Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss has been a part of the franchise since her father, the late Dr. Jerry Buss, purchased it in 1979. She knows more about the history and franchise than just about anyone. But in naming her top-5 most important Lakers of all time she left Shaquille O’Neal off the list and ranked Magic fourth!
This is the point of top-5 lists. It’s to get people angry and cause debate and online chatter. So kudos to the internet machine for bringing up a list Buss provided in 2021.
Phil Jackson Ahead Of Shaq?
She has the late Kobe Bryant first, followed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Phil Jackson.
To have Bryant first and not have Shaq mentioned at all, instead opting for former head coach Phil Jackson, is laughable. No matter what Kobe-stans want to say, they do not win those first three titles without The Diesel. Bryant had his moments during those runs, but everything began and ended with Shaq.
So even if you want to keep Bryant first, how is Shaq not at least ahead of Phil Jackson in fifth place?
On his Instagram account under the post of Jeanie’s Top-5 most important Lakers Shaq commented “whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.” The next picture in the carousel was a shocked or confused face from Shaq, reacting to the list.
Shaq wasn’t angry back in 2021 when Buss’ list came out, with it resurfacing Wednesday on Instagram. At the time O’Neal said, regardless, he loves Jeanie Buss.
“I love Jeanie Buss. I have never, would never say anything negative about Jeanie Buss,” Shaq said. “She gave me $120 million, $100 million, another $80 million. I would never, ever in my life say anything negative about Jeanie Buss and the Buss family. That is her opinion. I respect her opinion … Look, I’m not mad about that. Listen, she’s Jeanie Buss, that’s her opinion. If you ask other people, the names will vary.
“At 49, I’m a lot more peaceful than I was. If I was 29, I would say, ‘Hold on, LeBron’s only been there 720 days. How you gonna put him before me?’ But look, I’m 49, I respect people’s opinions.”
LeBron may be the greatest player of all time, but he’s won one title and one Finals MVP as a member of the Lakers. Shaq was the cornerstone of a dynastic period in the franchise’s history.
This Is Personal
Of course, we know, these things can get personal. If you are someone who picked sides in the Shaq and Kobe beef, maybe you still feel strongly about it and are forever Team Kobe. We know Jeanie was and is a Kobe loyalist.
As for Kobe, he may be the franchise leader in a lot of categories. But he and Magic won the same amount of championships, five. Magic has three Finals MVPs to Bryant’s two. Magic also has three league MVPs to Bryant’s one. You could easily make the case that Magic was more important and was the better player.
But, the list is most “important.” Like “valuable,” it could mean whatever you want it to mean.
