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

By Ben Beecken

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 13: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts in the first half while taking on the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 13: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts in the first half while taking on the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on April 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers, Jamaal Wilkes
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Jamaal Wilkes. 16. player. 20. . Small Forward. Los Angeles Lakers

  • 8 seasons with Lakers (1977-85)
  • Averaged 18.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game
  • 2x All-Star, 2x NBA champion with Lakers

Jamaal Wilkes spent his first three seasons in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors, winning a ring as a 21-year-old rookie and being named to his first All-Star team in Year Two. Then, he signed in L.A. as a free agent in the summer of 1977.

After averaging 16.5 points per game and shooting 46.1 percent with the Warriors, Wilkes brought his game to an entirely new level when he joined the Lakers.

His first year in L.A. saw Wilkes average only 12.9 points per game, but set a new career-high in scoring in each of the next three seasons. From 18.6 points per game in 1978-79 to 20 the next year as the Lakers won the championship, to 22.6 the following season, Wilkes just kept getting better.

The 1980 title was won in Magic Johnson’s rookie season and with 32-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leading the way. The 1982 team was similar: led in scoring by a 34-year-old Kareem but with Wilkes a close second and Magic third in scoring and first in assists.

Over seven seasons with the Lakers, Wilkes shot an impressive 51.6 percent from the field, despite standing just 6-foot-6 and not exactly scoring as a force in the post. After his first year with the Lakers, Wilkes averaged at least 17 points per game in each of his next six seasons, all the way until his final one in L.A.

After an underwhelming age-31 season in 1984-85, Wilkes finished his career with a 13-game sting with the Los Angeles Clippers the following year.

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