Los Angeles Lakers: 4 names to replace Magic Johnson as ambassador

1. Kobe Bryant

Magic Johnson himself has already declared Kobe Bryant as the greatest player in Lakers’ history, a title that many people used to (or still do) reserve for Magic.

If Kobe wants to replace Magic as the Lakers’ unofficial team ambassador, he at least has the right connections. Pelinka is Kobe’s longtime agent and good friend, and by all accounts, Buss holds Kobe in as high regard as anyone who has worn the purple and gold.

On the court, Kobe played 20 years for the Lakers and won five championships. His trophy case includes two Finals MVPs, a league MVP, two scoring titles, and a whole bunch of All-NBA and All-Defensive nods. He is, bottom line, one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Kobe is relatively new to this post-playing retirement thing — having walked away from the game in 2016 — but he is adapting well. He’s already won an Academy Award as a filmmaker (Dear Basketball) and has his own show (Detail) on ESPN.

There are Lakers fans and there are Kobe fans, and while both groups love the “Black Mamba,” the Kobe fanatics are a special kind of loyal about the future Hall of Fame superstar. Kobe is insanely popular overseas, particularly in China, a market that the Lakers would love to dominate.

Kobe is already something of a Lakers ambassador without even trying. If he actually took the (unofficial) job and attacked it with the same dedication with which he attacked playing basketball, he might become the G.O.A.T. in that realm.