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Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary.
During the Lakers' 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years.
John Wetzel, a 6-foot-5 wing, emerged as a stud at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the mid-1960s before the Lakers took him in the eighth round of the 1966 NBA Draft. An injury forced him to wait until the 1967-68 season before he made his NBA debut, but he averaged 3.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 11.4 minutes a game that year for L.A.
The Phoenix Suns then took Wetzel in the 1968 expansion draft, and he ended up playing for the Suns and Atlanta Hawks before his NBA career ended following the 1975-76 season. He finished with career averages of 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 13.2 minutes a game, and he later served as the Suns' head coach during the 1987-88 campaign.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 24 — John Wetzel
Continue reading...
During the Lakers' 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years.
John Wetzel, a 6-foot-5 wing, emerged as a stud at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the mid-1960s before the Lakers took him in the eighth round of the 1966 NBA Draft. An injury forced him to wait until the 1967-68 season before he made his NBA debut, but he averaged 3.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 11.4 minutes a game that year for L.A.
The Phoenix Suns then took Wetzel in the 1968 expansion draft, and he ended up playing for the Suns and Atlanta Hawks before his NBA career ended following the 1975-76 season. He finished with career averages of 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 13.2 minutes a game, and he later served as the Suns' head coach during the 1987-88 campaign.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 24 — John Wetzel
Continue reading...
