Los Angeles Lakers: 3 other legends whose numbers should be retired

After Kobe Bryant’s No. 8 and 24 jerseys are retired, the Los Angeles Lakers will have 10 players immortalized in the rafters. Which other franchise legends deserve the designation?

On Tuesday, it was announced that the Los Angeles Lakers would be retiring both of Kobe Bryant‘s jersey numbers this upcoming season. It was inevitable, and it made it all the more sweet when we learned both No. 8 and No. 24 would be hanging in Staples Center soon.

That made me wonder what other players in Lakers history deserve the honor of seeing their jerseys enshrined like that. We obviously know about the team’s historic superstars who have already had their numbers retired. Guys like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal were no-brainers to be celebrated in that fashion.

What about the other guys, though? With so many superb lineups in team history, there are bound to be a few stars who got overlooked. That’s what I’m looking to do today — bring awareness to those who deserve their numbers retired but haven’t yet received the commendation.

After taking a look at the long, long list of Lakers legends, I whittled it down to three guys who you could make a case for. They weren’t all superstars compared to other players during their times, but the impact they made for this franchise is worth the acknowledgement.

Related Story: All-time greatest Lakers not named Kobe Bryant

So here they are — three other Lakers legends whose jerseys need to be hanging from the top of Staples Center. It’s unlikely it ever happens, but that doesn’t mean we can’t recognize them here for their outstanding contributions.