Los Angeles Lakers: Top 30 greatest players of all-time

• 13 seasons with Lakers (1996-2004, 2007-12)
• Averaged 7.9 points and 2.9 assists per game
• 5x All-Star with Lakers

Derek Fisher was the rare player that bridged the gap between the Kobe-Shaq championship teams from the turn of the century to the Kobe-Pau teams nearly a decade later.

He wasn’t with the Lakers the entire time, of course, but after spending a couple of years with Golden State and one with Utah, Fisher headed back to where he started his career as a first-round draft pick back in 1996.

Fisher played in 80 games as a rookie but only averaged 11.5 minutes per game. He started a handful of games each year but didn’t become a full-time starter until the 2002-03 season, when he averaged 10.5 points and 3.6 assists per game, shooting 40.1 percent from beyond the arc.

The next year however, future hall of famer Gary Payton joined the Lakers and started all 82 games while Fisher appeared in all 82 primarily as a reserve. It was the one year in a span of eight seasons that otherwise saw Fisher average double-digits in points.

Fisher didn’t generate very many assists as the point man in head coach Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, but he did knock down a number of clutch 3-pointers when called upon. His most famous shot, of course, was this one…

Fisher left the Lakers in the summer of 2004, and after two games in Golden State was shipped to Utah. After one season there, he re-signed with the Lakers as a free agent and enjoyed another lengthy stint in L.A. before being sent to Houston via trade in 2012. After being bought-out by the Rockets, Fisher signed with Oklahoma City and bounced between OKC and Dallas over the last couple years of his career.