Lakers News: 3 LA Greats Make HoopsHype's List Of Top 5 NBA Players Ever

But in what order, you ask?

Sorry, Los Angeles Lakers fans, Michael Jordan remains the best NBA player of all time.

At least, according to various HoopsHype staffers, who still rank the Hall of Fame Chicago Bulls shooting guard as the best there ever was, the best there ever will be, 20 years after he played his final NBA game with the Washington Wizards.

But never fret, as three Lakers greats cracked HoopsHype's top five, and of course several others abound throughout these rankings, well worth examination in full.

Current LA small forward LeBron James comes in at No. 2 on the list, center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is right behind him at No. 3, and point guard Magic Johnson somehow gets to leapfrog 11-time Boston Celtics champion center Bill Russell.

One could argue that Kareem's dominance and longevity during his own era (he won six titles -- five with LA -- and an NBA-record six MVPs and played 20 years during a time when even some of the best players struggled to play 12) could give him a slight edge over James still. I would. I'd also put Russell over at least Johnson, and maybe James, thanks to his sustained team success (Johnson's five titles don't make him a slouch by any measure, and Russell played in an era with far fewer franchises, to be fair) and historic defensive excellence. 

But in some order, I would agree that this is the proper top five list, with apologies to Wilt Chamberlain, Tim Duncan and Larry Bird (though HoopsHype ranks the San Antonio Spurs great weirdly low here, at "just" No. 10).

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