Until now, the Los Angeles Lakers or commonly called the LA Lakers are the team with the highest number of championship titles in the NBA, with 17 championship titles. The LA Lakers are a legendary NBA team that is known to have many legends in it. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson to Kobe Bryant are some of them.
Success in making profitable trades and accuracy in choosing players in the NBA Draft is one of the keys to the success they have today. With the right choices they can guarantee that the future of the team is in good hands too.
In the past 30 years, there have been five of the best players ever drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers? Who are they? Here we present the list and reviews, check this out!
1. Eddie Jones
The first name is Eddie Jones who is very famous for his great defensive ability. During his 15-year career in the NBA, Eddie Jones was part of the NBA All-Defensive Second Team 3 times, 3 times part of the NBA All-Star team and was named the All-NBA Third Team in 2000.
The player who also became the NBA Steals Leader in 2000 is a player who was drafted by the LA Lakers in 1994 at number 10. Prior to traveling the world, Eddie Jones also had the LA Lakers uniform for 5 seasons which helped bring him into the NBA All-Star in 1997 and 1998 and became the NBA All Rookie First Team in 1995.
2. Derek Fisher
The 1996 NBA Draft is known as the best draft class the NBA has ever seen. Among the many rows of star players, the LA Lakers managed to get a steal draft by choosing a Derek Fisher who was ranked 24th.
Derek Fisher was instrumental in the success of the LA Lakers under Kobe Bryant. Because Derek Fisher had an important role as a point guard in the LA Lakers team at that time. Although not as prominent as Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol at that time, his contribution has succeeded in contributing to 5 championship titles for this Californian team.
3. Marc Gasol
In the 2007 NBA Draft, the LA Lakers actually got another steal draft in Marc Gasol. But unfortunately, Marc Gasol, who was chosen at number 48, was actually traded to the Memphis Grizzlies which became his best club in the NBA.
During his time in the NBA he has won many titles, including the NBA title in 2019, was part of the NBA All-First Team in 2015 and was awarded the 2013 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
But after spending 12 years in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors, Marc Gasol finally joined the LA Lakers in 2020.
4. Julius Randle
Julius Randle’s game with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2014 to 2018 was indeed very disappointing. Randle, which was drafted in 7th place by the LA Lakers in the 2014 NBA Draft, was only able to score an average of 13.5 PPG, 8.9 RPG and 2.6 APG. The numbers are quite disappointing when compared to their performance before entering the NBA.
But after moving to the New Orleans Pelicans, his appearance immediately skyrocketed. And the climax is now, when he becomes the back of the New York Knicks team. This year, he was able to record 24.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 3.3 APG which also made him the winner of the NBA Most Improved Player and became part of the 2021 NBA All-Star team.
5. Brandon Ingram
Before the 2016 NBA Draft began, Brandon Ingram had been tipped to become a star player in the NBA because of his style of play that was similar to Kevin Durant. As a result, he was drafted by the LA Lakers in second place at the time.
But just like Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram’s appearance with the LA Lakers tends to be ordinary. He was eventually traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, as part of the Anthony Davis trade deal. It was with this team that Brandon Ingram’s performance improved.
Now he has become a reliable player for the team and has won the NBA Most Improved Player in 2020 and was part of the NBA All-Star Game in the same year.
In your opinion, has the NBA Draft been one of the keys to the LA Lakers’ success so far?