Greatest unsung hero in every NBA team’s history

Los Angeles Lakers: Byron Scott

During his most recent run as a head coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, Byron Scott took plenty of criticism for his disregard of analytics and his odd belief that 3-point shooting wasn’t a necessity for building a championship team in the modern era.

Of course, it’s hard to hold his opinions against him for several reasons. The Lakers team he coached was in its worst shape in decades. Scott was essentially brought in to placate to Kobe Bryant. His position was understandable given the era he played in.

You see, in the 1980s, most players, fans and analysts viewed the 3-point shot as a silly gimmick. Consequently, most teams employed one or two “3-point specialists” to handle the long-range shooting.

For the “Showtime” Lakers, Scott was that player. Los Angeles took him with the fourth overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft. While he struggled to find consistency downtown in his rookie season (23.5 percent), he became a reliable supplementary piece alongside the “Big 3” of Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

But don’t think that Scott merely stood around and waited for Johnson to pass him the ball. He could make plays on defense with his 23.9 defensive win shares as a Laker. Scott could also race down the floor on a fast break and finish at the rim.

But his primary job was spacing the floor to give the superstars room to work in the post. He was pretty good at it. In 11 seasons with the Lakers, Scott shot 37.3 percent from 3-point range and led the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage once in 1984-85.