Los Angeles Lakers: Five best foreign players in franchise history

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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(Mandatory Credit: Otto Greule/Allsport.) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Mandatory Credit: Otto Greule/Allsport.) – Los Angeles Lakers

2. Rick Fox (1997-2004)

Canadian-born Rick Fox is a Los Angeles Lakers legend not only for his contributions to the team on the three-peat Lakers. While he was never a great player, and certainly was not as talented as Vlade Divac, Fox’s accolades narrowly give him the edge over Divac.

Fox was a veteran role player that had a bigger impact than the box score suggested on the three-peat Lakers, averaging over 27 minutes per game in each of the three championship-winning seasons.

Fox came off the bench in his first season with the Lakers in the playoffs but was a member of the starting five in the second and third championship-winning team. Fox’s best playoffs was in the 2001 playoffs, where he averaged 10.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

Fox was a defensive specialist that would play the role of the ‘pest’ on the defensive end, similar to what Draymond Green has done for the Golden State Warriors.

Fox also had a prolific Hollywood career, perhaps the most prolific compared to his talent level on the court. He was not a superstar talent-wise, but made himself a superstar with his outside projects.

Statistically, he might not look much better than anyone on this list, but his impact on three different championship teams is an undeniable reason to put him second.