Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after a call against hindering a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
LeBron James spent eight long seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, but NBA analyst Craig Carton believes he didn’t do enough to be regarded as a top-10 player in franchise history. With former Laker Derek Fisher appearing on The Joint Venture Show, Carton shared his list of the 10 greatest Lakers ever.
“Top 10 Lakers of all time, no particular order, other than my man here’s 10,” Carton said. “Kobe [Bryant], we all agree on. Wilt Chamberlain, obvious. [Shaquille O’Neal], obvious. Jerry West, The Logo, obvious. Magic Johnson, that’s five. All right? Kareem Abdul Jabbar, obvious. Elgin Baylor, obvious. This is old school. George Mikan, I think you have to put him in there as well.
“I put James Worthy in there,” Carton continued. “… That’s nine. You’re 10. And at some point we get to LeBron. That’s not a diss on LeBron, by the way.”
Carton asked Fisher if that was a fair top-10 list, and he felt overall it was. The 52-year-0ld did seem to indicate, though, that he felt James was being disrespected. Carton then claimed the 22-time All-Star didn’t win a championship with the Lakers, as he isn’t counting the 2020 Bubble ring.
Now, if you don’t count that title, then sure, you can make a case for James to not be in the top 10. The NBA did give him and the Lakers that title, though, so it is very much real.
James is also very much a top 10 Laker of all time. To go with the title, he won one Finals MVP and one assists title in his eight seasons with the franchise. James made eight All-Star and seven All-NBA teams as well. He averaged 25.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game as a Laker, and was one of the best players in the NBA for much of his time there.
As for who needs to make way for James in Carton’s list, there are two who you can argue against. The first is, of course, Fisher. He was a great role player on five title-winning teams and hit many clutch shots, but he’s not top 10.
The other would be Wilt Chamberlain, who played just five seasons for the Lakers. Like James, Chamberlain won one title with the franchise and was named Finals MVP for that triumph. He just wasn’t in Los Angeles for too long and didn’t win a lot. You’d still put Chamberlain above Fisher, though. A role player, no matter how great, cannot be ahead of a star.
We recently ranked the 10 greatest Lakers ever, and both James and Chamberlain made it in. These quite clearly deserve to as well.
Now, of all the players in the top 10, James is the only one who wasn’t quite embraced as a legend usually is. His decision to leave this summer and give the Philadelphia 76ers a discount by signing a two-year, $8 million deal hasn’t gone down too well in some corners either.
James has also been accused of ring-chasing, but Fisher has come to his defense. He called the 41-year-old the guy who creates the ring.
Fisher has been quite complimentary of James lately. He named him the sixth man after putting together his all-time Lakers starting lineup, and clearly holds him in high regard.