Los Angeles Lakers with the most All-NBA First-Team selections

8. Jim Pollard (2)

Jim Pollard was nicknamed “the Kangaroo Kid” due to his ability to touch the back of the backboard and take off from the foul line.

He signed with the Minneapolis Lakers in 1947 and won six championships with the team in three different professional leagues (the Lakers won the NBL championship in 1948, the BAA championship in 1949, and four NBA titles in 1950, 1952, 1953, and 1954).

Pollard cared more about winning the game than scoring the most points. He believed his best overall game as a Laker was a playoff game against Rochester during his first year.

"“After we won two games at home, we went to Rochester and I only got two points. The newspaper writers criticized me for having a poor night. I took it as a challenge. when the series returned to Minneapolis, I scored 19 points in the deciding game. It wasn’t the scoring which made me happy, but the realization that I had played my best all-around game."

Pollard averaged 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while in the NBA. He was selected to the All-NBA First team in 1949 and 1950 and All-NBA Second Team in 1952 and 1954. He also was named the best player of the era in 1952 by the Basketball Association of America.

When pollard retired from the league in 1955 and became the Minneapolis Lakers’ interim head coach a couple of years later during the 1959-60 season before they relocated to Los Angeles.