By means of the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a complete of 506 gamers go well with up for them, going again to their days in Minneapolis. Some had been forgettable, some had been serviceable, some had been good and a choose few had been flat-out legendary.
Because the Lakers strategy their eightieth season of existence (they had been based again in 1946 because the Detroit Gems within the Nationwide Basketball League), LeBron Wire is having a look at every participant who has worn their jersey, whether or not it has been a purple and gold one or those they donned again within the Midwest throughout their early years.
We now check out Jay Vincent, a ahead who as soon as had a short stint with the Lakers.
Vincent grew up in Michigan, and he performed 4 years of faculty basketball at Michigan State College, the place he gained a nationwide championship in 1979. Whereas there, the 6-foot-7 ahead had the nice fortune of being teammates with Magic Johnson.
Johnson obtained drafted by the Lakers in 1979, whereas Vincent performed two extra years for the Spartans and led the Large Ten in scoring throughout each seasons. The Dallas Mavericks took him with the No. 24 total choose within the 1981 NBA Draft.
Vincent averaged 21.4 factors and seven.0 rebounds a recreation as a rookie, and over the following a number of seasons, he continued to be a dependable scorer, whether or not he was within the beginning lineup or got here off the bench. After bouncing round from crew to crew later within the Eighties, the Lakers signed him as a free agent early within the 1989-90 season.
It was one thing of a transition season for the Lakers, as their dynasty was beginning to fade. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had retired the earlier June, and veterans corresponding to Michael Cooper and Mychal Thompson had been beginning to present their age. Vincent obtained little enjoying time with L.A., however he did common 3.8 factors in 8.3 minutes a recreation whereas showing in 24 contests.
Following that season, Vincent performed abroad for just a few years. Sadly, in 2010, he was indicted on mail fraud costs after an organization he owned allegedly scammed roughly 20,000 individuals out of over $2 million. He ended up getting sentenced to 5 and a half years in jail.
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