Lakers News: Bill Simmons Lists 3 LA Greats In All-Time NBA Top 6

Undisputed legends of the game.

All-time lists are sure to rile up any pundit, player or fan within the NBA sphere given the many qualities that any given person would value in a basketball player. 

For renowned analyst Bill Simmons, three of the best to ever wear the purple and gold crack the top six names of his list in no particular order. 

The six greatest NBA players ever in alphabetical order

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Larry Bird
LeBron James
Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan
Bill Russell

We can argue about the order, but we can’t argue about any current guy displacing any of those six — at least not yet. Sorry.

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) August 23, 2023

Taking differing eras into account, it's a decently fair list to include the NBA's all time leading scorer, the previous all time points leader until this winter and maybe the game's greatest point guard of all time. 

For James, his career is still being written after rumors of retirement but while  praising the next generation of great players this summer, the four-time Finals MVP still has unfinished business ahead of his 21st season. 

Though Stephen Curry recently stated his place ahead of him in the all-time point guard rankings, Magic Johnson's resume stacks up about as well as anybody's despite a career cut short from an HIV diagnosis in the early 90s. 

Johnson's running mate in big man Kareem Abdul Jabbar dazzled defenses with his patented sky-hook that was nigh indefensible for those who tried to stop it. 

Until James eventually broke his record this season, Abdul-Jabbar's scoring prowess and dominance made him the all-time leader in regular season MVPs in a career that continued until he was 40 years old. 

All three have their place not just in Laker lore, but with the NBA's long and storied past, present and future. 

The Showtime Lakers' story headed by Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar is still being told to this day and James' longevity will equally be revered by fans for generations now and to come. 

Though all time lists remain contentious in many ways, having all three Laker greats on this list isn't a bad place for Simmons or anyone else to start with the best ever to grace the NBA. 

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