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.
As the Lakers approach their 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.
Advertisement
We now take a look at Kenny Carr, who played for the Lakers in the late 1970s.
Carr was a big star during his college days at North Carolina State University. He got two first-team All-ACC nods, and in three years at the school, he averaged 20.6 points and 9.2 rebounds a game. He also got himself a gold medal with the United States men’s Olympic basketball team in 1976.
In 1977, the Lakers made the 6-foot-7 forward the No. 6 pick in the NBA draft. In those days before the curtain rose on the Showtime era, they needed talent to put around Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and it was hoped that Carr would help in that regard.
But he didn’t. He averaged 6.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 15 minutes a game during two seasons and change with Los Angeles, and the team sent him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade early in the 1979-80 campaign.
Advertisement
Carr’s production would improve somewhat after that trade. He ended up playing 10 seasons in the NBA with four different teams, and he had career averages of 11.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 2 — Kenny Carr