Last call: Your choices as the greatest L.A. Lakers of all time

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

We got 1,151 ballots from you, the loyal reader (and believe me, no one here thought we had 1,151 readers left) for the greatest L.A. Lakers of all time. But before we get to the results, here’s my choice for Nos 4-1.

No. 4: Kobe Bryant

No. 3: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

No. 2: Jerry West (Almost considered making him No. 1 because of his tenure as GM).

No. 1: Magic Johnson

And now, your votes. I removed Chick Hearn from the ballots of those who had him (he would have finished about 15th), and moved everyone else on those ballots up one (some people didn’t include him because they thought he was ineligible, so I decided in fairness to take him out entirely.) I did the same for those of you who voted for George Mikan, since he never played in L.A.

You had to be listed on at least 50 ballots to make the list. Players listed in first on a ballot received 12 points, second place got 9, third place got 8, all the way to one point for 10th place.

Players named on fewer than 50 ballots: Bob McAdoo, Phil Jackson, Happy Hairston, Robert Horry, Spencer Haywood, Bill Sharman, Walt Hazzard, Adrian Dantley, Mychal Thompson, AC Green, Kermit Washington.

17th place: Pau Gasol (114 points)

16th place: Kurt Rambis (135 points)

15th place: Derek Fisher (187 points)

14th place: Norm Nixon (197 points)

13th place: Pat Riley (228 points)

12th place: Byron Scott (249 points)

11th place: Jamaal Wilkes (518 points)

10th place: Michael Cooper (1,255 points)

9th place: Gail Goodrich (2,323 points)

8th place: Shaquille O’Neal (4,231 points)

7th place: James Worthy (4,459 points)

6th place: Wilt Chamberlain (31 first-place votes, 5,465 points)

5th place: Elgin Baylor (41 first-place votes, 6,491 points)

4th place: Kobe Bryant (73 first-place votes, 7,663 points). Kobe is a polarizing figure, as over 100 people didn’t even list him as one of their 10.

3rd place: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (155 first-place votes, 9,426 points)

2nd place: Jerry West (270 first-place votes, 10,421 points)

1st place: Magic Johnson (581 first-place votes, 11,769 points)

--Houston Mitchell