Los Angeles Lakers: 10 Greatest centers in Lakers history
By Ed Schrenzel
The Los Angeles Lakers have had a number of great players suit up in the purple and gold. Here are the 10 greatest centers to ever play for the Lakers.
This is Part 1 of a new series ranking the top Los Angeles Lakers of all-time at each position. First, let’s set the ground rules:
• Eligibility for the list required at least three seasons on the Lakers, so “one-hit” and “two-hit” wonders were excluded.
• The only years that counted were the ones played for the Lakers. It didn’t matter how good a player was before or after, only how he performed for the franchise.
• Minneapolis Laker players were eligible. Very few people today have ever seen those players in action. Therefore, although not ideal, it was necessary to rely on statistics and anecdotal accounts.
• Many Lakers played multiple positions, for example, center and power forward, or point guard and shooting guard. Therefore, in the interest of fairness, some players are ranked in more than one position.
Ok, time to get started. For much of its history, except for the early-to-mid-60s, the Lakers franchise has often been associated with their dominant big man in the middle. So it’s only fitting that this series begins with a countdown of the top 10 all-time Lakers centers. The top 5 were easy to name, the bottom not nearly as obvious.
Honorable Mention:
• Elmore Smith– only played two seasons, so was not eligible for the top 10. But he was perhaps the greatest shot blocker to wear the purple and gold uniform. In his two years, he averaged a respectable 11.7 points and 11.3 rebounds. Why did the Lakers trade him? He was included in the package to acquire the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
• Mel Counts– one of the first 7-footers with an outstanding outside shot, he averaged 9.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in six seasons and was a nice weapon off the bench
• Jim Krebs, Leroy Ellis, Darrall Imhoff and Ray Felix– these were the four primary centers who toiled for the Lakers in the years following the team’s move to LA. Each averaged 6-8 points and 6-9 rebounds. And each was over-matched in the Finals against Bill Russell. However, they deserve some consideration for their efforts.