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.
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Dick Barnett was a capable guard who once played for the Lakers in the 1960s. He started out as the No. 4 pick in the 1959 NBA Draft out of Tennessee State University by the Syracuse Nationals, the team he spent his first two pro seasons with. After playing the 1961-62 season in a rival league known as the American Basketball League, the Lakers bought his player rights from Syracuse for $35,000.
He spent three seasons with the Lakers playing alongside Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, and during that time, he averaged 16.8 points a game. But prior to the 1965-66 season, the team traded him to the New York Knicks.
It was with the Knicks that Barnett achieved his greatest success. He put up 23.1 points a game in his first season with them, and he won two NBA championships there in 1970 and 1973. Ironically, the Knicks beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals both years to win it all.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 5 — Dick Barnett