Los Angeles Lakers: Top 10 NBA Draft picks in franchise history
Los Angeles Lakers legend-Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
With the 2017 NBA Draft quickly approaching, let's relive history and look back on the Los Angeles Lakers' 10 best NBA Draft picks ever.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in league history — that much is without question. Also inarguable, though, is the fact that they've fallen on hard times recently.
Thankfully, the upcoming 2017 NBA Draft will provide the team a chance to add another talented, young piece to an already-improving roster, and with a former legend now at the helm, the ship will be righted soon enough.
But before we get to the all-important draft, we should take a step back first. As a fun exercise, let's look through history and decipher what made the Lakers such a legendary organization. Sure, we could be talking about a multitude of things, like their ability to acquire transcendent free agents or make bold, forward-thinking trades that eventually coincided with championships.
But no, what I'm referring to is something else; pomp and glamour aside, the Lakers have also been one of the NBA's best in the draft. Hall of Famers, MVPs and title-winners litter Los Angeles' 10 best draft picks ever list.
So without further ado, let's get into it.
Honorable mentions: Andrew Bynum (2005), Eddie Jones (1994), Nick Van Exel (1993), Vlade Divac (1989)
NOTE: Because Kobe Bryant — the second greatest 2-guard of all time, maybe you've heard of him? — was technically a Charlotte Hornets draft pick before being traded to Los Angeles, he didn't qualify for our list. Had he been taken straight up by the Lakers, he would have no doubt placed near the top of our rankings.
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10. Derek Fisher (PG) — No. 24 pick in 1996 NBA Draft
Career stats (as a Laker): 915 GP, 7.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.1 STL, 0.1 BLK, 1.1 TOV, 40.2 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 79.9 FT%
Leading us off, we have a player most basketball fans will remember from the elite Lakers' squads of the new millennium, Derek Fisher.
Despite lacking a surplus of basketball ability or overall athleticism, the lefty point guard still enjoyed an impressive near-20 year career, suiting up for five different franchises along the way. But, obviously, he's most remembered for those extended stints in Los Angeles.
Fisher gets the nod on our list for one simple reason: he was a pivotal contributor on five of the Lakers' 15 championship teams. He was far from a star, but being a dependable role player holds a ton of value, as well.
Plus, it's not like he was just a Rudy-type figure, either; with the stakes at their highest, he was pretty damn clutch, too.
Furthermore, during the Lakers' two most recent title seasons, Fisher was one of the team's most important players. In 2008-09, the Lakers were +7.5-points per 100 possessions with him on the floor; for 2009-10, that number was +6.4 points per 100 possessions. Impressive metrics, especially considering he averaged fewer than 30 minutes nightly in either campaign.
It's entirely possible we may underrate Fisher these days due to some of the…strange situations he's found himself in after his playing career ended. But he was an excellent defender, knocked down the three-ball at an above-average rate and was never afraid of the big shot.
If anyone still disagrees with his place on this ranking even after all that evidence, I can do nothing else but ask you to do one thing: Count the rings.
9. Clyde Lovellette (PF/C) — No. 9 pick in 1952 NBA Draft
Career stats (as a Laker): 282 GP, 17.2 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 43.0 FG%, 70.7 FT%
When most people think of early NBA, dominant (and white) Lakers big men, they automatically muster up images of George Mikan. But that's unfair to one of his teammates in Minneapolis, fellow Hall-of-Famer Clyde Lovellette, who was every bit as revolutionary.
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The two legendary centers only played together for two seasons. Lovellette's rookie campaign in 1954 was Mikan's final year before retirement. (He did briefly return halfway through the 1956 season, but only took part in 37 games and clearly wasn't the same guy.) Regardless, it's obvious that what the former learned during his fleeting time with the latter helped him become one of the NBA's first elite big men.
In Lovellette's first season with the Lakers, the team won the 1954 NBA championship. The eventual Hall of Fame center, despite his lack of experience, averaged double-digit scoring in the Finals, including an important 16-point performance in Game 1 against the Syracuse Nationals. (Quick aside, team names in the 1950s were awesome.)
Over the span of his four year Laker career, Lovellette would go on to make two All-Star teams (1956 and 1957) and receive All-NBA Second Team honors once (1956).
