#8 – The Big Smooth
Only with the Lakers for two and a half short years, Sam Perkins made the most of his short tenure in LA. He showed up at the Great Western Forum after Lakers Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had retired to share duties at the center position with a young Vlade Divac. Vlade may have been the starting center, but when the game was on the line big Sam Perkins was in. With his sweet and effortless shooting stroke, Sam was a rare big man who could step outside and knock down a big shot. So when he drained the game winning 3 pointer in Game 1 of the 1991 NBA Finals, no one was really surprised.
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For a mellow dude who always appeared to be stoned out of his mind, Sam Perkins seemingly had enough brain cells left to show up big in crunch time. Maybe his time spent down on Tobacco Road with Mike Jordan and James Worthy rubbed off on him, but at some point Sam Perkins became a big time clutch player. That’s why he earned the coolest nickname in Laker History, The Big Smooth.
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