Los Angeles Lakers: 50 Greatest Players in Lakers History (Updated 2023)

Greatest Lakers of all time: 10- Gail Goodrich

• 9 seasons, 687 games,1 title
• 19.0 PPG
• 4.2 APG
• 1.5 steals

“Stumpy” had two stints with the Lakers, becoming a major force the second time around. He was the leading scorer on LA’s first title team, was a 4-time all-star, and ranks 8th in PPG, 8th in career points, 7th in steals, 11th in APG and 12th in games played

He was originally drafted out of UCLA In 1965, and he had three pretty good but unremarkable years with them. He was then selected by Phoenix in the NBA expansion draft. When the Lakers traded back for him two years later, Gail’s offensive talents had blossomed. This time around, he had six consecutive outstanding seasons, averaging over 20 PPG in four of them.

For four straight years starting in 1971-72, it was the 6-1 Goodrich, with his deadeye jump shot, who led the team in scoring and who made the all-star team each year. That included the first LA title team in 1972, during which Gail averaged a career-high 25.9 PPG, combining with West, who scored 25.8, to form the league’s highest-scoring duo. That same season Goodrich also averaged 4.4 assists. For his Lakers career, he shot a respectable 46% from the field, an excellent 81.7% from the foul line, and averaged 1.5 steals.

In addition to those first-rate achievements, Goodrich still made one more significant contribution to LA, albeit unintentionally. In 1976 he signed as a free agent with the then-New Orleans Jazz. NBA rules in those days required compensation for the team left behind. So it was arranged that the Lakers would get the Jazz’ #1 pick in 1979- which turned out to be Magic Johnson

All nine players remaining players achieved outstanding success with the Lakers. Along with their individual statistics, each of them was a Finals MVP or would have been had the award existed during his playing days.