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The Lakers’ Biggest Four

League officials doubled the width of the lane to keep the 6-foot-10, 245-pound Mikan from stationing himself beneath the basket for easy points. He still led the league in scoring three times. Commissioner David Stern once called Mikan, who died in 2005, the NBA's "first true superstar."

League officials doubled the width of the lane to keep the 6-foot-10, 245-pound Mikan from stationing himself beneath the basket for easy points. He still led the league in scoring three times. Commissioner David Stern once called Mikan, who died in 2005, the NBA’s “first true superstar.”  (NBA Photos / Getty Images)

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Collectively, the Lakers’ Biggest Four logged 11 most-valuable-player-awards, 18 championships and 51 All-Star game appearances in their careers. Fifteen of those titles came with the Lakers.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain averaged a Los Angeles franchise-record 21.1 rebounds during his first season with the team in 1968-69. It was just the opening act.  (Larry Sharkey / Los Angeles Times)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The 7-2 Abdul-Jabbar’s length, positioning and arm extension made his signature shot nearly impossible to stop, as he scored a record 38,387 points in his career.  (Joe Kennedy / Los Angeles Times)

Shaquille O'Neal

O’Neal overpowered defenders, using his massive 7-1, 325-pound body as leverage before spinning away for layups or dunks.   (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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