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.
In 1950, Chuck Share was taken with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. But he never played for the Celtics; instead, he spent his first pro season with the Waterloo Hawks in the National Professional Basketball League. That league folded in 1951 after Share’s first pro season, and his rights were traded by the Celtics to the Fort Wayne Pistons.
Midway through the 1959-60 season, his last year in the NBA, the 6-foot-11 center was traded by the St. Louis Hawks to the Lakers. With the Lakers, he appeared in three games and totaled seven points, six rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes. He ended his career with NBA career averages of 8.3 points and 8.4 rebounds in 21.9 minutes a game through nine years.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 44 — Chuck Share
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
