Best Los Angeles Lakers trades of all time: 4. Landing Kareem Abdul Jabbar
We all know that Kareem was a superstar, one of the best players at any position of all-time. In his six seasons in Milwaukee he used his unstoppable sky hook to average 30 points while also grabbing 15 rebounds and handing out 4 assists a game.
Although he didn’t record quite the same numbers with the Los Angeles Lakers, who surrounded him with better talent, he was still the game’s dominant center who made the all-star team in 13 of his 14 NBA seasons, missing out only the year he was injured.
In the 1980’s the team won five titles and made the Finals three other times with Abdul-Jabbar manning the middle. He remains the leading scorer in league history. For the Lakers he averaged 22 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.
Wesley played one game with the Lakers before being waived
Bridgeman had just been chosen by the Lakers with the eighth pick of the 1975 draft. He had an excellent NBA career, spending his first nine seasons with the Bucks, averaging 14 points per game.
Meyers had just been selected by LA with the second pick of the draft. He played just four NBA seasons while averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds for Milwaukee. He retired abruptly due to injuries and religious reasons.
Smith was one of the league’s elite rebounders and shot-blockers. He wound up playing only 112 games with the Bucks, averaging 13 points, 10 rebounds and nearly 3 blocks per game. He then played an additional three years with Cleveland where his numbers fell a bit, mostly because of injury.
Winters had just played his rookie year with the Lakers, averaging 12 points and 3 assists. He was a dead-eye shooter who starred in the backcourt for Milwaukee for the next eight seasons, averaging 16 points and 4 assists and making two all-star teams.
The bottom line was that the Los Angeles Lakers acquired the man who many call the NBA’s best-ever center for several good but not great players.