Ranking the Top 10 Draft Picks in Lakers History

7. Marc Gasol (Round 2, Pick 48, 2007)

Marc Gasol has never played a minute for the Lakers, but that doesn’t mean that selecting him in the second round of the 2007 Draft is any less important to the franchise. Most importantly, the draft rights Marc Gasol was one of the key pieces that got the 2008 trade that brought his brother Pau Gasol to Los Angeles done.

Sure, Marc Gasol has gone on to do great things for the Memphis Grizzlies and is a player that the Lakers would surely like to have on the roster nowadays. However, Pau’s presence was undeniably great for the team and for Kobe. In his five full seasons with the Lakers, the older of the Gasol brothers averaged 17.7 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, affecting the team positively in every aspect imaginable.

There’s no way that the Lakers win the title in back-to-back years in 2009 and 2010 if Pau Gasol isn’t in the mix, even with Kobe playing out of his mind. Pau was at the peak of his game and was simply an unstoppable force while also serving as the perfect counterpart at the time to Kobe, all made possible and available to the Lakers by way of the Marc Gasol pick.

Next: No. 6 Derek Fisher