Los Angeles Lakers: Best players in team history who started elsewhere

Historically, the Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the most appealing landing spots for superstars looking to swap teams. Not all were by choice, but the following L.A. greats all started elsewhere before joining the Lake Show.

Swapping teams might not have always been as common as it is in today’s NBA, but it was still a part of the league’s landscape from the get-go. As a result, many of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ best players got their first taste of success wearing a different jersey.

It’s almost eerie to realize just how many stars made their second or third NBA stop in Los Angeles. It’s almost as if they knew great things would happen if they were to take their talents to the City of Angels. For the most part, that ended up being the case. I’m sure LeBron James is hoping for similar results.

Before you get too excited, let me warn you that Kobe Bryant is not on this list. While the record shows that he was technically drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, he was involved in a draft-day trade that sent him to the Lakers. Kobe was always going to be a Laker — the fact that the Hornets actually drafted him is just a technicality.

This list is solely focused on players who played for other teams before coming to Los Angeles. Whether that was early in their career or when they were on the downward side of the hill, they needed to suit up and play for another franchise before joining the Lakers.

Now that we’ve got that all cleared up, let’s take a look at the five best Lakers who got their start with another franchise. There are some big names on this list — some that younger readers may not even know wore a different jersey before donning the purple and gold.