Although he does get docked a few points for joining the hated Boston Celtics late in his career — in an attempt to steal a cheap ring on his way out — we can't knock him too harshly; Lovellette was still among the first in a long line of incredible Lakers big men. And that alone earns him a spot in our ranking.
8. A.C. Green (SF/PF) — No. 23 pick in 1985 NBA Draft
Career stats (as a Laker): 735 GP, 10.6 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.9 STL, 0.5 BLK, 1.3 TOV, 50.3 FG%, 24.5 3P%, 71.4 FT%
No. 8 on our list is Oregon State's A.C. Green, who spent an illustrious nine season in Los Angeles, spanning over three separate decades.
Much like Fisher, Green was far from a star. However, he more than made up for his worth by being one of the best defenders in the NBA during the late 1980s, and an all-important glue guy for the Lakers during two separate eras of team dominance.
Green was an All-Defensive second team member in 1989 and an All-Star in 1990. Most importantly, he played a crucial role in three Lakers title teams, in 1987, 1988 and 2000. Think about it, he was around so long that he suited up next to both Magic Johnson and a just-starting-to-find-his-peak Kobe Bryant.
Along with his defense, Green was also a tenacious rebounder, which was vital considering that by 1985, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's body forced him to pick and choose when to attack loose balls. (Essentially, the legend rebounded like a point guard in his later years.) Green led Los Angeles in boards during most of his first stint with the storied franchise.
Still not sold on his position in our rankings? Fine, you leave me with no choice but to pander. Here's a video of him dunking all over Larry Bird in 1987.
I knew that'd convince you.
7. Norm Nixon (PG) — No. 22 pick in 1977 NBA Draft
Career stats (as a Laker): 485 GP, 16.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 7.9 APG, 1.8 STL, 0.1 BLK, 3.2 TOV, 50.0 FG%, 13.3 3P%, 77.0 FT%
Coming in at No. 7, we have the underappreciated Norm Nixon, point guard for Los Angeles during the late '70s and early '80s.
The Duquesne legend spent six years with the Lakers before being traded to the then-San Diego Clippers in 1984. (More on that in a bit.) Nixon made the All-Rookie first team in 1978, the All-Star team in 1982, and, with him running point, LA won titles in 1980 and 1982.
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Despite his struggles as a shooter, the floor general was an excellent scorer (as well as a superb distributor). He was so adept at getting buckets, in fact, that during Los Angeles' 1982 title run, Nixon led the team in scoring for the playoffs, at 20.4 points per game.
And though he didn't win Finals MVP for his performance in that season's championship series, the Lakers lead guard deserved consideration; in the 1982 NBA Finals, Nixon averaged 17.7 points, 10.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest, while shooting 44.1 percent from the floor.
Sadly, because the Lakers also had this guy who went by Magic playing the same position he did, Nixon's time in Los Angeles came to an end prior to the 1984 campaign. He was dealt to the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Byron Scott, who wound up being the starting 2-guard for the Showtime Lakers, and eventually, one of the team's best coaches ever. (Too soon? Are we still not laughing about that? Okay, apologies then.)
As a player, Scott was a vital contributor for three title-winning teams in Los Angeles, so if we really wanna reach, we could say Nixon had a hand in five of the team's championships. In reality though, he was simply a great Laker, and one we should remember more fondly.
6. Vern Mikkelsen (SF/PF) — Territorial pick in 1949 NBA Draft
Career stats (as a Laker): 699 GP, 14.4 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.2 APG, 40.3 FG%, 76.6 FT%
Man, just how stacked were those 1950's Laker teams? At one point, three eventual Hall of Famers shared the frontcourt together; we already discussed the first two, the third was Vern Mikkelsen.
Full disclosure, we admit Mikkelsen wasn't technically a straight up draft pick (neither was the guy next up on our list), but rather a territorial pick. Allow NBA.com to explain what those were:
"In the league's early years, when teams were struggling to include fan bases, the draft included territorial picks. Before the start of the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round pick and instead select a player from its immediate area, presumably with a strong local following."
Now that we're squared away with the intricacies of the NBA Draft prior to 1965, we can get into how good Mikkelsen was. During his time with the Minneapolis Lakers, the 3/4 swing-man made six All-Star teams, received All-NBA Second Team honors four times and hoisted four championship trophies.
