Top Ten Lakers You Can’t Believe Were Lakers
By Fern Rea
10. Mitch Richmond – 2001-02 season
Andy Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images
Mitch Richmond was the M in the Golden State Warriors’ explosive trio TMC which included Tim Hardaway and Hall of Famer, Chris Mullin. Richmond followed his short stint with the Warriors to have great seasons with the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards.
Richmond was a prolific offensive player from the get go, averaging 22 points per game in his rookie season with the Warriors. Richmond went on to average no less than 21.9 points per game in his 10 first seasons in the NBA. If not for playing during the same era as Michael Jordan, Mitch would have been considered as the top shooting guard in the game during his time.
By the time that Richmond came over to the Lakers prior to the start of the 2001-02 season, his game had eroded. Richmond played in 64 regular season games where he averaged a paltry 4.1 points per game. Richmond barely got to see the court come playoff time, appearing in only 2 games; however, one of the games he did appear in was the clinching game 4 of the NBA Finals series against the New Jersey Nets. Although not a contributor, Richmond earned his first and only NBA championship in this one season with the Lakers, which also ended up being his last of his NBA career.