The Rich Top 5: Ranking the Best Athletes Currently Playing in Los Angeles (and Anaheim???)

Los Angeles has a problem. Not really a problem. More like an embarrassment of riches, which is exactly how Rich put it when he sat down to rank the best athletes you can pay good money to watch right now in the greater LA area.

The list sparked immediate debate. Sean Mitchell, the show's digital coordinating producer and self-described keeper of the Los Angeles sports flames, had notes before Rich even finished. The classification of "playing in Los Angeles" turned out to be more contested than the ranking itself.

Here is how Rich ranked them:

**5. Mike Trout**

The most controversial pick before the list even got going. Mitchell's objection was direct: "This guy doesn't play in Los Angeles." Trout plays in Orange County. Rich acknowledged that, then dismissed it. "It's the Los Angeles Angels, and you don't have to go too far to see him play." Rich called Trout a modern-day Mickey Mantle, added the familiar caveat about needing to see it in the playoffs, and kept him at five. The Jets play in New Jersey. No one argues about that for long.

**4. Myles Garrett**

He has not played a game yet as a Ram, and that did not stop Rich from putting him here. "Myles Garrett is a Los Angeles athlete officially," Rich said. The reaction in the studio was honest disbelief. Rich admitted it himself: "This is stupid. I still can't believe this happened." He could not stop looking at the photograph. Neither could anyone else.

**3. Luka Doncic**

Rich could not quite believe it either. "Can you still believe he's in Laker colors?" Luka was three, a position Rich defended even while the studio reacted. TJ said he actively boos the man now. Rich held the spot.

**2. LeBron James**

No real debate here. "One of the most famous athletes on planet Earth," Rich said. "Is there any place that he can go and be anonymous? Anywhere?" LeBron is number two in Los Angeles right now.

**1. Shohei Ohtani**

Undeniable. Rich laid out the recent line: an ERA of .76, hitting .300, and coming off a night where he got the night off after going six scoreless innings and reaching base six times the game before. Rich's verdict was three words: "It's stupid." The studio agreed. That is where the bar is in Los Angeles right now.

Rich then went to a sixth pick, a "one more" category, and landed on Kelsey Plum of the Los Angeles Sparks. "She is a two-time champion of the WNBA. She's a four-time All-Star, a two-time gold medalist," Rich said. "If you want to see one of the best basketball players on planet Earth play, you can go to a Los Angeles Sparks game." He had gone himself. The case was made. Kawhi Leonard, Mookie Betts, and Drew Doughty all came up in the overflow conversation, but Plum got the bonus slot.

It is a good time to live in Los Angeles and watch sports. Even if one of the athletes on this list technically plays in Anaheim.