He's not a guy many think of when discussing the league's earliest stars, but he absolutely merits consideration as one of the first great forwards ever.
(Also, next time you're talking basketball history and want to stump one of your friends with a fascinating bit of trivia, just ask them who the all-time leader in games-fouled-out-of is. There's little chance they'll know it was the late, great Mikkelsen, who fouled out 127 times in his career.)
5. Gail Goodrich (PG/SG) — Territorial pick in 1965 NBA Draft
Career stats (as a Laker): 687 GP, 19.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.5 STL, 0.2 BLK, 46.0 FG%, 81.7 FT%
One of the NBA's first monstrously efficient scoring guards, Gail Goodrich checks in at No. 5 on our list.
The left-handed scorer's career accolades include five All-Star Game appearances and one All-NBA First Team berth in 1974. He also won a title with the 1972 Los Angeles team that featured Wilt Chamberlain and one other guy who's coming up on our countdown.
Goodrich didn't win Finals MVP that year, but he made a strong case by averaging 25.6 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting for the series.
We mentioned that Goodrich was one of the first truly efficient scorers in league history, and part of that had to do with his ability to get to the foul line. For a six-year stretch between 1968 and 1974, the southpaw averaged 6.5 free-throw attempts.
Even by today's standards, that's noteworthy; plop his 6.5-free-throw-attempt average into 2017's leader-board and he would be ninth among all guards, right between John Wall and Kyle Lowry.
His instincts as a scorer made him stand out in an era overflowing with transcendent guard play. And had his peak coincided with the three-point shot's inception in the NBA, his already-impressive numbers would be even more absurd.
(Oh, also important is that late in his career, Goodrich signed with the New Orleans Jazz. By acquiring him, New Orleans was forced to hand over their first round draft picks in 1977 and 1979 to Los Angeles — the latter of which ended up being the No. 1 overall selection. The player eventually drafted at No. 1 in 1979 would change the course of Lakers history…but we'll get to him later.)
4. James Worthy (SF/PF) — No. 1 overall pick in 1982 NBA Draft
Career stats (as a Laker): 926 GP, 17.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.1 STL, 0.7 BLK, 2.0 TOV, 52.1 FG%, 24.1 3P%, 76.9 FT%
One of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, James Worthy, comes in fourth in our pecking order.
The Hall of Famer spent his entire 12-year career as a member of the Lakers, making seven All-Star teams along the way and earning All-NBA Second Team distinction twice (1990, 1992).
He also won three championships with the storied organization, in 1985, 1987 and 1988. During that last title run, which turned out to be the final one for the Showtime Lakers, Worthy was named Finals MVP.
In that series — a brutal seven-game bout against the Detroit Pistons — Worthy averaged 22.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists, while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor. And in the deciding Game 7, the combo forward had the best performance of his career, scoring 36 crucial points, pulling down 16 boards and dishing out 10 assists; he made 15 of his 22 shot attempts on the night.
Let me reiterate that: Worthy dropped a 36-16-10 stat line in arguably the biggest game of his life. (He definitely earned that "Big Game James" moniker.)
For his career, Worthy didn't rebound well enough to be a 4. He couldn't really shoot from beyond 18 feet either, so likewise, he wasn't a 3.
And yet, even without a true position, he was so effective in other facets — like running the floor and destroying slow-footed bigs in the post — that he still ended up becoming one of the greatest Lakers of all time.
3. Elgin Baylor (SF) — No. 1 pick in 1958 NBA Draft
Career stats (as a Laker): 846 GP, 27.4 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 4.3 APG, 43.1 FG%, 78.0 FT%
Collectively, we don't talk about Elgin Baylor enough. And that is absolutely ridiculous, seeing as how he was one of the most dominant forwards of all time.
Baylor was drafted by the Lakers first overall in 1958, and spent his entire 14-year career with the franchise. His three-season peak came between 1961 and 1963, when he averaged 35.3 points, 17.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.
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Yes, the player pool was (much) weaker back then. Sure, the pace of the game allowed for absurd statistical averages. I don't care how you want to spin it, though, those numbers are downright stunning.
Bill Simmons, in his 701-page epic, The Book of Basketball, ranks Baylor as the No. 15 greatest player ever, and the third-best small forward in NBA history.
