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.
Humongous changes came to the Lakers in the summer of 2004 after they lost to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals. They traded Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat, and they also traded veteran forward Rick Fox and guard Gary Payton to the Boston Celtics while losing guard Derek Fisher in free agency.
The decision was made to rebuild around Kobe Bryant, and the Lakers badly needed supporting talent and depth around him. The trade that jettisoned Fox and Payton brought them Chucky Atkins, an undersized point guard.
Atkins started in all 82 games during the 2004-05 season for Los Angeles and averaged 13.6 points and 4.4 assists a game while hitting 38.7% of his 3-point attempts. The team then traded him and forward Caron Butler to the Washington Wizards in the 2005 offseason for draft bust Kwame Brown. Three years later, Brown was used as a trade chip to bring in Hall of Fame big man Pau Gasol in the deal that changed everything for Bryant and the Lakers.
Atkins spent five more seasons in the NBA with five different teams. He ended up with career averages of 9.9 points and 3.4 assists in 24.9 minutes a game.