NBA History: 25 former NBA stars you forgot dominated the league
By Cal Durrett
16) Jamaal Wilkes
NBA legend Jamal Wilkes is one of the greatest winners in basketball history but is far from a household name. Wilkes won two NCAA men's college basketball championships before being drafted by the Golden State Warriors, where he started on their 1974–75 championship team.
After three solid seasons as a member of the Warriors, Wilkes signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and was a vital member of the early Showtime Lakers, which featured fellow Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In fact, Wilkes scored 37 points and 12 rebounds in the title-clenching Game 6 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA Finals.
That performance proved to be just the beginning. From 1979-80 to 1983-84, Wilkes averaged 20.8 points per game and 5.2 rebounds for the Lakers over four seasons, helping them win another championship in 1982-83. Despite that, he would lose his starting spot on the Lakers to another Hall of Famer, James Worthy, and would play two more seasons with the team and win yet another championship before being released.
He later signed with the LA Clippers but lasted just 13 games before abruptly retiring at the age of 32 due to a knee injury. Unfortunately, after winning four championships and two NCAA titles in a 14-year span, Wilkes isn't nearly as remembered as other great champions of his era, which is a real shame.