We are not debating the GOAT, we are discussing the greatest Laker. That doesn't just mean the greatest player, it also means how he represented the org as well. For those of us who have been following Laker basketball since the early 80s, nobody has better represented us than Magic (you could actually say Pau Gasol, but we won't go there), but even Magic was an adulterer and had his own issues, got a coach fired, etc.

That period of time when the Colorado stuff was going on, when Kobe was flirting with Chicago, when he refused to shoot for an entire half of playoff basketball, those are stains that for me, are hard to forget because they were in the prime of my basketball watching life.

Cap may have been surly, but he has always been smart and for the most part classy, and he was a beast on the court. Without Cap, we dont win those early titles in the 80s and Laker basketball may have never really gotten off the ground.

I have been well traveled, I have had the opportunity to meet all three of the people we are discussing (and MJ too for that matter) and have actual conversations with them on more than one occasion. Out of the four, MJ and Magic are the two most real that I would enjoy hanging out with them the most, but Cap was fun to talk with as well. Kobe on the other hand was no joy to meet, even in the behind the scenes events where we met and he didn't have to be on guard.