15 stars you might have forgot played for the Los Angeles Lakers
By Amaar Burton
10. Charlie Scott (1977-78)
Charlie Scott made his way to L.A. thanks in large part to the most infamous punch in basketball history.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Kermit Washington‘s right hand nearly killed Rockets forward Rudy Tomjanovich on Dec. 9, 1977. About three weeks later, the Lakers traded Washington to the Boston Celtics (along with Don Chaney and a draft pick) for Scott, a guard who had helped the Celtics win the 1976 NBA championship.
With that move, Scott became the first player to be traded from the Celtics to their longtime rival Lakers.
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The tent poles of Scott’s Hall of Fame resume are his time in the ABA, when he averaged 30.6 points per game for the Virginia Squires; his time with the Phoenix Suns, when he averaged 24.8 points and earned three NBA All-Star nods; and his time in Boston, when he added that NBA title and scored 25 points in the Finals-clinching Game 6 against the Suns.
Scott averaged 11.7 points, 4.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game in his only season with the Lakers.
He was one of six L.A. players who averaged double-figure scoring in their first-round playoff matchup against Seattle — Scott put up 10.0 points per game — but the Lakers lost the series.