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.
Isaac Bonga started his pro basketball career at the age of 16 with Skyliners Frankfurt of the Basketball Bundesliga, a club league in Germany. Two years later, the Philadelphia 76ers took him with the No. 39 pick in the NBA draft and promptly shipped him to the Lakers for cash and a 2019 second-round selection.
With the Lakers organization, the 6-foot-8 forward mostly played in the G League, but he did appear in 22 games for the big-league Lakers that season and totaled 19 points, 25 rebounds and 15 assists in 120 minutes. In the summer of 2019, he was sent off to the Washington Wizards as part of the deal that brought Los Angeles Anthony Davis.
Bonga played two seasons with the Wizards and one with the Toronto Raptors before his NBA career ended in 2022. He went on to play pro basketball with Bayern Munich, where he won a German championship, and since August 2024, he has been a member of Partizan Mozzart Bet, a pro team in Serbia.