Los Angeles Lakers: Top 10 NBA Draft picks in franchise history

With the 2017 NBA Draft quickly approaching, let’s relive history and look back on the Los Angeles Lakers’ 10 best NBA Draft picks ever.

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in league history — that much is without question. Also inarguable, though, is the fact that they’ve fallen on hard times recently.

Thankfully, the upcoming 2017 NBA Draft will provide the team a chance to add another talented, young piece to an already-improving roster, and with a former legend now at the helm, the ship will be righted soon enough.

But before we get to the all-important draft, we should take a step back first. As a fun exercise, let’s look through history and decipher what made the Lakers such a legendary organization. Sure, we could be talking about a multitude of things, like their ability to acquire transcendent free agents or make bold, forward-thinking trades that eventually coincided with championships.

But no, what I’m referring to is something else; pomp and glamour aside, the Lakers have also been one of the NBA’s best in the draft. Hall of Famers, MVPs and title-winners litter Los Angeles’ 10 best draft picks ever list.

So without further ado, let’s get into it.

Honorable mentions: Andrew Bynum (2005), Eddie Jones (1994), Nick Van Exel (1993), Vlade Divac (1989)

NOTE: Because Kobe Bryant — the second greatest 2-guard of all time, maybe you’ve heard of him? — was technically a Charlotte Hornets draft pick before being traded to Los Angeles, he didn’t qualify for our list. Had he been taken straight up by the Lakers, he would have no doubt placed near the top of our rankings.