Los Angeles Lakers: 10 best centers in team history

LOS ANGELES - FEBRAURY 12: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal pose for photos during the American Express Celebrates the Rewarding Life of Earvin Johnson event on February 12, 2004 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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7. Vlade Divac (1989-96, 2004-05)

Like Elmore Smith, newly-crowned Hall of Famer Vlade Divac is another Lakers center whose greatest contribution to the franchise was ultimately who he helped the team acquire in a trade.

When Divac was sent by the Lakers to the Charlotte Hornets in 1996, it was in exchange for a teenage rookie named Kobe Bryant.

Divac then went on to enjoy the best days of his NBA career as a rival of the Lakers during his stint with the Sacramento Kings in the early-2000s.

Drafted out of Yugoslavia in 1989, Divac was an All-Rookie Team pick despite coming off the bench for a Lakers team loaded with veterans. Divac was a full-time starter by his second season. In his first seven years with the Lakers, Divac averaged 12.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

Divac helped L.A. make it to the 1991 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls. In Game 1, L.A.’s only victory in the series, Divac posted 16 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

Divac re-joined the Lakers in 2004, when he was 36 years old and plagued by back injuries. He only appeared in 15 games in what was his final NBA season.

Thanks in large part to his accomplishments with the Yugoslavian national team and as a pro in Serbia, he was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year.

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