The Los Angeles Lakers are the rare sports franchise that has had so many great players play for them that ranking their top five players of all time isn’t easy. Many, if not most, may agree on the top two or three players in Lakers history, but after that, it becomes a bit of a hot debate.

There is no debate that Magic Johnson belongs on that list. He led the organization to five NBA championships and nine trips to the NBA Finals during his career, and he was the leading character in a hoops revolution that was simply known as “Showtime.” That era once and forever defined the Lakers as the gold standard of basketball across the nation and the world.

Johnson, who is a part-owner of the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, spoke at a Dodgers All-Access event, and he was asked to name the five greatest players to wear the Purple and Gold. He wasn’t quite able to give a definitive list.

Via Lakers Nation:

“Kobe [Bryant] going to be one with Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar],” Johnson told the crowd of Dodgers fans. “Nobody is like Kobe. His killer mentality, hitting big shots after big shots, but also loved being a Laker, loved playing in Los Angeles. He represented the city. Let’s clap for Kobe. We miss him. Nobody is like Kareem. Oh my goodness, the skyhook. He was so intelligent, basketball IQ off the charts. I just loved playing with Kareem. He’s just awesome.

“And then when you think about the other guys, you have to remember I didn’t play with Wilt [Chamberlain], I didn’t play with Jerry [West]. You have to put them in there. Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) was amazing. So I better say the guys I was able to see, because it would be wrong if I tried to go back. So I would say Kareem, Shaq, Kobe, and when I think about it, you have to put Wilt and Jerry in there. James Worthy would definitely qualify. But you try to do five Lakers, and it’s impossible. Because you’ve got put LeBron [James] now. So I don’t know how you get to five. That’s why if you get all of our Hall of Famers, just like the Dodgers, you put all the Dodgers Hall of Famers against any other team, we would beat them. Just like if you put all the Lakers against any team, we would beat them. That’s how I see it. And never include Lakers without Magic.”

The debate over who the greatest Lakers player of all time is seems to boil down to either Johnson or Bryant, with some including Abdul-Jabbar, a six-time MVP and world champion, in the discussion. Chamberlain may be a contentious choice to include in that top five, as he came to the team when he was in his early 30s, and his best statistical seasons all came before his move to Los Angeles.

As Johnson alluded to, some would argue that James belongs on that top-five list. But while James has averaged 26.6 points on 51.3% field-goal shooting, 7.9 rebounds and 8.1 assists a game so far as a member of the Lakers, they have missed the playoffs twice and lost in the first round of the playoffs three times with him.

As Johnson would emphatically point out, the Lakers measure greatness by world championships. James only has one with them, and they have gotten to the Western Conference finals only one other time during his tenure with them.