Top 10 scorers in Los Angeles Lakers' Franchise History

<p>
Kobe is widely known as the greatest Laker of all-time

We are going to have a look at the top ten scorers for one of the most decorated franchises in NBA history. The Los Angeles Lakers have a very rich history in the NBA as they have won 16 championships in total and have made it to the NBA Finals 31 times.

Some very big and talented names have played for the Lakers and in this article, we will jot down the top scorers (total points) of the franchise. Their accolades, accomplishments and how they contributed to the success of one of the most famous basketball franchises in the world.


#1 Kobe Bryant

This name has to be on top when we're speaking of Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe is widely known as the greatest Laker of all-time. He is the first NBA player to get two different jersey numbers (8,24) retired by the same team.

Bryant has won five championships in his tenure with Lakers along with two-time NBA Finals MVP, one-time NBA regular season MVP, four-time NBA All-Star game MVP, eleven-time All NBA first team selections, one-time NBA Slam Dunk champion and the list goes on.

He is an eighteen-times NBA All-Star and also holds the record for second highest number of points scored by a player in a single game (81).

He leads the Lakers in games played (1346), minutes played (48637), field goals made (11719), free throws made (8378).

He is the top scorer for the Los Angeles Lakers with 33643 points scored in a span of 20 seasons with the team. Bryant is one of the few players who has scored 60 points in his last NBA game. Therefore, it's a no-brainer that Kobe Bryant tops this list.

Fun Fact: Kobe was drafted 13th overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, however, they traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac. Imagine how different NBA's and Laker's landscape would be if the Hornets didn't make such a huge mistake.

#2 Jerry West

Los Angeles Lakers Jerry West, 1969 NBA Finals
He is the second leading scorer for the Lakers in points with his total of 25192 points scored over a span of just 14 NBA seasons with the franchise

The second player on this list is the logo itself, Jerry West. He is the second leading scorer for the Lakers in points with his total of 25192 points scored over a span of just 14 NBA seasons with the franchise.

In his time with the Lakers, West made it to the NBA finals eight times out of which he just won in one of them. He lost in seven NBA finals before finally winning one in 1972 along with Wilt Chamberlain.

West struggled initially with his physical shortcomings but he always had a strong work ethic which enabled him to develop his quick release and become one of the best shooters in the NBA history.

He was also given the nickname "Mr. Clutch" for getting buckets when its needed the most. West, averaged over 27 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists for the Lakers during his career and was named an All-star during each of his 14 seasons.

In 1980, West was inducted in the Basketball Hall of fame and was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996.

#3 Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Enter captio
Kareem has the most number of MVP's in NBA history with six, one more than Micheal Jordan

Kareem Abdul Jabbar ( Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr) is the third highest scorer in the Los Angeles Lakers history recording 24,176 points over the span of 14 seasons and also winning five titles for them.

Kareem has the most number of MVP's in NBA history with six, one more than Micheal Jordan. Apart from this, he has 19 All-Star selections, 11 All-NBA Defensive team selections, 2-time scoring champion and 4-time blocks leader. He also holds the record for highest total points in NBA history with 38,387 points.

Kareem till date is one of the most gifted big men in the NBA. He was selected as the 1st overall pick by Milwaukee Bucks in 1969 as there was a lot of hype surrounding him and he lived up to that hype as he turned Bucks into a winning franchise just in his rookie year, leading them to 56 wins as compared to 27 wins in the previous season.

He was also the founder of the famous sky-hook shot, a move so famous that big men all over the NBA still use it to score over their opponents. Kareem played six seasons with the Bucks and in 1975 he requested a trade from them which sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers.

He played rest of his years with the Lakers and retired from the NBA in 1989. Kareem was inducted into the hall of fame in 1996 and was selected as one of the top 50 greatest players in the NBA history.

#4 Elgin Baylor

Enter capti
Baylor regularly dazzled Lakers fans with his fierce drives to the baskets and his hanging jump shots

Elgin Baylor evidently is one of the most underrated players in the NBA history. Baylor was one of the greatest undersized forwards in a league where many shooting guards are now his size.

