Los Angeles Lakers: The 21 best Lakers of the 21st century
By Ed Schrenzel
Greatest Lakers of the 21st century, rank 18-16:
18) D’Angelo Russell
After being selected with the #2 pick in the 2015 draft, he struggled a bit at the beginning of his rookie year. Still, by mid-season, he became the team’s starting point guard and his performance improved considerably in his two seasons in LA.
Russell ended up averaging 14.3 PPG, 4 APG and 1.3 steals while shooting 35% on three’s during his 143 games with the Lakers. After he was traded, his game continued to progress, as he averaged over 20 PPG his last two seasons, although his defense remains a weakness. He currently starts for the Timberwolves
17) Lou Williams
He’s a natural scorer and one of the best sixth-men in NBA history. However, due to injuries to others, he started 36 of the 125 games he played for the Lakers.
He converted 36% of his three-point attempts, a solid percentage but perhaps not as good as most fans would expect of someone with Sweet Lou’s reputation. He averaged 16.8 PPG and somewhat surprisingly also dealt out 2.8 assists.
Unfortunately for Lou Williams, he was one of the few experienced players on a team in the midst of a rebuild and was traded to help advance longer-range efforts to get the club back into a title chase. Ironically he is now a prime-time scoring threat for the Lakers biggest Western Conference rival, the Clippers.
16) Dwight Howard
He is a glaring example of how anticipations impact perception. In his first go-round with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012-13, Dwight Howard averaged 17.1 PPG, 12.4 rebounds (best in the NBA) and 2.4 blocks but was considered a disappointment as the team failed to live up to its expectations.
This season his numbers are 7.5 points, 7.4 boards and 1.2 blocks (in just over half as much playing time) and he’s garnered praise everywhere.
Overall, in 138 games as a Laker, Howard has averaged 12.8 points, 10.2 boards and 1.9 blocks. This year, he has combined with Davis and McGee to provide league-leading defensive basket protection. Somewhat surprisingly, he also seems to have captured the hearts of the Staple Center faithful.