10 Los Angeles Lakers role players that will never be forgotten
By Tyler Watts
Lakers greatest role players: 3. Byron Scott
Scott was the fourth overall pick in the 1983 draft by the Clippers, but he was traded to the Lakers before playing his first NBA game. The 6’3 guard immediately became a starter and key piece on the Showtime Lakers. He opened games in the backcourt next to Magic Johnson on three NBA championship teams and was a part of six teams that reached the NBA Finals in LA.
Scott spent the first ten years of his NBA career with the Lake Show where he averaged 16.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 steals in 31.4 minutes per game. He shot 49.2 percent from the field, 37.1 percent on his 3-point attempts, and 83.3 percent from the foul line. Scott started 706 of his 767 games played in LA over that decade run, and he played in 142 postseason games on top of that.
Scott played three years elsewhere before returning to Los Angeles for his final NBA season with the Lakers in 1997. The 35-year-old came off the bench but was still productive in an 18-minute per-game role.
Magic Johnson and Kareem stole the headlines for the Showtime Lakers, but Scott played an integral role in their success. He went on to be the head coach for the team for two seasons where they won just 23.2 percent of their games and failed to reach the playoffs. His poor coaching stint does not take away from his impact on the court where Scott was the definition of a key role player.