In LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers have arguably the best small forward to have ever played the sport. However, he has been with the Purple & Gold for barely two years, and in truth, he has yet to achieve anything with them team. This being the case, where does he rank in the Top 5 best small forwards in Lakers franchise history? Read on below to see.
5. LeBron James
For now, we're placing LeBron at the No. 5 spot. This is simply because of the above argument — that he has done nothing significant as a Laker at this point to warrant a higher position on his ranking. It just did not seem right to place him above any of the other Hall of Famers below.
In his first injury-ridden season with L.A., LeBron had a forgettable campaign, in which the Lakers didn't even make the playoffs. James turned things around this season, with Anthony Davis by his side. The Lakers were at the very top of the West prior to the league suspension, and were looking like a true threat to the title this term. Nonetheless, that still remains to be a pipe dream right now, and should the league opt to cancel the season altogether then it would put everything LeBron worked for this season to waste.
Despite all these, however, James is still one of the best players to play the game — not just in the small forward spot. It is highly likely that he will work his way on our list here over the next few years, but for now, he'll need to settle at No. 5.
4. Jim Pollard
For the No. 5 player on our list we'd have to go all the way back to the early days of this franchise — to the very beginning actually.
Then the Minneapolis Lakers, this franchise was established in 1948. At that time, the man that started for them at the three spot was 6-foot-4 small forward Jim Pollard. Even before entering the league as a 26-year-old rookie, Pollard had already achieved so much. Not only did he lead Stanford to a national championship in 1942, but after that he enlisted himself to the U.S. Coast Guard and even served for the nation in World War II. How many other superstars can say that?
Pollard was a high-flyer and is considered as one of the first players in the league to play above the rim. Note that this was in the late 40's/50's, so surely, Pollard's amazing dunking ability at that time was truly a joy to watch.
Pollard was part and parcel of all five Lakers championships between 1949 and 1954, playing alongside George Mikan and Vern Mikkelsen. Pollard was a four-time All-Star, a four-time All-NBA team member, and was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1978. He passed away in 1993 at 70.
3. Jamaal Wilkes
One of the most iconic moments in Lakers history is when Magic Johnson filled in for an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers. Magic even made the winning shot in that game, which resulted in the Lakers claiming the title. However, perhaps overshadowed by Johnson's magic is the tremendous performance of Jamaal Wilkes in that contest. The 6-foot-6 small forward dropped a career-high 37 points and 10 rebounds to help the Lakers to victory. That may have been Wilkes' best performance in a Lakers uniform, but the Berkeley, California native's contributions to the franchise went far beyond that epic championship-winning performance.
Wilkes joined L.A. as a free agent in 1977, and had eight successful seasons with the Lakers. He was with the team in three out of the five titles they won in the 80's, serving as the starting small forward for nearly his entire career with L.A. In eight seasons, Wilkes averaged 18.4 points (on 51.6 percent shooting), 5.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 steals.
Wilkes a former Rookie of the Year winner, a three-time All-Star, and a two time All-Defensive team member. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2012.
2. James Worthy
James Worthy was a Laker all his life, and it was indeed a remarkable career for the Hall of Famer.
Worthy was selected first overall by the Lakers in 1982, and while he may not have lived up to the hype early on, the 6-foot-9 forward made up for it later on. By his third season, Worthy was a bona fide All-Star, and he made six more consecutive appearances on the All-Star squad after that. The former UNC standout was a huge part of the Showtime Lakers, and this resulted in three championships for Worthy. His best showing was in the 1988 Finals, as he led the Lakers to a seven-game series win against the Detroit Pistons, en route to bagging Finals MVP honors.
In 12 seasons with the Purple & Gold, Worthy put up averages of 17.6 points (on 52.1 percent shooting), 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks. The two-time All-NBA team member and Hall of Famer scored 16,320 points in his Lakers career, which ranks sixth overall in franchise history.
1. Elgin Baylor
Two spots ahead of Worthy in the all-time Lakers scoring list is Elgin Baylor with his 23,149 career points for L.A. However, this scoring wasn't the only thing this Laker great was good at. At just 6-foot-5, he was a pretty good rebounder too — the very best actually. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar amassed 10,279 boards throughout his Lakers career, but he only ranks second in the all-time rebounding list for the Lakers. Yup, you guessed it right. Baylor ranks first overall in career rebounds for the lakers with an astounding 11,463 in 14 seasons. Keep in mind that he was a small forward.
On top of that, Baylor had the moves. Some of the greatest players, including another Laker legend in Kobe Bryant, admitted that he borrowed some of Baylor's own moves on the court. In the 1961-62 campaign, arguably Baylor's best season performance in his career, he averaged 38.3 points, 18.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. Truly amazing.
The only downside of Baylor's Hall of Fame career is that he never won a title. In November of 1971, Baylor announced his retirement at the age of 37. Ironically, the Lakers went on to win the title that same season. He played in only nine games that year, which unfortunately, did not qualify him as part of that season's championship team.
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