Hoops Habit
Fansided

Los Angeles Lakers: 10 best shooting guards in team history

By Amaar Burton

HONOLULU, HI - OCTOBER 16: Kobe Bryant #8 and Eddie Jones #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers talk against the Dallas Mavericks during a preseason game on October 16, 1996 at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1996 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
HONOLULU, HI - OCTOBER 16: Kobe Bryant #8 and Eddie Jones #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers talk against the Dallas Mavericks during a preseason game on October 16, 1996 at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1996 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

From lockdown defenders to legendary scorers, the Los Angeles Lakers have a rich history of shooting guards. But it’s not hard to guess who ranks No. 1.

One franchise has the distinction of suiting up arguably the most talented scorer to ever play shooting guard in NBA history, and arguably the best defender to ever play shooting guard in NBA history. And with all due respect to Michael Jordan, I’m not talking about the Chicago Bulls. Kobe Bryant and Michael Cooper played a combined 32 seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers. Between them, they won 10 championships and made 15 NBA Finals appearances.

Kobe retired at No. 3 on the league’s all-time scoring list, and today he sits ahead of Jordan and everyone else except for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and LeBron James. That’s despite Kobe not being a starter at the beginning of his career, and missing a lot of time with injuries at the tail end of his career.

Cooper’s resume includes eight All-Defensive Team selections and one Defensive Player of the Year award, even though he came off the bench for the majority of his career.

The offensively unstoppable “Black Mamba” and defensively impenetrable “Coop” are no-brainers to occupy high spots on this ranking of the best shooting guards in Lakers’ franchise history. Their games were wildly different, but their success was equally sweet for the purple and gold.

Here are the top 10 shooting guards the Los Angeles Lakers have ever had.

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