The Los Angeles Lakers have seen many players come and go over the years. Some players find a way to stick in the NBA to have a solid career. Meanwhile, other players take their talents overseas and have much greater success than they did in the pros.
Former Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn has taken the overseas route, which has paid off for him. After spending the 2022-23 season with the Lakers and Washington Wizards, Nunn signed with Panathinaikos in Greece and hasn’t looked back since.
The former Laker averaged 15.4 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 26.9 minutes per game in his first season playing in the EuroLeague with Panathinaikos. However, this season, Nunn took his game to another level, leading to him becoming the highest-paid player in Europe and getting an award for his play on the court.
Earlier this week, the ELPA (EuroLeague Players Association) named Nunn the Players’ Choice Awards MVP.
As previously mentioned, the ex-Lakers guard has been playing at an elite level. Nunn averaged 21.1 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.6 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game (33 games). He also shot 50.3 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from beyond the arc on 7.2 attempts per game.
Based on his play over the last two years in the EuroLeague, it's surprising that Nunn hasn’t made his way back to the NBA. At the same time, when you are getting paid reportedly $14.8 million over three years, with an average annual salary of $4.9 million, which doesn’t include any NBA opt-outs, it's hard to turn that down.
During his short NBA career, the 29-year-old Nunn averaged 12.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Lakers fans were excited to land Nunn in the offseason before the 2021-22 NBA season, especially with how he played with the Miami Heat.
That said, Nunn’s time with the Lakers didn’t go as planned, as he missed the entire 2021-22 season due to injury.
Despite the injury, Nunn exercised his player option for the 2022-23 season. He played in 39 games with the Lakers before being moved to the Washington Wizards in the Rui Hachimura trade.
Even though things did not work out for Nunn with the Lakers, it's good to see him find success playing basketball overseas.