What Was Your Favorite Laker Squad Of All Time?

Favorite Laker team ever. Specific year with a specific roster. Go.

 

the next one to win it all. then the next one to win it all after that one.

 

Showtime Lakers specifically the team that beat Boston on the first end of the back to back

 

lol, maybe the one that lost to boston in 2008? that year was so much fun until the very end. just really shattered expectations, then bynum went down, then the pau trade and the run to the finals out of nowhere. it was great.

i was too young to appreciate the showtime teams, though i loved magic and he's why i'm a lakers fan (other than birth location).

i remember enjoying the nve/eddie jones guys, especially that first kobe/shaq year.

but i think it's still the ring-less 2007-8 team that holds the place in my heart. seeing kobe and pau just come together immediately in a way people didn't expect and play a really fun style of basketball. they ran into a buzzsaw in the finals, but somehow it didn't sour my memory.

edit: i really think this is another part of why mavs fans are so devastated. they had a similar situation last year, imo, great story, almost got there, ran into a boston team firing on every single cylinder. s*** happens. still a fun team to watch and root for.

 

I was going to add my response, but this was my team as well. Loved it.

2nd place was the 2009 championship team. Seeing Ariza nail the 3's in the Finals... Man.

 

2009/2010 Lakers. We had more talented teams win championships, but having lost to Boston in 2008 and there were a lot of question marks with that team mainly due to the Ariza/Artest swap and some of the injuries Kobe went through.

Obviously what made it special was beating the C Bags in the Finals especially after the humiliating loss in 2008 it was clearly a legacy series for Kobe as well. That was a really good C Bags team too they ran through the two top teams in the East that year who most people had us playing in the Finals. It was an absolute battle, but we came out on tough and we grinded it out in one of the most hard fought defensive battles you’ll ever see.

The Kobe/Pau teams have always been my favorite they were stacked with talent even though may not go down as an all time great team like the Kobe/Shaq Lakers or Magic/Kareem’s Lakers. Looking at the core guys on that team Kobe was the best player in the game at the time, Pau was arguably the best big man in the game, Lamar when he accepted that sixth man role was great coming off the bench, and then you had Bynum if it wasn’t for injuries would’ve been a great big man as well in this league.

Derek Fisher won’t make the HOF, but if there is a HOF for role players to me he’s right up there with Robert Horry because of all the big shots he made over the years for us. His leadership was a big part in helping us get back into title contention in the post Shaq era. Artest was a huge addition I still believe with all due respect to Ariza if we don’t sign Ron I don’t know that we beat Boston that year because he absolutely shut down Artest he was a perfect matchup for him physically, which we seriously lacked in 2008.

Can’t forget about Phil he’s the GOAT for a reason. People talk about all the talent he’s coached yes three of the 10 greatest ever (MJ, Kobe, and Shaq) and two all time great teams with the Bulls and Lakers. However what people always fail to realize at least the Phil haters is Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe never won a championship without him (Shaq won one with Riley later on, but I mean before Phil got to LA we were getting swept every year). The man knew how to get the most out of great players and get them to buy into his system.

 

The Shaq/Kobe 3-peat squad.

 

Mine was easily the 72 squad. West and Goodrich overpowered the league and Chamberlain was such a dominant defensive force. Baylor retired early but Jimmy Mc was phenomenal and Happy was the garbage guy. Riley off the bench. Loved West and glad he got that championship. In those days it was hard following a team in AK, maybe anywhere. The games were taped delayed, two weeks after they were played. No ESPN...lol. Little paragraph in the newspaper with box scores and few minutes of scores on the 11 o'clock news. I listened to the games on a staticky am radio. It was amazing.

 

2001
Shaquille O'Neal
Horace Grant/Robert Horry
Rick Fox
Kobe Bryant
Derek Fisher

 

Probably the 08-09 team, I know the following year we beat the C Bags in the finals which was the pinnacle, but the regular season for that 08/09 team had some amazing games, followed by some amazing series after that, just preferred that team to be honest.

Also shout out the 05-06 team who Im still adamant would have reached the finals if we secure that rebound against phoenix as Kobe cooked the clippers and mavs that year.

Showtime was before my time and basketball wasn’t as readily available in the uk as it is now.

 

1987 and 2010. 2010 was fun because my sons were 10 and 11, and I remember them going to their rooms with tears in their eyes because we were down 13 in game 7 vs Boston. Then they heard me yelling and cheering, and came running back in the living room to watch the 4th quarter comeback. The smiles on their faces is something I’ll never forget.

 

my top 3 (in no order) would be 2000, 2009, and 2006

2000 you had shaq being a cheat code and kobe entering his prime. portland in the WCF was the only team to give that lakers team trouble the entire season

2009 team dominated all season, especially defensively. no one was beating them. plus, kobe was out for blood after losing to boston. best lakers team of the 08-10 teams

2006 was pretty much just kobe carrying the team on his back and scoring at a ridiculous pace. that team probably makes it to the WCF if it wasn't for tim f***ing thomas

wasn't old enough to experience it, but the 94-95 team was probably a lot of fun to follow with young nick, ceballos, and EJ. upset the 57 win sonics in the playoffs

 

Every era has it's merits. There was nothing better than the 71 team that finally won a ring after so many failures. Jerry West was a joy to watch. Goodrich was fun too, Wilt put us over the hump. Showtime was probably my favorite, beating Boston and beating Detroit was sweet, but losing Magic to HIV really sucked. Kobe and Shaq, as well as Kobe and Pau were both awesome. While Magic was pure joy, Kobe was pure grit. West was close to Kobe in that gritty way, but really Kobe could dig deeper and deal with pain like nobody else I have ever seen. Just think that it is so great that we have so many choices.

 

This is asking who my favorite child is.