Los Angeles Lakers: 10 best point guards in team history
By Ed Schrenzel
No. 4: Slater Martin
Slater was the point guard during the hey-day of the Minneapolis Lakers, a time that few current NBA fans watched. He quarterbacked the team to the last four of its five titles in his seven years with the Lakers. He also made the All-Star team in four of those seasons.
Although he was only 5’1″0, “Dugie” was known for his strong defense. Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics acknowledged that Slater was one of the toughest defenders he ever faced.
Martin was also recognized as one of the game’s best passers. But in a lower-scoring era, he averaged as high as six assists in only one season, and his career Lakers average was just 4.1.
He relied on teammates George Mikan, Jim Pollard and Vern Mikkelsen to carry the scoring load. For the Lakers, he scored just 9.9 PPG.
With statistics like that, it is somewhat surprising that he was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. But he was one of the best players in the league in its infancy in the 1950s.