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Los Angeles Lakers: Five best foreign players in franchise history

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 17: Pau Gasol (L) and Sasha Vujacic of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate on stage during the 2009 NBA Championship Victory Parade at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on June 17, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 17: Pau Gasol (L) and Sasha Vujacic of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate on stage during the 2009 NBA Championship Victory Parade at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on June 17, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers, Mychal Thompson (Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Lakers, Mychal Thompson (Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images) /

4. Mychal Thompson

Mychal Thompson, father of Klay Thompson was born in the Bahamas and did not come to the United States until he was a teenager. Thompson went on to be a standout high school basketball player and was great at Minnesota, setting him up to be the first overall pick of the 1978 NBA Draft.

The Celtics selected Thompson and he definitely did not live up the hype of a first overall pick, but Thompson ended up panning out for the Los Angeles Lakers, who traded for Thompson from the San Antonio Spurs.

Thompson was never a prolific player in Los Angeles, and exactly like Vujacic, he was a bench player on two championship-winning Lakers teams. Thompson was a part of the last two Showtime Lakers teams to win and was an important depth big man for the Lakers.

Thompson averaged 8.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in four seasons with the Lakers, averaging over 10 points per game in two of his seasons with the Lakers.

Thompson retired after the 1990-1991 season as a two-time champion and now his legacy lives on through his son, Klay Thompson, who is one of the greatest sharpshooters in NBA history.

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