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Back Porch

City's Best: Los Angeles' Top Five Athletes

Posted Jun 21, 2007 11:57PM By Larry Brown (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Los Angeles, Anaheim

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FanHouse is posting the top five current athletes for America's top 25 cities with the following criteria: 1) Who would an LA sports fan say is his/her favorite athlete? 2) Would the player's name (or face) be familiar to locals who don't follow sports?

Find your city's top five: ATL | BOS | CHA | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DC | DEN | DET | HOU | IND | LA | MIA | MIL | MIN | NO | NY | SF | PHI | PHO | PIT | SD | SEA | STL

Los Angeles is truly devoid of stars at the moment. In reality, there is only one player who should make this list, and everyone else should receive honorable mention. Not having a professional football team hurts the LA area, but what star power they lack in the pro game is usually made up for in the collegiate ranks. Presently however, none of the major collegiate programs has a bonafide star, which makes this list harder to do. Plus, there was the question as to whether or not Anaheim teams should be included. Anyways, here's my list of the top five athletes in LA, with thanks to all my friends who provided assistance.

5. Elton Brand: For the past six seasons, EB has been a 20 and 10 player for the Clippers, quietly establishing himself as one of the best forwards in the league. Sure he plays for the secondary basketball team in town, but his on-court hustle and positive attitude has made him a favorite amongst the LA crowd. The recent emergence of the Clippers as a playoff contender has helped raise Brand's profile as well.

4. Vladimir Guerrero: Vlad makes the cut because he's the lone pure slugger out of the two successful teams in what is a huge baseball town. The fact that he doesn't speak much English or do many interviews hurts his marketability, but his studly numbers speak for themselves. Vlad has been a 30/100 guy since the day he signed with the Angels, hitting over .300 each season, and OPSing over .900. Oh yeah, being named AL MVP in his first year with the team sure didn't hurt his popularity either.

Photos: LA's Top Athletes


3. Russell Martin: Few athletes have enjoyed such a meteoric rise to popularity around town as Russell Martin. The Dodgers have completely dedicated their promotional efforts this years towards pushing Martin for the All-Star game -- and rightfully so. The catcher is one of the best all-around players in the league, winning over fans with his five-tool ability and propensity for clutch hitting. Not many players can impact a game in as many ways as he can. It also doesn't hurt that Dodger fans have a history of deifying catchers -- Campanella, Scioscia, Piazza, Lo Duca, and now Martin.


2. Nomar Garciaparra: He might be having an unproductive season, but it hasn't affected his likability one bit. Garciaparra is a Los Angeles native, and his Mexican roots have made him immensely popular with the Hispanic crowd. Being married to soccer star Mia Hamm has helped raise Nomar's profile and given him a crossover appeal. And not to be forgotten are Nomar's two batting titles, six All-Star appearances, and Rookie of the Year award. This is only his second year in LA, but Nomar already garners the loudest cheers in the stadium every time he comes to the plate.

1. Kobe Bryant: As I said in the intro, Kobe is the only player who really belongs on this list. He is a true star in every sense of the word, covering all three of our criteria more than any other athlete in LA by far. Most fans would call him their favorite athlete in the city, everybody in town knows his name, and even your grandma would ask for his autograph on the street. Sure he's raised quite a stink in La-La land lately, but without the likes of Shaq, Matt Leinart, and Reggie Bush around, LA is Kobe's town. And it will remain his town until the day he leaves -- regardless of how much he criticizes the Laker organization.

Also receiving consideration:
Luke Walton, John David Booty, Lamar Odom, Oscar De La Hoya, J.S. Giguere, Landon Donovan, Lisa Leslie, Arron Afflalo, and a few others.

On next year's list:
David Beckham, OJ Mayo, and Kevin Love.

Tags: arron+afflalo, ArronAfflalo, citys+best, CitysBest, david+beckham, DavidBeckham, Elton+Brand, EltonBrand, john+david+booty, JohnDavidBooty, js+giguere, JsGiguere, kevin+love, KevinLove, kobe+bryant, KobeBryant, lamar+odom, LamarOdom, landon+donovan, LandonDonovan, lisa+leslie, LisaLeslie, luke+walton, LukeWalton, matt+leinart, MattLeinart, mia+hamm, MiaHamm, mike+piazza, mike+scioscia, MikePiazza, MikeScioscia, nomar+garciaparra, NomarGarciaparra, oj+mayo, OjMayo, oscar+de+la+hoya, OscarDeLaHoya, paul+lo+duca, PaulLoDuca, reggie+bush, ReggieBush, russell+martin, RussellMartin, shaquille+o'neal, ShaquilleO'neal, vladimir+guerrero, VladimirGuerrero

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