Ranking the Top 10 Draft Picks in Lakers History

2. Jerry West (Round 1, Pick 2, 1960)

Jerry West is “The Logo.” The explanation could honestly stop right there of why he’s important to the Lakers as the No. 2 pick in the 1960 NBA Draft.

West was unreal over his illustrious career in Los Angeles. He created a period of success that lasted through multiple eras for the organization, ultimately culminating with West as a veteran leader during the 1971-72 season that again included a title and an NBA-record 33-game winning streak.

The Logo could do it all, though, and he did it all for an incredibly sustained period. Over nine seasons with the Lakers from 1961-70 West averaged an absurd 29.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game. Even more incredibly, one of his best seasons of that stretch came at the end during the 1969-70 campaign where he put up 31.2 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting a remarkable 49.7 percent from the floor. He not only enjoyed success, but sustained that level of greatness for an impressively long period of time.

Moreover, you can’t discredit what West meant to the Lakers when he was done playing as he served as both a coach and executive for the team. After all, he is the man who was running the franchise during the famed Showtime era, which has to mean something. That probably doesn’t happen if the Lakers hadn’t selected him back in 1960.

If not for a certain player from Michigan State, West would unquestionably top this list.

Next: No. 1 Magic Johnson