Jamal Wilkes is a hall of Famer and his jersey is retired by the Lakers. _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
When I see this question I think of players that had Hall of Fame or at worst All Star caliber talent that was forced to be a role player playing for the Lakers and thus were never given the credit they deserve by playing with too much talented players. If this is the criteria, there are very few who make this list.
Byron Scott - On another team this guy could have been a 25 PPG scorer and go to option in his prime
Norm Nixon - Before Magic came, Stormin Normin was one of the best young PGs in the game
Thats it. None of these other guys had the talent or were at the stages of their career where they would not have been a star anywhere else and thats the bottom line
Artest is deserving in his brief tenure as a Laker. His presence was absolutely decisive during that 2010 championship. Ditto with Rondo this postseason.
Joined: 01 May 2006 Posts: 3286 Location: Low Post Rate
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2020 9:45 am Post subject:
This is a bit confusing... If you mean people who were legit all-star caliber players who accepted their roles that list is very small. Wilkes, Nixon, and Scott? There are a few others who were once all-stars but played with the Lakers in the waning years of their career, like Artest, Dwight... MT had a great start to his career, but that faded over time.
or if you mean players who were "favorites" who made emotionally impactful contributions to the team in the eyes of the fanbase but really weren't stars in their own right... then the list is far longer. I liked Rambis, AC Green, Horry, Fish, Artest. In the current team, Dwight and Caruso stand out in that category, even if Rondo was more significant in the playoffs. _________________ "We got a new universe coming and he's going to control all our universes. We're going to put our universes together" - Metta World Peace
I've given up trying to figure out what "role player" means.
Your list of role players includes a Hall of Famer, all-stars, and below-average NBA players.
I guess what I mean is the players that took the "role player" during each championship run. The Fox/Fish/Horry and the Odom/Artest/Ariza guys who did the little things that were crucial to our runs and definitely Rondo/Caruso/Howard during this one.
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2020 10:57 am Post subject: Re: Who belongs in the Laker role-player HOF?
nomoreshaq wrote:
I guess what I mean is the players that took the "role player" during each championship run. The Fox/Fish/Horry and the Odom/Artest/Ariza guys who did the little things that were crucial to our runs and definitely Rondo/Caruso/Howard during this one.
I get it. There are the stars like Shaq and Lebron. And then there is everyone else.
Some people will consider guys like Odom and Cooper a role player; some think the designation should be reserved for guys further down the list than him.
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35750 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2020 11:49 am Post subject:
Odom was the #3 guy on both of those championship teams. Hard to say he was a role player. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Kief Green and Kuz could be there if they’d hit one more 3 a game in the Finals. _________________ “You have to dance beautifully in the box that you are comfortable dancing in.” - Kobe Bryant
Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 2415 Location: Far from home
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:59 am Post subject:
I think Hap, Mychal, Coop, B-Scott, Horry and Fox, plus Lamar were the club's top role players in championship years. This season, no one seemed close in importance to any of those guys. _________________ “These GOAT discussions are fun distractions while sitting around waiting for the pizza to be served.”
Lamar was so good when he was right in the head, I would hesitate to even call him a role player. His "role" was offense, defense, playmaking, rebounding.....just not sure I would call him a role player. _________________ Wow. Luke has gone full (bleep) on us. - DB
Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 291 Location: Arlington, VA
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:37 pm Post subject:
I understand that he's never been considered one of our "marquee" players, but B-Scott actually led the Lakers in points and minutes played during our 1987-88 championship season. Tough to call a guy who led the team in points and minutes played a "role player" LOL...
Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 2415 Location: Far from home
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2020 7:33 pm Post subject: tiered recognition a good thing
To me, it is praiseworthy to be included in the roll call for our imaginary LAL role player HOF.
None of these guys come close to recognition worthy of those enshrined the Naismith. Byron gets about a 2% chance of HoF nomination in this reputable source.
Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 8288 Location: Santa Monica
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 6:27 pm Post subject:
If I were around in the 80s, I probably would've been a huge fan of Michael Cooper. Not only was he a great defender, 3-point shooter and finisher, but his mental toughness and determination was awesome.
Speaking of the 80s Lakers, how about Bob McAdoo? I know he's a HOFer, but as a Laker he was a role player from what I've read about those teams.
Anyone who says Sasha Vujacic should be in the role player HOF should submit to psychiatric testing. Sasha was a useless player who acted like he was a star. _________________ Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers
^^^Sasha was not useless. He provided spacing and was probably the best guard defender (when not picking up silly touch fouls) after Kobe on some of those teams. _________________ (bleep) Kawhi
I think Ariza doesnt get nearly enough credit for what he did in the 2009 playoffs. He was an absolutely essential piece to that championship run.
2009 playoff Ariza: 11.3ppg on 50% FG and 47.6% 3pt shooting, basically tied Pau Gasol for 2nd most assists per game, basically tied Kobe on steals per game, 4th highest rebounds per game. Came up HUGE multiple times like here:
I always say Luke's biggest contribution to the Lakers is telling Phil to cool that weird infatuation he had with him and start Ariza. We beat the Nuggets in 6 but that series could have went the other way if Ariza didnt step up how he did.
In comparison to Artest in the following year's playoffs who gets all the hype... His averages were lower almost across the board and he shot horrendously... <40% FG, <30% 3pt _________________ (bleep) Kawhi
Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 8288 Location: Santa Monica
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 4:02 pm Post subject:
audioaxes wrote:
^^^Sasha was not useless. He provided spacing and was probably the best guard defender (when not picking up silly touch fouls) after Kobe on some of those teams.
You've got to be kidding. Other than part of the 08 season, he was a wildly inconsistent shooter and would often pick up overzealous fouls on defense.
When it comes to his defense, I think of coach Wooden's quote: don't mistake activity for achievement. _________________ Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers
Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 8288 Location: Santa Monica
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 4:03 pm Post subject:
Wilkes52 wrote:
I think Hap, Mychal, Coop, B-Scott, Horry and Fox, plus Lamar were the club's top role players in championship years. This season, no one seemed close in importance to any of those guys.
I think Avery Bradley was as important as those guys. Maybe even KCP. _________________ Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers
From this team I would say Caruso, KCP, and Rondo were our most instrumental role players during the playoffs.
Howard was a big part of our regular season success, and in stopping the Nuggets, also was good in the portland series in limited minutes. I don't think of him as a role player for his career though.
We will see how this next season in defense of our Trophy goes.
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