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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The 1979-80 season was a magical one for the Lakers, marking the start of the Showtime era and yielding the first of five NBA championships during the decade. That was the year a rookie named Magic Johnson scored 42 points and added 15 rebounds and seven assists in Game 6 of the NBA Finals to lead them to the world title over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Marty Byrnes, a 6-foot-7 forward, was a benchwarmer on that team. He was a rookie the previous season with the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Jazz, and during the 1979-80 campaign, he averaged 2.0 points in 6.1 minutes a game for Los Angeles.
He joined the expansion Dallas Mavericks the following season before wrapping up his NBA career with the Indiana Pacers two years later.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 7 — Marty Byrnes