Los Angeles Lakers: Five best foreign players in franchise history
By Jason Reed
3. Vlade Divac (1989-1996)
Vlade Divac is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his contributions to basketball on the global scale and the impact he had on the league as a foreign player. While he undoubtedly had a long and successful career, he is not remembered for his career with the Lakers, he is remembered for his career after the Lakers.
The one thing that Divac will forever be remembered for with the Lakers is that he was the player that was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for the draft selection that wound up being Kobe Bryant.
After a two-year stint on the Hornets, Divac joined the Sacramento Kings and was part of a heated rivalry with the Lakers that included several high-profile playoff series as well as the greatest comeback win in playoff history.
Divac still was a solid player with the Los Angeles Lakers, though, and that cannot be ignored. He played his first seven seasons in LA, as well as his last, averaging 12.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
Even if Divac’s best years came after the Lakers, he still had a massive impact on the franchise, even if that impact came via the way of trading him for someone else. He is the only player on this list to not win a title with the Lakers, which is why he is ranked third.