Great Lakers

So, just in case you get all of your sports news from us and not say, ESPN or Sports Illustrated, Kobe Bryant became the L.A. Lakers all-time scoring leader last night, passing Jerry West, better known to today's fans as "The Logo."

After the game was over this utterly ridiculous debate began..."Is Kobe the greatest Laker ever?"

The answer, at least to this blogger, is no, absolutely no.

Now, I'm not saying Kobe isn't great. In fact, I think he is all-time great. One of the best players ever in the NBA, not just the Lakers.

So why do I think this is-Kobe-the-greatest-Laker-ever conversationis so ridiculous? Because his name isn't Jerry West.

Jerry West averaged 27 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game for his entire career. That's 27 points per game before the adoption of the the three point line, and West was an outside shooter. At the height of his career he was averaging over 31 points a game, second in the league to Wilt Chamberlain.

As a player, West won only one NBA title, but that has more to do competition he and his teams faced than anything else. West's Lakers made it to the NBA Finals nine(!) times, they just couldn't past those immortal Celtics teams of the late 1960's and the Knicks teams of the early 1970's.

(Also, did I mention that he is the model for the NBA logo?)

Those are all incredible accomplishments as a player, but what separates West is what he did as a coach and an executive. As a coach he led the Lakers to four titles in a span of 7 years. It could have been more but this was during the time when the Magic Johnson/Larry Bird rivalry ruled the league and they were constantly trying to one-up each other. As an exec he signed Shaq, brought in coach Phil Jackson, and most notably, trade-raped the Hornets in 1996 by getting Kobe for Vlade Divac. (Sorry Dave.) This nucleus won three straight titles from 2000 to 2002 before West left for Memphis to lead the Grizzlies.

Now again, I don't think Kobe isn't one of the greatest Lakers ever. For the record I have him number three, behind West and Magic. I just think that West is clearly the "greatest Laker."

Here's a comparison:

The Lakers are like the Dave Matthews Band.

Shaq would be Boyd Tinsley (the violin player). He is the biggest guy in the group and you are constantly thinking "How is that big dude doing that so nimbly?" Magic would be Stefan Lessard (the bass player), because he left college early to join the group and he sounds funny when he talks. Kobe would be Carter Beauford (the drummer). He is the quiet leader whose name eventually comes up when you talk about the greatest at his position. But in the end, West would be Dave. He writes the songs, sings the songs, and has his name on top. Did I mention that he is the model for the NBA logo?

And remember, we are only having this conversation because Kobe passed West on the scoring list. If there had been a three-point line in the sixties then West would have scored who knows how many more points and Kobe would not yet be there.

One interesting note I learned from all this...the Lakers are now the only team in the league to have their franchise scoring leader on the roster, and as soon as they win one more game they will be the only organization to have the franchise leader in coaching wins (Phil Jackson) leading the team as well.