The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the biggest franchises in the NBA, having had decades of championship success, legendary players and historic rivalries. Whether it was in the 1960s when Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain battled Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics, to Magic Johnson's head-to-head with Larry Bird, the Lakers have always been at the forefront of the league.
The likes of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant helped bring the good times again in the 2000s, before LeBron James restored the franchise to relevancy once again and led the team to a title victory in the bubble. Much like their arch-rivals the Celtics, the Lakers have plenty of championship banners taking pride of place at the Crypto.com Arena, while a number of famous jersey numbers have been retired too.
Given just how many Hall of Fame players have walked through the door, narrowing down a list of the five most important Lakers of all-time is always going to be a difficult task. But, it's something Jeanie Buss - the franchise's current controlling owner and president - attempted to do - and it's fair to say it sparked some very polarising reactions, to say the least.
Jeanie Buss Named Her 5 Most Important Los Angeles Lakers Ever
Jeanie Buss
Appearing on the 'All the Smoke' podcast with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, Buss was asked to name her top five most important Los Angeles Lakers of all-time. Having tried to clarify what it meant by 'important', Buss put forward her first three names of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
I like to say he's like the closest thing to a superhero I've ever met, in that he's so powerful and strong and smart, but he does things for the good. (Buss talking about LeBron)
She would then add Magic Johnson to her list after being prompted by Barnes, and then, after deliberating over her fifth and final pick, she settled on Phil Jackson after being told the legendary head coach would be a valid option too.
It all meant that Buss made some glaring omissions, not least the likes of Jerry West, who, as a Hall of Famer, was an incredible, championship-winning player for the franchise as well as leading the team to great success as an executive too. The logo himself, West was named to the NBA All-Star 14 times, while he also made the All-NBA First Team on 10 occasions.
Added to West, Elgin Baylor also didn't make the cut - a man widely regarded as one of the greatest forwards of all-time, while Shaquille O'Neal also didn't find himself in Buss' top five.
Shaquille O'Neal and Jerry West Reacted to Buss' Lakers Ranking
Jerry West with Shaquille O'Neal
Jerry West in particular was particularly affronted by what Buss had to say, and the late, great Lakers star didn't mince his words when it came to discussing what he thought about the list.
I saw the other day Jeanie Buss made a statement, the five most important Lakers, one of the most offensive things I’ve ever heard in my life. I was there a lot of times, had a lot of success. Be curious to know if they would have had that success if I hadn’t been there.
And I don’t ever take credit for stuff, I don’t. When I was around, maybe I was just a good luck charm. But I do know, that when this thing fell apart, there was a lot of years where they weren’t very good.
Meanwhile, after seeing the post on Instagram revealing Buss' ranking of the most important Lakers, O'Neal could only comment 'whyyyyyyy'. The center had also previously responded to the list, and although he was keen to stress that he wouldn't say anything negative about Buss, he did question one selection in particular.
I love Jeanie Buss. I have never, would never say anything negative about Jeanie Buss. She gave me $120 million, $100 million, another $80 million. I would never, ever in my life say anything negative about Jeanie Buss and the Buss family. That is her opinion. I respect her opinion ... Look, I'm not mad about that. Listen, she's Jeanie Buss, that's her opinion. If you ask other people, the names will vary.
At 49, I'm a lot more peaceful than I was. If I was 29, I would say, 'Hold on, LeBron's only been there 720 days. How you gonna put him before me?' But look, I'm 49, I respect people's opinions.
Naturally, O'Neal feels aggrieved with seeing his name omitted from a list of the most important Lakers of all-time. Certainly, Shaq could not argue with the selections of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson, who many consider to be locks as some of the greatest Lakers in history. Adding Phil Jackson to the mix despite him being a head coach is also somewhat understandable given he masterminded a three-peat and then added a couple more titles after that too.
Where things get interesting - and somewhat controversial - is Buss' inclusion of LeBron, particularly as the former Cleveland Cavalier has only delivered one NBA title to the franchise and has struggled to get the team deep into the playoffs since. While there's no questioning his impact and greatness as a player overall, to have him ahead of the likes of West and O'Neal as the most important Lakers ever does seem somewhat short-sighted.
Shaq was the biggest factor behind the Lakers winning three titles in a row from 2000 to 2002, winning Finals MVP each time. Add to that his MVP-winning season in 2000, and the fact he was named to the All-NBA First Team for every year bar one that he was with the Lakers, and it's easy to see why many consider him one of the greatest players in Lakers history, and also why he's regarded as one of the best centers of all-time in the NBA.