He finished his career with 23,149 points, 3,650 assists and 11,463 rebounds over 846 games, all for the Lakers which makes him number fourth on our list. Standing at just 6'5 tall, he was a very gifted scorer and a great rebounder for his size.

Renowned for his acrobatic maneuvers on the court, Baylor regularly dazzled Lakers fans with his fierce drives to the baskets and his hanging jump shots.

Baylor was drafted by the Lakers in 1958 as the 1st overall pick in that year's draft and averaged 24.9 points, 15 rebounds, and 4.1 assists earning him the rookie of the year honors.

He was also an 11-time All-Star and 10-time All NBA first team player. He made it to the NBA finals eight times, losing in all of them.

Unfortunately, Lakers won a championship just after the year he retired. Baylor was given an honorary championship by the Lakers even though he wasn't active anymore.

One of the major reasons for Baylor being high up in this list was, he literally saved the franchise from bankruptcy as in 1957 season the Lakers just won 19 games and had a very slow, bulky and aging squad.

During the draft next year, Lakers owner Bob Short convinced Baylor to skip his senior year at SU and instead join the pro ranks in the NBA. If he had refused, the club would have gone bankrupt.

#5 Magic Johnson

Enter capt
Johnson was a rare player and ahead of his time who could play and defend multiple positions

Magic Erving Johnson is the next player on our list. He is the fifth leading scorer for the Lakers with 17,707 points and also recording 10,141 and 6559 rebounds during his 13 seasons with the franchise.

Johnson was a rare player and ahead of his time who could play and defend multiple positions. He was a forward/ center who had passing skills of a point guard which led to him being the fifth in NBA's all-time assists leaders list.

Magic was 3× NBA Most Valuable Player (1987, 1989, 1990),3× NBA Most Valuable Player (1987, 1989, 1990),4× NBA assists leader (1983, 1984, 1986, 1987),2× NBA steals leader (1981, 1982),1× NBA free-throw percentage leader (1989),9× All-NBA First Team (1983 to 91). He was also a five-time NBA champion and three-time Finals MVP.

Johnson was drafted first overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 NBA draft. He immediately made an impact on the team by winning rookie of the year and leading them to 60 wins and also leading them to the championship that year.

He created history in those finals by being the first and only rookie to win the prestigious Finals MVP. Johnson recorded 42 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals in a 123–107 win, while playing guard, forward, and center at different times during the game.

He was also the first rookie who named as a starter in the All-Star game that year. Magic was also a member of the 1992 Olympics dream team which is arguably the best basketball team ever assembled.

#6 James Worthy

Ent
He was a part of the Showtime Lakers which consisted of Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Magic Johnson

James Worthy also known as "Big Game James" is sixth in our list as he has scored 16,320 points, 4708 rebounds, and 1041 steals during his 12-year old career in the NBA.

He was a part of the Showtime Lakers which consisted of Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Worthy was a three-time NBA champion, one-time NBA finals MVP and a seven-time All-Star.

James was the first pick overall in 1982 NBA draft and was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers. They got the no.1 pick in the draft despite being the defending champions.

Worthy was known for his athletic skills as he was extremely agile. He used his speed and quickness to get past the defenders and finish smoothly around the ring with a finger roll or his trademark, one-handed tomahawk jams.

He holds the all-time record for the highest field-goal percentage in a five-game playoff series (.721 in the '85 Western Conference finals vs. Denver), also his career postseason field-goal percentage of .544 ranks among the top 10 on the NBA's all-time playoff list.

#7 Shaquille O'Neal

Ente
He was the MVP in 2000 and also won NBA Finals MVP thrice

We cannot forget about Shaquille O'Neal while talking about Los Angeles Lakers. Shaq also known as Diesel played eight seasons with the Lakers and scored 13,895 points for them and also recorded 6090 rebounds and 1270 blocks.

Shaq won three consecutive championships with the Lakers along with Kobe Bryant from 2000-2002 making it a three-peat.

