5. Vlade Divac
Many Lakers fans hold a grudge against Vlade Divac. While he did spend a large chunk of his career in Los Angeles, he also put up some pretty intense battles against the team during his time with the Sacramento Kings.
With that said, we can’t ignore the fact that he was an outstanding piece of the Lakers’ lineup when he was in town. Despite joining the team as a European prospect who couldn’t speak English, he quickly made his presence felt with tough defense, reliable rebounding and effective scoring inside the paint. The whole flopping thing wasn’t great, but that’s neither here nor there.
When he was with the Lakers, he fell short in his one opportunity to win a ring. Los Angeles fell to the Chicago Bulls in five games in the 1991 NBA Finals, handing Divac a big fat “L” in his only trip to the big time. After that, he never graced the NBA’s grandest stage again.
Ironically, it was the Lakers who kept Divac away from the Finals during his days in Sacramento. Three years in a row, the Kings were knocked out of the playoffs by Los Angeles, including an epic Western Conference Finals showdown in 2002. Divac played a big part in all of those series, but could never quite overcome a difficult matchup with Shaquille O’Neal.
Was Divac a superstar? Not really — he only ever earned one All-Star selection. However, he was an outstanding player for the Lakers who never could add a ring to his trophy case.