10. Drafting D’Angelo Russell in 2015
Going into the 2015 NBA Draft Lottery, the Lakers only had an 11.9 percent chance to get the number one pick and they ended up with number two and missed out on Karl-Anthony Towns. But it was lucky for them because if the pick fell outside the top 5, then they would have had to give their pick to the Philadelphia 76ers because of the Steve Nash trade in 2012.
Before the 2015 draft, the Lakers had not had a pick in the top five selections since 1982 when they selected Hall of Famer, James Worthy, with the No. 1 overall pick. So for a generation of Lakers fans, this was the first time they had a chance to see the Lakers draft a highly-touted prospect.
Many people expected the Lakers to draft Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 pick because he was fresh off a National Championship playing in one season for Duke. Thankfully for them, they passed on drafting the big man who has not lived up to expectations and took D’Angelo Russell, who was supposed to be the point guard of the future.
Russell did not end up having the Lakers career that fans hoped for, but he did turn out to be an All-Star level player later in his career and had some decent seasons for the Lakers. He set the Lakers rookie record for 3-pointers made in a season, that was ironically broken by Kyle Kuzma, who was involved in the trade that sent him out of town.