade. It was capped by rookie Magic Johnson’s famous 42-point game in the game six clincher in Philadelphia versus the 76ers. With Abdul-Jabbar back in Los Angeles sidelined with an ankle injury, Johnson was magic as he jumped center to start the game, and quickly tapped the ball to a breaking teammate for the first basket. He was dominate with 14 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, and four shot blocks. On television later, he showed the championship trophy to Abdul-Jabbar and informed him that he was bringing it to him.

Number six was the 1999-20 crew that again featured No. 8, Mr. Outside Kobe Bryant and No. 34, Mr. Inside Shaquille O’Neal as the two put it all together to start their run of three-straight titles and the franchise’s first since the “Showtime” era. Bryant scored at a 28.6 clip and O’Neal tallied 17.6, brought down 13 boards per game, and had four shot blocks a game. Bryant was named the Most Valuable Player.

More current is the number seven 2019-20 team that paired No. 23, 6-9 superstar LeBron James and No. 2, 6-11 post Anthony Davis, with James, at age 35, running the show against the pesky 5th-seeded Miami Heat. He showed his leadership, made key buckets, and Davis, in his first NBA final, the inside and outside threat, the rebounder, the shot blocker, in a splendid job turned in by first-year head coach Frank Vogel for the Lakers initial championship in a decade. James was the MVP as he won his fourth NBA title.

There was the number eight team in 1987-88 that was highlighted by the play of Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, who dominated the inside, shut off the middle, and highlighted his scoring with his patent hook shot difficult to guard, and the franchise was on the way to its second title in a row and fifth of the decade, and first without 7-1 Shaquille O’Neal.

Number nine on the charts was the 2008-09 team. It had a Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant as Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside again, went 65-19 and added another NBA championship with a quality cast led by 6-5 versatile guard Mitch Richman, veteran backcourt standout Derek Fisher, 6-10 outside sharpshooter Robert Horrry, and 6-7 forward Rick Fox.

The number 10 team in 2001-02 was again led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, with the two paving the way to the three-peat and becoming the fifth team in NBA history to win three straight championships. Bryant was the high scorer in every game, with a single game high of 43 points in the fourth game, while O’Neal turned in a high of 33 points in game two and took down 11 rebounds and blocked four shots in game five.

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The 1981-82 team was number 11 as Pat Riley took over as head coach 11 games into the regular season and led the club to its second title in three years to usher in the “Showtime” era. It was Magic Johnson at his best as he led the Lakers in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and leadership, in his third season as a professional.

In 2009-10, the Lakers’ number 12 team went back-to-back again, with Kobe Bryant, playing with an injured, bandaged finger on his shooting hand, but was the Most Valuable Player in winning his fifth and final ring. He was again the MVP and Lakers fans saluted him with every big play he made.

The number 13 team dates back to the 1948-49 club led by 6-10 No. 99 George Mikan, the NBA’s first great, genuine big man who led the Minneapolis Lakers to their first title in franchise history. He also had plenty of talented teammates with the likes of forwards Vern Mickelsen and Jim Pollard, and crafty guards Pep Saul and

The following season,1949-50, number 14 team brought a second consecutive championship again behind the All-Star trio of George Mikan, No. 17 Vern Mickelsen and No. 19 Jim Pollard, who combined for 70 points and 37 rebounds. Number 99 Mikan was extra sharp with his hard-to-stop hook shot while Saul was sharp with his outside shots and handing out assists.

It was Minny again in 1952-53 with the number 15 team on the list, and again it was George Mikan, who turned in a game-high 33 points, brought down 15 boards, while Vern Mickelsen scored 21 and grabbed nine rebounds, and Pollard, who tallied 19 and took down nine boards, while Pep Saul dished out eight assists and came away with six steals. It was the Lakers fourth title in five years.

Get used to the early years of the Lakers because in 1951-52, it was the number 16 team and the Minneapolis crew rebounded from a previous season setback in the NBA finals to claim another championship, its third in four seasons. Yes, it was George Mikan again as he was named the MVP following a combined back-to-back point total of 70 points to go with rebound highs of 12 and 14 in games one and two.

Last and certainly not least was again the Minneapolis bunch in the 1953-54 campaign. This time is was No. 19 Vern Mickelsen paving the way to the team’s fifth championship in six years, and six years later the franchise packed up to play in Los Angeles. Here, it was Mickelsen being chosen as the MVP as the leading scorer and rebounder, and Jim Pollard pulling down 10 boards per game to go with seven assists a game from Saul.

In Minneapolis, the Lakers played 12 seasons, all winning ones. They added 6-11 center Clyde Lovelette to strengthen the already strong front line, and with the backcourt with more depth, this group was tough to contain. They were at the time the best pro team in the planet. John Kundra was head coach all these years and won five NBA titles in 11 appearances in the final. The Minny group won titles in 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953 and 1954.

After moving the franchise to Los Angeles, it played 60 seasons, and with this year’s NBA title have won 48 time and lost 12 times. Championship head coaches were Bill Sharman, Jerry West, Paul Westhead, Pat Riley, and Phil Jackson, who the most, five times. Next came Riley with three. Westhead with one and Sharman with one. Of these five, West never coached a champion, oh and can’t forget the impressive job put together by first-year head coach Frank Vogel winning this one.

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The latest Lakers to excel with their new team was superstar LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as they paved the way to the franchises’ first NBA title in a decade. Before this, you can count Mikan, Mickelson and Pollard in Minneapolis to the Los Angeles elite of the late Bryant, Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Chamberlain, Worthy, West, O’Neal, Scott, Cooper, A.C. Green, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich.

That’s an even dozen who starred in LA, and if you think anyone has been left out, make your own list of the franchise that now ties the Boston Celtics with 17 NBA championships. The Lakers in Los Angeles won 12 titles and appeared in 48 playoff games.

Other Lakers teams that belonged here and reeled in NBA titles, were the 1972-73 team that was 61-19, the 2008-09 team that posted a 62-20 mark, the 2008-09 that went 65-17, and the 2001-02 team that put together a 58-24 record, as well as the teams who played among the best in the league but did not hoist the championship trophy. They were the 1990-91 bunch (58-24), 1997-98 crew (54-28). the 2002-03 team (50-32), the 1988-89 team (58-24), and the 2010-11 team (57-25).

And this latest one was special, as it was dedicated to the memory of Bryant who died back in January when he, his 13-year-old daughter and five other passengers crashed in a helicopter that went out of control in California. The present Lakers also unveiled their “Black Mamba” Kobe Bryant-inspired uniforms that are black with yellow scripting, and won four of five times wearing them, but in the game six victory that clinched the championship, they wore their standard purple and gold uniforms.

It didn’t matter that they played 3,000 miles from their Staples Center home court, in the “bubble” on the well set-up ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The basketball was the same standard size, as was the length and width of the indoor arena at nearby Walt Disney World.