Los Angeles Lakers: 10 best point guards in team history

No. 5: Derek Fisher

Fish’s popularity sometimes causes fans to somewhat over-rate him. But he was a solid contributor to five Laker championship teams.

He was drafted the same year as Bryant, and the two of them bonded both on and off the basketball court. Because Derek didn’t demand the ball, in certain ways he was the perfect complement to Kobe.

Fisher was not a traditional type of point guard, but Phil Jackson’s triangle offense suited him especially well. That offense takes the ball out of the point guard’s hands, instead, requiring him to pass it to a wing shortly after advancing past midcourt.

That allowed Fish to spot up and be available when defenses inevitably double-teamed Bryant and O’Neal. He was not a particularly good outside shooter when he entered the NBA, but through hard work and perseverance, he became much more of a marksman.

One testament to that is his free throw percentage. As a rookie, he shot just 66 percent from the foul line, and for the next three years ranged from 72-76 percent. But in his second stint with the Lakers, he shot 85 percent or better in three of his four full years. He also shot close to or over 40 percent on 3’s in those same three years compared to 30 percent his rookie season. (Perhaps that gives hope to Lakers fans that Lonzo Ball can duplicate that kind of improvement).

Although some ultra-quick point guards caused him defensive trouble, as they did to most every defender, Derek was a hard-nosed defender who maintained excellent position, time and again drawing offensive fouls. His physicality was one of his greatest assets.

His other strengths were his leadership, his mastery of the triangle offense and his clutch shots. Most notable of the latter was his game-winning shot with 0.4 seconds remaining against the Spurs in the 2004 playoffs, and his two late-game 3-pointers in the 2009 Finals against the Magic.

His ranking here reflects his championship contributions and transcends his rather modest career averages of 7.9 points and 2.9 assists per game over his 13 Laker seasons. Fish played in the 5th most games in Lakers regular season history and is 16th in total points. He also ranks 2nd in postseason games played and 9th in points scored.