Sounds about right. After all, the Seattle University legend made 11 All-Star rosters throughout his career, and was an All-NBA First Teamer 10 times. And though he was never able to capture a championship (damn you, Bill Russell!), that was through no fault of his own.
The closest he came was in 1962, when the Lakers actually held a 3-2 series lead in the NBA Finals against the Celtics. Unfortunately, Los Angeles would lose Game 6 at home, and the subsequent matchup at The Garden, ultimately dropping the series in seven.
In the crushing defeat, Baylor averaged 40.6 points, 17.9 boards and 3.7 dimes. Oh, and he dropped a Finals-record 61 points in Game 5 — a mark that will likely never be broken. Safe to say, the eventual Hall-of-Famer did his part and then some.
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2. Jerry West (PG/SG) — No. 2 overall pick in 1960 NBA Draft
Career stats (as a Laker): 932 GP, 27.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 6.7 APG, 2.6 STL, 0.7 BLK, 47.4 FG%, 81.4 FT%
The man whose silhouette is the design for the NBA's logo to this day, Jerry West, comes in at No. 2 in our countdown.
His accolades are almost too long to list, but screw it, we're gonna try anyway:
Aside from all that, let's not forget that he also owns the most unique Finals MVP trophy ever. In 1969, West became the only player in NBA history to win the coveted award while playing for the losing side — an unfathomably difficult feat to consider.
The Lakers were defeated by the Celtics in yet another gut-wrenching seven-game series to culminate that season; West shot 49 percent during the championship bout in question, scoring 37.9 points nightly, while securing 4.7 rebounds and handing out 7.4 helpers per game. What's more, he dropped 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in Game 7, which Los Angeles lost by just two. (Ouch.)
Taking it back to a macro level, West became notorious throughout his career for his penchant to hit shots like this:
They didn't call him Mr. Clutch for nothing. (Just for reference, the Lakers were down by two at that point, and West nailed a half-court bomb to force overtime. Oh, and it wasn't some low-stakes regular season matchup, but Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals. Ho-hum.)
In all, West was one of the league's first true superstars; his crafty scoring ability and pristine jump shot (one of the prettiest ever) would have helped him excel in any era — even today. He wasn't just one of the best Lakers ever, either, but one of the most dominating talents the NBA has ever seen.
Los Angeles Lakers Promote Magic Johnson In Front Office Shakeup
Gary Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
1. Earvin "Magic" Johnson (PG) — No. 1 pick in 1979 NBA Draft
Career stats (as a Laker): 906 GP, 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG, 1.1 STL, 0.4 BLK, 3.9 TOV, 52.0 FG%, 30.3 3P%, 84.8 FT%
Simply put, Magic Johnson is the best point guard of all time — making our decision for No. 1 pretty easy.
The 6-foot-9 floor general led the NBA in assists four times, in steals twice and in free throw accuracy once. His size, coupled with his astounding vision, helped him dish passes that weren't possible for others who played his position.
Not to mention, he was a fierce competitor, who put winning above all else. And my, oh my, did he do a whole lot of just that. Over his 13-year career, the Lakers brought home the Larry O'Brien trophy five times; Johnson was named Finals MVP for three of them.
Like West, the inimitable Magic also has one of the biggest shots ever to his name.
Owners of a 2-1 series lead in the 1987 NBA Finals, the Lakers traveled to the Garden for a pivotal Game 4. Claim victory, and they would have three chances to win one more game, and thus another title. Falter, and the series would deadlock again at 2-2; against Larry Bird's Celtics, that wouldn't be a very comfortable position to be in.
With 12 seconds remaining in the contest, the Lakers down by one, Magic received the ball near the baseline. The rest, as they say, is history:
Clutch basket aside, to this day, Johnson still ranks fifth in career assists at 10,401. The four guys ahead of him (all outstanding players in their own right) participated in at least 311 more games than he did. Had his career not been cut short, it's all but certain the supersized lead guard would own the record outright.
Today, as Los Angeles' president of basketball operations, Johnson faces a different type of challenge, though it'll be no less demanding.
Gone are the days of trying to take down Bird and Michael Jordan; in their stead, the man known simply as Magic is tasked with leading the Lakers back to the forefront — from the gutter to respectability, and eventually, to once again competing for Larry O'Brien trophies.
