Orbital angular momentum is the operator L^=r^∧p^, componentwise L^z=x^p^y−y^p^x and cyclic. From [x^,p^x]=iℏ:
[L^x,L^y]=iℏL^z(and cyclic),[L^2,L^z]=0:
the components are mutually incompatible — no state has two of them sharp — but the total square is compatible with any one of them: the pair (L^2,L^z) is the standard choice of labels. These commutators are exactly iℏ times the Poisson brackets computed in Example 2.12: Dirac’s dictionary at work.