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 1980, the Lakers won their first NBA championship of the Showtime era, but a year later, they were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the Houston Rockets. That offseason, they knew they needed a couple of reinforcements in order to reach the promised land again.
They had the No. 19 pick in the 1981 draft, and Jerry West, who was starting his legendary front office career, was convinced that they needed to use that pick on Larry Nance Sr. But head coach Paul Westhead had the final say, and he decided to go with McGee, a 6-foot-5 guard out of the University of Michigan.
McGee played six seasons with the Lakers, and off the bench, he averaged 8.2 points in 15 minutes a game and won two NBA titles. But Nance went on to have a very productive 13-year career, during which he made three All-Star teams and averaged 17.1 points, eight rebounds and 2.2 blocks a game. He was a high-flying, active 6-foot-10 power forward who won the 1984 Slam Dunk contest, and he could’ve shored up L.A.’s power forward issues for many years.
McGee, meanwhile, was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in 1986. He played four more seasons in the NBA and ended up with a career average of 9.6 points a game.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 40 — Mike McGee
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
