3 NBA legends you forgot played for the Los Angeles Lakers

2. Gary Payton

Like Karl Malone, Gary Payton signed with the Lakers in the summer of 2003 searching for an NBA title. “The Glove” spent his first 12 NBA seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics before getting traded to the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2002-03 campaign. In the offseason, the Oakland native took his talents to Southern California, joining a Lakers super-team that would eventually lose 4-1 to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.

Payton started all 82 games for the purple and gold in 2003-04, averaging 14.6 points, 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. At this stage in his career, his patented ability to come up with steals was starting to decline, and he performed poorly in the playoffs. He would play three more seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, winning a title in 2006.

Payton’s time in Los Angeles was brief, but it’s pretty wild to think there was a playoff starting lineup consisting of Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton. Imagine what it felt like to be Devean George, the Lakers starting small forward, lining up with four future Hall-of-Famers. On behalf of fans in “smaller” markets everywhere, kudos to the Pistons for denying them a championship.