We love those GOAT-lists, don’t you? We’re talking about the most-fantasy of fantasy teams. All-time great lineups, without regard to time and team. Well, sometimes team-specific. That’s exactly what our man Shaq has done with his latest reveal: His all-time favorite / fantasy starting lineup for his former Los Angeles Lakers.
We’ll say this right from the start: Of course O’Neal is going to include himself on the roster! No big surprise there, considering his record as one of the most (if not THE most) dominant down-low players in the history of the game.
So first, a tip ‘o the hat to Lucky the Leprechaun and other fans and supporters of the Boston Celtics, who can still most likely claim the title of “most storied” franchise in the history of the NBA. They’ve been around longer, after all, and have had their own dynasties and superstars to celebrate.
Yet in the “modern era” (whatever that means to you), the Lakers are equally – if not more – “storied” themselves. The Purple and Gold have won the most NBA championships since 1980 of any team, that would be eleven. No doubt Crypto dot com arena is now the preferred destination for NBA superstars looking for a new home.
One of those stars going west was our man Shaq, who left Orlando in the summer of 1996, landing in LA as a free agent. That was the same offseason summer the team picked up a little-known youngster by the name of Kobe Bryant, who was drafted straight out of high school.
With the superstar duo of Shaq and Kobe, the Lakers made their mark on the NBA history books. Three straight Championships – O’Neal picking up regular season MVP and scoring title awards in the 1999-2000 season, Finals MVP awards and lots more.
So with all that in mind, Shaq recently named his all-time Lakers starting five, and it is an interesting one at that. Like we said, the big man included himself (of course!) at center. Here’s the rest of the lineup, spanning the decades of Laker stardom:
There’s Magic Johnson at point guard, Jerry West as the off-guard, Kobe Bryant at small forward and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the 4. Love the idea of going all the way back to “the logo” as part of the team!
As good as the team might be in everyday game situations, there might also be problems. For one, Bryant and Abdul-Jabbar would technically be playing out of position.
What’s really interesting is that Shaq didn’t stop there. He included a full roster of bench players…and the team would be coached by legend Phil Jackson.
What a bench! Including the likes of LeBron James, Pau Gasol, Anthony Davis and set-the-WayBack-Machine names like Gail Goodrich (look him up!) and Wilt Chamberlain.
Still, it’s quite the thought experiment from the Big Aristotle! What do you think?