He was the MVP in 2000 and also won NBA Finals MVP thrice. He was a 15-time NBA All-Star, three-time NBA All-Star Game MVP, eight-time All NBA first team, two-time scoring champion and three-time All NBA-defensive team. His jersey number was retired the Lakers (34) and by the Heat (32).

In 2004, Shaq was traded to the Miami Heat right after losing to the Detroit Pistons in the 2003 NBA Finals.

Lakers were humiliated by the finals defeat as they were a star-studded team that year. They added HOF players in Karl Malone and Gary Payton but they were past their prime.

Also, that year it became clear that O'Neal and Bryant could no longer play in the same team as their beef did affect their performance in the finals.

In Miami, Shaq won another championship along with a young Dwyane Wade in 2006 and later on bounced around in the league before finally retiring in 2011.

Drafted as the first overall pick in 1992 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, he was one of the most entertaining players to watch in the league. His height and strength easily overpowered other NBA big men.

#8 Gail Goodrich

Enter
Enter caption

Gail Goodrich is the eight leading scorer for the Lakers. He scored 13,044 points, 2081 rebounds and 2863 assists for the franchise and also won one championship with them in 1972.

That year the Lakers won a league-high 69 games which include a 33-game winning streak in the regular season which holds the record for most consecutive wins by an NBA team.

It consisted of players like Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Gail Goodrich who averaged a career-high 25.9 points per game.

In the 1965 NBA Draft, Goodrich was a territorial pick and was selected by the Lakers. In his initial days, he played well but constantly struggled for minutes behind Jerry West.

However, in 1968, Lakers lost him in the expansion draft to the Phoenix Suns. In Phoenix, he got the role of the starting shooting guard where he blossomed, scoring 23.8 points per game along with 6.4 assists earning him his first All-Star selection.

For his career, Goodrich was a five-time All-Star and was All-NBA in 1973. He is also the third all-time scorer among lefties in NBA history. By the end of his career, Goodrich was 11th all-time in scoring and 10th all-time in assists.

#9 Byron Scott

Enter

The next player on the list is Byron Scott, who is the ninth leading scorer for the Lakers with 12,780 points, 2534 rebounds, and 2365 assists.

He was drafted by the San Diego Clippers in the 1983 NBA Draft as the fourth overall pick but was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Norm Nixon. Scott fitted well with the Lakers as he was their starting shooting guard from 1984-93 and was one of the key members of the Showtime Lakers.

As a rookie, he was selected to the All-NBA Rookie Team and averaged 10.6 points per game in 22 minutes of playing time. He also won three rings (1985,1987,1988) with the Lakers.

After ten seasons with the Lakers, Byron played two seasons for the Pacers, one season with the Grizzlies. In the last year of his career, he returned to the Lakers at the age of 35 as a mentor for the 18-year old Kobe Bryant.

He retired from the NBA in 1997 and signed with a Greek Basket League Team, Panathinaikos where he led his team to the championship by scoring 17.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 34 games. Post that, Scott took up a coaching job in Kings.

#10 Jamal Wilkes

Enter captio
Wilkes joined the Los Angeles Lakers and played there until 1985 winning three more NBA championships with them in 1980,1982 and 1985

Jamal Wilkes also known as "Silk" played eight NBA seasons for the Lakers and recorded 10,601 points which are enough to get him the tenth and the final spot in our list. Along with all those points he also recorded 3119 rebounds and 1474 assists.

Wilkes initially played for the Golden State Warriors who picked up him in the 1974 NBA Draft as the 11th overall pick. He also won the Rookie of the Year award. Wilkes stayed in Golden State for three seasons, winning his NBA title in 1975.

In 1977, he joined the Los Angeles Lakers and played there until 1985 winning three more NBA championships with them in 1980,1982 and 1985. Jamal was a three-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-Defensive second team.

He was always described as the perfect player by the coaches, "someone who is a good student, polite, good team player and a good defensive player". He retired from the NBA in 1986 and got his jersey number (52) retired by the Lakers.


What do you think about this list? Sound off your opinion in the comments section below!

Quick Links

Edited by Alan John