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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, Eddie Jones
Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport /

player. 20. . Shooting Guard. Los Angeles Lakers. Eddie Jones. 24

  • 5 seasons with Lakers (1994-99)
  • Averaged 15.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3 assists
  • 2x All-Star with Lakers

The 1990s weren’t all that bad of a decade for the Lakers. Sure, there wasn’t a title until the 1999-2000 season, but nine of the 10 seasons saw Los Angeles appear in the playoffs, and there were only two sub-.500 campaigns.

One of those was the 33-win team in 1993-94, which allowed the Lakers to pick 10th in the 1994 NBA Draft. They selected Eddie Jones out of Temple and promptly won 48 games with Jones as a key member of the rotation as a rookie, and they wouldn’t have another losing season until 2004-05.

Jones started 58 games in his rookie season, averaging 14 points  in 31 minutes per game while shooting 37 percent on 3-point attempts. His role in the offense and overall numbers dipped a bit the next season, but Jones made a pair of All-Star games in 1997 and 1998 while putting up 17 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game over the two seasons.

Jones appeared in 36 playoff games in a Lakers uniform, averaging 13.3 points per game while shooting a whopping 43.2 percent from beyond the arc in the postseason.

He was traded midseason during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 NBA season, prior to the back-to-back-to-back championship run featuring Shaq and Kobe that began in 1999-2000. A two-time All-Star as a 27-year-old at the peak of his prime, Jones was traded with Elden Campbell and fetched former All-Stars B.J. Armstrong and Glen Rice, along with big man J.R. Reid.

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