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.
Connie Hawkins was one of basketball’s biggest “what if” stories. Old-timers regard him as one of the most naturally gifted players in the history of the sport, but a point-shaving scandal resulted in his not playing for the University of Iowa and being blackballed from the NBA for several years. He spent much of the 1960s playing in the short-lived American Basketball League and with the Harlem Globetrotters, and once the American Basketball Association (ABA) began play in 1967, he moved to the new league as a member of the Pittsburgh Pipers.
He averaged a league-high 26.8 points and 13.5 rebounds a game, won the league MVP award and led the Pipers to the ABA title as a rookie. He jumped to the NBA for the 1969-70 season, but he was coming off knee surgery and would never be the same.
Early in the 1973-74 season, the Phoenix Suns traded Hawkins to the Lakers. He was with the Lakers through the end of the 1974-75 season, and during that time, he averaged 11 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists a game. After playing for the Atlanta Hawks during the 1975-76 campaign, his playing career ended.
The 6-foot-8 forward ended with career averages of 18.7 points and 8.8 rebounds a game across both the ABA and NBA. He made the ABA All-Star team twice and the NBA All-Star team four times.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 42 — Connie Hawkins
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
