No. 6: Jim McMillian
Readers of this series know that there seem to be several “forgotten” Lakers, players who for one reason or another have not been well-remembered through the years. Jimmy Mac was one of those guys.
He was a first-round draft pick in 1970 and only played three seasons with the club. But the final two of his years, when he averaged close to 19 points per game each season, were enough to earn him this ranking.
After Baylor was forced to retire 9 games into the 1971-72 season, McMillian stepped into the starting lineup. And, coincidently or not, the Lakers took off like a rocket. In the very next game, they won the first of what turned out to be 33 straight games, which remains the longest winning streak in any of the four major North American pro sports leagues.
The Lakers went on that season to capture its first title in Los Angeles. Jimmy was the third-leading scorer on the team behind future Hall of Famers Gail Goodrich and Jerry West. He repeated that performance the following season when the team lost in the Finals to the Knicks.
When Wilt Chamberlain abruptly retired after that 1972-73 season, the Lakers were in dire need of a center. So they traded McMillian to Buffalo for Elmore Smith.
His Lakers career was short but quite sweet. Overall, he averaged 15.3 points (in the days before the 3-point shot) and 5.4 rebounds. Mac was especially well known for his almost automatic baseline jumper.