Jayson Tatum may play for the Boston Celtics, but when asked to name his top five NBA players of all time, he gave plenty of love to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mike, bron, bean, Magic, Kareem
— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) March 26, 2020
Other than Michael Jordan, all the players Tatum named have worn the Purple and Gold at one time or another.
Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all solidified their legacies for eternity by leading the Lakers to at least one NBA championship over the Celtics.
Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar first did it in 1985, making those Lakers the first team ever to defeat Boston in the NBA Finals. L.A. clinched the title at Boston Garden in Game 6 that year.
For averaging 25.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists a game while shooting 60.4 percent, Abdul-Jabbar was named the series MVP. The fact that he did it at age 38 is one of the more improbable individual feats in basketball lore.
Of course, Bryant validated his entire career and legacy by leading the Lakers to a Game 7 win over Boston in the 2010 NBA Finals.
It remains to be seen if LeBron James will ever win a championship over the Celtics, or even get the opportunity to do so.
