Celtics
1. Auerbach
2. Russell
3. Pierce
4. Bird
5. Hondo
Lakers
1. George Mikan brought what 5 titles?
2. Kobe is next
3. Magic
4. Kareem
5. West because he was a great player and GM for them
I like the way you think. Our top 5 are identical.
Yes, Mikan brought 5, plus one additional uncounted NBL title in 1948, before the NBA was founded.
I don’t see how Kobe rates above Magic. The kid road Shaw’s coattails to three titles and then contributed to breaking up a dynasty, whereas Magic was the man for all five championships that he won.
The simple truth is Kobe was there for ever. He is 3rd in rebounds, 2nd in assists, and 5th in blocks, but basically is the franchise leader in every other category, and by a pretty wide margin in most of them. He won 5 titles with 2 other Finals appearances and won 2 Finals MVP's.
And I certainly disagree that Magic was better than Kareem early on. I mean Kareem was the League MVP in 1980. He missed the last game in the Finals, which is why Magic won the Finals MVP, but the first 5 games, Kareem dominated Magic statistically and in the crucial game 5, Kareem went for 40 and 15 with 4 blocks. In 82, they were of a pretty similar value. And Kareem actually won the 85 Finals MVP, though Magic was the better player that year.
I don't think there is a right answer when comparing the value of Magic, Kareem, and Kobe to the Lakers. Without any of those guys, they probably don't have 10 of their titles as Magic did not win without Kareem