Los Angeles Lakers all-time draft bust starting 5
By Tyler Watts
Lakers all-time bust SF: Travis Grant
The Lakers reached the NBA Finals in ten of 15 years dating back to their days in Minnesota from 1959 to 1973, but they only won one championship. Boston dominated that era by winning 11 rings with the late Bill Russell, and the Lakers were often the second-best team.
Grant was the final selection in the first round in 1973 at 13th overall, but he lasted just 36 games with the Lakers before leaving for the ABA. The 6’7 forward averaged 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in 4.4 minutes per game during his time in LA.
The hit rate on prospects was lower in the 1970s, and the draft featured 18 partial rounds. It was an entirely different league, but the Lakers missed the playoffs in two of the next three years for the only time in franchise history before 2014. Missing on the final pick of the first round certainly did not help.
Grant was a bust, especially when considering 14 players selected after him had a higher career value over replacement player (VORP). The Machine Gun did not live up to that nickname with the Lakers, but he did spend 30 years after his basketball career as a teacher and school administrator before retiring in 2010.