Lakers All-Time Team Snub No. 2: Vern Mikkelsen
As you can see, there is a trend developing here. The Lakers All-Time team is absolutely loaded, especially at the forward position. That leads to some great players such as Vern Mikkelsen being snubbed from the roster.
Mikkelsen is someone that many casual basketball fans probably won’t know. He played for the organization when they were still in Minneapolis. Mikkelsen was drafted in the 1949 BAA Draft as a territorial selection for the Lakers as he attended Hamline University. Seven players from Hamline University have played in the NBA, and Mikkelsen is by far the best.
Mikkelsen played his entire 10-year career with the Lakers. He was selected as an All-Star six times and named to an All-NBA team four times. Mikkelsen was also a part of four championship teams and five championship series participants; the Lakers lost his final year in the league.
Mikkelsen formed a dominant pairing on the inside with George Mikan, who made the Lakers All-Time team. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. Mikkelsen was one of two players inducted, as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also inducted that year.
According to Basketball Reference, Mikkelsen ranked eighth in Lakers history in Win Shares with 83.4. He also finds himself on multiple all-time statistics lists. Mikkelsen was on 10 of the 55 stats that Basketball Reference has on their team index pages, including field goals, free throws and rebounds.