Hoops Habit
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Every single NBA team’s Mount Rushmore of stars

By Maxwell Ogden

Apr 2, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) look on in the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 2, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) look on in the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Los Angeles Lakers Mount Rushmore, Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers Mount Rushmore (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

The Mount Rushmore of the Los Angeles Lakers

  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
  • Kobe Bryant
  • Magic Johnson
  • Jerry West

Picking four players for the Los Angeles Lakers is close to impossible. Seriously, go ahead and try without second-guessing yourself at least 15 times. Thankfully, there’s a reasonable and undeniable starting point: Magic Johnson.

Johnson won three NBA MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, and five championships—and he did so in the midst of rivalries with the likes of Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas.

Next on the list is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who helped make the Lakers a championship-level team again. He won three of his six MVP awards as a Laker, as well as five of his six titles, and received six All-NBA First Team selections along the way.

Abdul-Jabbar is in the GOAT discussion overall, and the winningest portion of his career was in purple and gold—undeniable factors.

Third on the list is Kobe Bryant, who played 20 unbelievable seasons with the Lakers. He won five championships, two Finals MVP awards, and one regular-season MVP, and was a 15-time All-NBA honoree with 11 First Team nods.

Throw in 12 All-Defense selections, two scoring titles, and some of the most incredible individual games we’ve ever seen, and Bryant is a lock.

The hardest part about the fourth selection is that there are three top-20 all-time players competing for one place. That list consists of 10-time All-NBA First Team honoree Elgin Baylor, three-time Finals MVP Shaquille O’Neal, and 12-time All-NBA selectee Jerry West.

O’Neal’s peak was the highest of any of those players, but you don’t earn the nickname of, “Mr Laker,” and then miss the Mount Rushmore.

West means to much to the history of the Lakers to not make the cut.

Next: Grind It Out