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.
Metta Sandiford-Artest (he was then known as Ron Artest) broke into the NBA in 1999 as the No. 16 pick in the draft and quickly established himself as one of the game’s better two-way players. He made the All-Star team once during the 2003-04 season, and he was the rare player who could drop 20 points in any given game while locking down the other team’s best wing player.
The 6-foot-7, 260-pound forward, however, was involved in the infamous “Malice at the Palace” incident in the fall of 2004. During the incident, he went after a fan in the stands after he was hit with a drink, and he also punched another fan afterward. Sandiford-Artest was suspended for the rest of the season, and he became something of a social pariah.
The Lakers, however, were open-minded enough to see past his exterior when they signed him as a free agent in 2009. They were coming off their first NBA championship in seven years, but they hadn’t avenged their finals loss to the Boston Celtics in 2008. Coach Phil Jackson and the late great Kobe Bryant saw Sandiford-Artest as the man they needed to get past the men in green.
They were right. The Lakers outlasted the Celtics in seven games in the 2010 NBA Finals to capture their second straight world championship, and Sandiford-Artest showed a more likable and charitable side of himself that hadn’t been seen before. His scoring average fell to a then-career low 11 points a game from 17.1 points a game the previous season, but he showed a surprising willingness to sacrifice for the good of his team.
He played a total of six seasons with L.A. and retired following the 2016-17 season with career averages of 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals a game.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 15/No. 37 — Metta Sandiford-Artest
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
