38. Slater Martin
Slater Martin spent his first seven NBA seasons as a member of the Minneapolis Lakers, never playing for the franchise after they made the move to Los Angeles. However, that doesn’t credit or discredit his contributions to the organization, which were great considering the era in which he played as his stint with the Lakers lasted from 1949-56.
As the point guard for those Lakers teams, Martin was a quality performer as he put up 9.9 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game. In today’s terms, his 37.6 percent shooting over his time in Minneapolis is abysmal, but in that era, that was actually remarkably efficient for a guard that stood only 5-10. That he was productive at all on those Lakers teams is even more impressive.
At the time, the team’s bread and butter was relying on the size of players like George Mikan whose combination of size and skill were nearly unmatched throughout the league. That Martin was able to carve out a sizable role for himself in that context on those teams is enough to earn him a spot as one of the greatest Lakers ever, but it doesn’t hurt that he also just happened to be a four-time All-Star while with the team as well as being quite productive.
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