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Los Angeles Lakers: 25 Best Players To Play For The Lakers

By Phil Watson

April 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of balloons and confetti falling following the Los Angeles Lakers 101-96 victory against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of balloons and confetti falling following the Los Angeles Lakers 101-96 victory against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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UNITED STATES – MAY 27: Basketball: finals, Los Angeles Lakers Norm Nixon (10) in action vs Philadelphia 76ers Bobby Jones (24), Philadelphia, PA 5/27/1982 (Photo by Jerry Wachter/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (SetNumber: X26964)
UNITED STATES – MAY 27: Basketball: finals, Los Angeles Lakers Norm Nixon (10) in action vs Philadelphia 76ers Bobby Jones (24), Philadelphia, PA 5/27/1982 (Photo by Jerry Wachter/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (SetNumber: X26964) /

player. 20. <strong>How acquired:</strong> 22nd overall pick from Duquesne, 1977 NBA Draft.. PG. 1977-83. Norm Nixon. 25

Norm Nixon was a solid scorer for an under-the-radar school, averaging 22 points a game as a senior at Duquesne. The Los Angeles Lakers took Nixon with the 22nd overall pick in the 1977 NBA Draft and immediately installed him as the starting point guard.

Nixon was an All-Rookie selection in 1977-78 and an All-Star in 1982, helping the Lakers to a pair of titles in 1980 and 1982.

LAL_25_NIXON
LAL_25_NIXON /

He led the NBA in minutes per game in 1979-80, finished second in assists in 1980-81 and in steals in 1978-79 and placed third in assists in 1978-79, fourth in 1977-78 and 1979-80 and fifth in 1981-82.

Nixon averaged 15.5 points, 7.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 42.3 minutes per game, shooting .435/0-for-1/.760 as Los Angeles beat the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the 1980 NBA Finals.

He put up 17.7 points, 10 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 39.3 minutes per game, shooting .441/0-for-1/.727 in another six-game triumph over the 76ers in the 1982 NBA Finals.

Nixon then averaged 13.7 points, 4.7 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 36.7 minutes per game, shooting .405/0-for-2/7-for-11 as the Lakers were swept by the Sixers in the 1983 Finals.

In October 1983, he was traded with Eddie Jordan and second-round picks in 1986 and 1987 to the San Diego Clippers for Swen Nater and the rights to fourth-overall pick Byron Scott.

In six seasons in Los Angeles, Nixon averaged 16.4 points, 7.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 36.8 minutes per game, shooting .500/.133/.770.

With the Clippers, who moved to Los Angeles in 1984, Nixon was an All-Star in 1985, but a torn ACL kept him out the entire 1986-87 season and he missed all of the following year with an Achilles tear. He retired in June 1989, but briefly came back in Italy later that year.

He is 27th in NBA history with 6,386 assists and 11th with an average of 8.3 assists per game.

Next: A Pioneering NBA European

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