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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.
When the Lakers traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975, they didn't exactly have the type of cast around him they needed to win the NBA championship. But they took a big step toward possessing a championship-caliber roster when they signed forward Jamaal Wilkes as a free agent in 1977.
Wilkes had already been a productive player during his three previous seasons with the Golden State Warriors, and he had won a ring with Golden State in 1975, as well as two NCAA titles with the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins. He struggled a bit in his first season with the Lakers, but the addition of a rookie named Magic Johnson in the fall of 1979 took his game to new heights.
Starting in the 1979-80 campaign, Wilkes averaged at least 20 points a game for three straight seasons, and he helped the Lakers win world titles in 1980 and 1982. By 1984, health and injury problems robbed him of his game, but he was still on their roster when they won it all over the Boston Celtics in 1985.
The 6-foot-6 man spent one final season after that with the Los Angeles Clippers before announcing his retirement in December 1985. For his career, he averaged 17.7 points a game, and while with the Purple and Gold, he put up 18.4 points a game. He was known for being automatic on long 2-pointers, especially from the corners, and he became a lethal weapon on the Lakers' famed Showtime fast break. Wilkes was also named to the NBA All-Star Game in 1976, 1981 and 1983, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 52 — Jamaal Wilkes
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.
When the Lakers traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975, they didn't exactly have the type of cast around him they needed to win the NBA championship. But they took a big step toward possessing a championship-caliber roster when they signed forward Jamaal Wilkes as a free agent in 1977.
Wilkes had already been a productive player during his three previous seasons with the Golden State Warriors, and he had won a ring with Golden State in 1975, as well as two NCAA titles with the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins. He struggled a bit in his first season with the Lakers, but the addition of a rookie named Magic Johnson in the fall of 1979 took his game to new heights.
Starting in the 1979-80 campaign, Wilkes averaged at least 20 points a game for three straight seasons, and he helped the Lakers win world titles in 1980 and 1982. By 1984, health and injury problems robbed him of his game, but he was still on their roster when they won it all over the Boston Celtics in 1985.
The 6-foot-6 man spent one final season after that with the Los Angeles Clippers before announcing his retirement in December 1985. For his career, he averaged 17.7 points a game, and while with the Purple and Gold, he put up 18.4 points a game. He was known for being automatic on long 2-pointers, especially from the corners, and he became a lethal weapon on the Lakers' famed Showtime fast break. Wilkes was also named to the NBA All-Star Game in 1976, 1981 and 1983, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 52 — Jamaal Wilkes
Continue reading...
