LeBron James spent eight seasons with the Lakers and still ended up at the center of a familiar franchise debate: does he belong in the top 10 all time, or not?
On The Joint Venture Show, with former Laker Derek Fisher alongside him, NBA analyst Craig Carton laid out his list of the 10 greatest Lakers ever and put James outside it. Carton said, “Top 10 Lakers of all time, no particular order, other than my man here’s 10,” before running through the names he felt were locked in.
“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 then asked Fisher whether the list felt fair, and Fisher said it did overall. Still, the exchange suggested Fisher felt James was being slighted. Carton also argued that James did not win a championship with the Lakers because he wasn’t counting the 2020 Bubble ring.
That’s where the debate gets messy. If you leave that title out, there’s a path to excluding James from a top-10 Lakers list. But the NBA counted it, and the Lakers counted it, too.
And James’ Lakers resume is hardly empty. In eight seasons, he won one championship, one Finals MVP and one assists title. He made eight All-Star teams and seven All-NBA teams with the franchise, and he averaged 25.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks per game.
The real question is who gets bumped if James goes in. Fisher is the most obvious name people would challenge. He was a vital role player on five title teams and delivered plenty of big shots, but he is not a top-10 Laker.
Wilt Chamberlain is the other possible opening, though he still looks like the stronger choice over Fisher. Chamberlain spent five seasons in Los Angeles, won one title and took home Finals MVP honors for that run. The case against him is about length and volume, not impact.
Fisher has been complimentary toward James lately, too. He named him the sixth man after putting together his all-time Lakers starting lineup, and clearly still views him highly.
Still, among the franchise’s top 10 names, James remains the one who has not always been embraced like a true Lakers legend. And Carton’s list, whether fans agree with it or not, makes that tension pretty obvious.
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