Los Angeles Lakers: 5 best players in franchise history to never win a ring

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.