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.
Center John Salley is mostly remembered for being a member of the Detroit Pistons, the team he spent the first six seasons of his NBA career with beginning in the 1986-87 campaign. He wasn’t a scoring threat, but he made his name defensively and on the boards, and he was a key member of those “Bad Boys” Pistons teams that won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990.
After winning a third title with the Chicago Bulls in 1996, Salley had a brief stint in Greece before coming to the Lakers in 1999. The Lakers had just hired Phil Jackson, his old coach in Chicago, in an attempt to get a very good but immature team over the top. Salley served as Shaquille O’Neal’s backup and helped his new teammates learn Jackson’s triangle offense, and they won it all during the 1999-2000 season, Salley’s lone season in L.A.
That season, he averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.7 minutes a game. His career averages were seven points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 22.1 minutes per game.