The Los Angeles Lakers have enjoyed 16 NBA championships throughout franchise history. These five stars, however, weren’t a part of any of those dominant squads.
One of the most storied franchises in NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers currently have 16 championships to their name. For those of you keeping count, that’s second only to the Boston Celtics (17) and 10 more than the Chicago Bulls, the team with the third-most titles.
As many of you know, a reason for the Lakers’ long list of championships is due to their long list of superstars. Names like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant come to mind when discussing some of the greatest to ever don the purple and gold. There are, however, a few noteworthy names that never learned what winning it all felt like.
Seems crazy, right? With how many rings the Lakers have won over the years, you’d figure every great in team history would have one. That’s not the case, though. There are several big-name Lakers who failed to go the distance during their NBA careers.
That’s why we’re here today — to pinpoint who they are. We won’t dig too deeply into why they never won a title, but you can bet it wasn’t for a lack of effort.
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So without further ado, here are the five greatest Lakers player who never won a ring. There’s no denying the impact they made during their heydays, but they will forever remain ring-less with their basketball careers in the rearview mirror.
Vlade Divac
There are a lot of Lakers fans who hold a grudge against Vlade Divac. While he did spend a large chunk of his career in Los Angeles, he also put up some pretty intense battles against the team when he played for the Sacramento Kings.
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Still, we can’t ignore the fact that he was an excellent piece of the Lakers’ lineup when he was in town. Despite joining the team as a European prospect who didn’t even speak English, he quickly made his presence felt with tough defense, reliable rebounding and effective scoring inside the paint. There was the whole flopping thing, but that’s for a different conversation.
When he was with the Lakers, he fell short in his one opportunity to win a ring. Los Angeles fell to the Chicago Bulls in five games in the 1991 NBA Finals, handing Divac a big fat “L” in his only trip to the championship round. After that, he never found his way back to the NBA’s biggest stage regardless of the team.
As it so happens, it was the Lakers who kept Divac away from the Finals during his days in Sacramento. Three years in a row, the Kings were knocked out of the playoffs by Los Angeles, including an epic Western Conference Finals showdown in 2002. Divac played a big part in all of those series, but could never quite overcome a difficult matchup with Shaquille O’Neal.
Is Divac a superstar? Not really — he only has one All-Star selection to his name. However, he was an outstanding player for the Lakers who never could add a ring to his collection.
Rudy LaRusso
Name not very familiar? It’s understandable. While Elgin Baylor and Jerry West were starring for the Lakers in the 1960s, Rudy LaRusso was serving as the underappreciated No. 3 option on those fantastic squads.
It’s unfortunate he’s often overlooked, because he was a star in his own right. ESPN even went as far as naming LaRusso the 16th-best player in Lakers history. Known for his physical style of play and dominance on the boards, he epitomized the tenacious defense that was characteristic of the league in those days.
During his eight seasons with the Lakers, LaRusso went to the Finals on four separate occasions. As luck would have it, though, all four resulted in losses to the Boston Celtics. He obviously did his part to make it to the show, but could never do enough to earn himself the jewelry every NBA player lusts after.
LaRusso ended his career with five All-Star nods and even earned All-Defensive Second Team honors once. His career averages of 15.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game provide further evidence to the outstanding impact he made for Minneapolis/Los Angeles.
For everything he contributed to the Lakers’ string of Finals losses, it’s disappointing to know he never tasted the sweetness of the ultimate NBA success.
Steve Nash
Yes, I am well aware of the fact that Steve Nash didn’t play much of his career with the Lakers. In fact, only two of his 18 NBA seasons were spent in Los Angeles. However, he still deserves recognition for his tremendous career and status as a ring-less star.
When the Lakers acquired him from the Phoenix Suns in 2012, it was seen as a game-changing move. Los Angeles was desperate to make a splash after Chris Paul was stolen from them, forcing them to mortgage their future on a future Hall of Famer like Nash. Unfortunately, the move didn’t quite work out in their favor.
In fact, it’s often seen as one of the worst trades in team history. In order to acquire Nash, the Lakers gave up two first round picks and two second round picks. What did they get in return? Two seasons’ worth of subpar performances, at least by Nash’s standards. For two years, nagging injuries limited him to only 65 appearances in which he was a shell of his former self.
Still, Nash will go down as one of the greatest pure point guards in NBA history. He revolutionized the art of passing a basketball, finishing his career with the third-most assists (10,335) of all time. It’s just too bad he never earned a ring. Heck, Nash never even went to the Finals.
Sure, he only played for the Lakers for two partial seasons. Most of his damage was done elsewhere. All of that aside, Nash is easily one of the greatest players to ever wear the purple and gold who never won a championship.
Karl Malone
Much like Nash, Karl Malone spent an insignificant amount of his career with the Lakers. In fact, he played only one year in Los Angeles — the other 18 NBA seasons were spent with the Utah Jazz.
You could even argue he deserves a spot on this list less because he signed with the Lakers as a last-ditch effort to add that elusive ring. That’s compared to Nash, who was acquired via trade. No matter what side of the argument you’re on, Malone suited up for Los Angeles at some point. Hence, he finds himself near the top of this list.
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Why? Well if you really need me to answer that, you need a serious refresher on basketball history. For those of you unaware of Malone’s feats, let me take you to school for a second.
Nicknamed the Mailman, Malone was a superstar during his day. Here’s a list of his accomplishments, which makes some of today’s brightest stars look like scrubs: two MVP awards, 14 All-Star selections, 11 All-NBA First Team selections, and more milestones than most players could ever dream of.
And yet, he could never quite make it to the top of the NBA mountain. Malone did come close a few times, though. Twice with the Jazz and once with the Lakers, he found himself playing in the NBA Finals. All three times, though, he wound up on the losing end.
It’s disappointing that he never earned that ring. Still, he’ll go down as one of the all-time greats.
Elgin Baylor
Here’s the truly crazy thing about Elgin Baylor. During his 14 seasons (all with the Lakers), he went to eight NBA Finals. In all eight of those series, he lost — seven of which were lost against the Celtics. But wait, there’s more!
Technically, Baylor was a part of the 1971-72 Lakers that went on to win it all. However, at 37 years of age, a nagging knee injury forced him into retirement nine games into the season. Had he just stuck it out for one more year, Baylor wouldn’t fit the criteria for this list.
That’s the thing, though — he didn’t stick it out. Instead, he hung it up and watched his teammates lead the Lakers to the mountaintop. That’s why he now finds himself among the best players in NBA history who weren’t a part of a championship squad. Some might even say he is the best player to never win a ring.
Now this does come with a caveat of sorts. Technically, Baylor did receive a ring for his efforts (however minimal) that season. Still, at least in my book, it’s a ring he didn’t truly earn because he was no longer a part of the team.
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Either way, Baylor will go down as one of the most dynamic shooters of all time. He was a wizard with the basketball, using his unique athleticism and scoring prowess to frustrate opponents while putting up big points. If it wasn’t for that blasted knee injury, he would have been a key cog for one of the greatest teams the Lakers ever assembled.