1972 Lakers vs 1987 Lakers vs 2001 Lakers

[Lebron23]

Rank these Lakers team from best to worst.

[coastalmarker99]

1972

2001

1987

[coastalmarker99]

The 1972 Lakers won 33 straight games (still a record) and were 69-13, a record at the time.

And finished

12-3 in POs

81-16 RS +POs


The 1972 Lakers had a very great trio of Chamberlain/Goodrich/West ('72 Gail is really underrated/overlooked historically), great complementary players like McMillan and Hairston.


It was an extremely impressive starting 5.

I find it hard to make a case for 2001 -

I know they had that awesome playoff run, but their RS was thoroughly mediocre compared to '72 or '87.

69-13 RS + 12-3 playoffs >> 56-26 RS + 15-1 playoffs, IMO.

[coastalmarker99]

The 1987 Lakers.


Had a cakewalk to the finals through the west.

Nuggets, Warriors and Sonics, all around or below .500.



Then they were nearly taken to 7 games in the finals against an injured and exhausted Boston team.


For me personally


The 1985 Lakers were better than the 1987 Lakers.

[LAL]

The Shaq/Kobe/Fisher trio was unfair

[coastalmarker99]

The Shaq/Kobe/Fisher trio was unfair


True but.


It's worth noting that In the 2001 NBA Finals, the 76ers were within one possession of the Lakers (89-86) with 2:15 left in the 4th quarter of Game 2, with a chance to take a 2-0 series lead.

It’s also worth pointing out that Iverson, Raja Bell, and Aaron Mckie shot an uncharacteristically bad 2-12 from the foul line combined in the 4th quarter.

(they’re all career 78-80% free throw shooters), which could be argued was the only thing that prevented the Sixers from taking a 2 0 series lead back to Philadelphia.

Derek Fisher went on to hit an enormous 3-pointer with about 2:10 remaining to give the Lakers back some breathing room, and the Sixers never closed the gap any closer than 5 points before the final horn.

It’s interesting to consider that one of the undisputed worst teams in Finals history was a handful of missed free throws away from being in the driver’s seat to taking a 2-0 series lead on the road against a team widely regarded as one of the greatest in NBA history.


It should be noted that the Sixers also nearly won Game 3. They only trailed by 1 point with 50 seconds left and then Horry hit one of his typical daggers to win the game for the Lakers.

[LAL]

True but.


It's worth noting that In the 2001 NBA Finals, the 76ers were within one possession of the Lakers (89-86) with 2:15 left in the 4th quarter of Game 2, with a chance to take a 2-0 series lead.

It’s also worth pointing out that Iverson, Raja Bell, and Aaron Mckie shot an uncharacteristically bad 2-12 from the foul line combined in the 4th quarter.

(they’re all career 78-80% free throw shooters), which could be argued was the only thing that prevented the Sixers from taking a 2 0 series lead back to Philadelphia.

Derek Fisher went on to hit an enormous 3-pointer with about 2:10 remaining to give the Lakers back some breathing room, and the Sixers never closed the gap any closer than 5 points before the final horn.

It’s interesting to consider that one of the undisputed worst teams in Finals history was a handful of missed free throws away from being in the driver’s seat to taking a 2-0 series lead on the road against a team widely regarded as one of the greatest in NBA history.


It should be noted that the Sixers also nearly won Game 3. They only trailed by 1 point with 50 seconds left and then Horry hit one of his typical daggers to win the game for the Lakers.

I wasn't serious. Why tf would anyone compare that 01 team to those 72 & 87 Lakers teams? It was Kobe and Shaq basically.

[dankok8]

1972 Lakers: 69-13, +11.65 SRS; 12-3 in the playoffs, +2.8 NetRtg
1987 Lakers: 65-17, +8.31 SRS; 15-3 in the playoffs, +11.3 NetRtg
2001 Lakers: 56-26, +3.74 SRS; 15-1 in the playoffs, +13.7 NetRtg

Given the 1987 Lakers' consistency with another title in 1985 and 1988 with the same core and a dominant run in 1989 before injuries, I'm most confident putting them at #1. They also faced a historically great Celtics team in the finals. I would have the 2001 Lakers second here. Yes they had a super-dominant playoff run but they also played the worst opposition. There was no 1987 Celtics or 1972 Bucks both of whom were historically great teams in their own right. The 1972 Lakers are my third team here. They were a bit lackadaisical in the playoffs even outside of the Bucks series and were much worse in surrounding years making their 1972 run sort of an aberration. In fact there is a very good argument that a healthy Bucks team beats them that year.

1. 1987 Lakers
2. 2001 Lakers
3. 1972 Lakers

[SouBeachTalents]

That's actually brutally close :lol If forced to pick, I'd prob go

2001

1972

1987

But again, you could rank these teams in virtually any order

[ArbitraryWater]

include 2020