The point guard (PG) is one of the five positions in a basketball game. Point guards are supposed to manage the game for their team by handling the ball and ensuring that it reaches the right player at the right time. It’s impossible to discuss the Lakers’ history without remembering the squad’s renowned guards. In recent times Rajon Pierre Rondo played exceptionally well as a point guard. Again, several legends like Jerry West, Norm Nixon, Slater Martin, whose contributions in the field are immense. So, in this article, we are going to discuss the best point guard for Lakers ever.
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Jerry West
Jerry Alan West, popularly known as Jerry West, joins the Los Angeles Lakers wearing jersey number forty-four from 1960 to 1974. West achieved the most points wearing a Laker jersey. Kobe Bryant broke the record in 2010.
Moreover, Jerry Alan West had played fourteen seasons in his career only with the Lakers by making clutch shot after clutch shot. He manages to get to each season’s All-Star team. He achieved 27.0 career average points in the season and 29.1 points in the playoffs. On the other hand, He had performed in 932 season games with an average of 5.8 rebounds.
Norm Nixon
Norman Ellard Nixon, commonly known as Norm Nixon, is a two-time NBA All-Star. Besides, He gained two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers at the start of their Showtime era against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980s.
He performed in the guard’s position while playing with the Lakers. Norm Nixon spent six fruitful seasons with the Lakers. In the 1982 playoffs, he guided the team at 20.4 points per game on average.
Derek Fisher
Derek Lamar Fisher appeared 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The sharpshooting point guard has won five championships in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2010 with the Los Angeles Lakers. Fisher marked his NBA debut with the Lakers in 1996 against the Phoenix Suns in an early-season game, scoring 12 points and handing out five assists.
He performed in the point guard position with the number two jersey and played in 80 games during his rookie season. He gained an average of 3.9 points, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 rebounds in his debut year 1996-97. Fisher had identified himself as the Lakers’ main point guard by the 2002–03 season.
Nick Van Exel
Nickey Maxwell Van Exel gained the NBA All-Star title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1998. He played in the guard position in the Laker with the number nine jersey. Van Exel averaged 14.9 points a game and 7.3 assists per game during his journey with the Los Angeles Lakers. “Nick the Quick” appeared in his only All-Star game as a Laker in 1998, where he joined teammates Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Eddie Jones on the Western Conference squad.
Sedale Threatt
Sedale Eugene Threatt was playing in the guard position with the number 3 jersey. Also, Seattle had traded in the Los Angeles Lakers to be a backup to Johnson. Moreover, Threatt had turned as the second Laker, after Johnson, to make the group in points, assists, and steals in 1992-93. Thus, he is considered as one of the most productive Lakers ever existing in the team. Threatt played five seasons with the Lakers in the regular season from 1991-92 to 1995-96. On the other hand, he played four playoffs with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996.
Rajon Rondo
Rajon Pierre Rondo played in a point guard position with the number 9 jersey. Rondo agreed to a one-year, $9 million agreement with the Los Angeles Lakers on July 6, 2018. Rondo made his Lakers debut on October 18, scoring 13 points and 11 assists in a 128–119 defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers. On March 29, 2019, he managed 17 assists and five steals in a 123–115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Thus, he became the first Lakers player since Magic Johnson in December 1989 to have at least 17 assists and five steals.
Michael Cooper
Michael Jerome Cooper played in the guard/forward position for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Los Angeles Lakers picked him with the 60th overall selection in the third round of the 1978 NBA draft. Michael Cooper’s defensive abilities helped the Los Angeles Lakers have an important part of their Showtime squads in the 1980s. In 1987, he was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Cooper’s specialty was in performing the shooting guard, small forward, and point guard. Copper was with the Lakers in his entire 12 years long NBA career.
Lucius Allen
Lucius Oliver Allen, Jr. played with jersey number 42 for the Los Angeles Lakers in the guard position. He spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers (1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78). For the Lakers, he averaged a score of 19.5 points in the 1974-75 season with averaging 5.7 assists. Allen’s best playoff series for the Los Angeles Lakers also happened to be his last. Lucius Allen only attended one playoff with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1977 and got 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.
Slater Martin
Slater Martin was famed for his goal-scoring abilities and defensive techniques. Moreover, He was a key figure in the Minneapolis Lakers for achieving four championships in the 1950s. Minneapolis selected him in the 1949 Draft. There the Lakers have won three titles in a row from 1952 to 1954. Martin used to play in a 22 number jersey. While playing with the Los Angeles Lakers, Slater Martin became an All-star five times. Martin averaged 9.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists in the regular season with the Lakers. In the playoffs, he averaged 9.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists.
Whenever any point guard player shows their magic, the present crowd erupts in cheers. Their throwing tactics make it simple for the following player to score. The players are behind the utmost success of the Los Angeles Lakers.