Originally Published on March 24, 2014
The Lakers are one of the greatest franchises, not only in basketball history but in all of the sports. With 16 championships and a host of Hall of Famers to their credit, very few franchises can match the Laker’s legacy.
But everything hasn’t always gone to plan with the team.
The Lakers are coming off their worst season in the history of the team, and while years like this are few and far between, some of the players who have come through Laker Land, have been far less than stellar.
The team has so many great players that it gets easy to forget the bad ones. But that stops today as we bring you a look at the 10 worst Lakers of All-Time.
10. Dwight Howard (2012-2013)
I know, the numbers he put up were still good. He averaged a double-double and was named All-NBA Third Team, a solid campaign without a doubt. But let’s be real here, the Dwight Howard experiment was one of the worst the team has ever tried.
Quite simply, he never fit in Los Angeles. He struggled to mesh in the offense and with his teammates. Reports are that when Kobe Bryant called him out in front of the locker room, he wouldn’t even speak up for himself.
Dwight is a good player who wanted all of the accolades and attention that comes with being a superstar, and none of the responsibility. When the lights of Los Angeles shone brightest upon him, he couldn’t handle the heat and ran away.
9. Chris Mihm (2004-2009)
To be fair, Chris Mihm was put in a position that he had no business being in, but he was still awful nonetheless. His rebounding was awful for someone of his size, and he was constantly abused defensively.
Offensively, he had some of the worst hands I’ve ever seen, and other than slamming home a couple of dunks, offered basically nothing. His numbers are not horrific and that keeps him from going lower on this list.
8. Sam Bowie (1993-1995)
Bowie will never live down the fact that he was selected ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft. But he eventually had a couple of decent years which lead to the Lakers bringing him in before the 1993 season.
Bowie disappointed, playing in only 92 games in two seasons with the Lakers, while averaging less than six points and five rebounds in nearly 20 minutes a night. Making things worse, he was the second-highest-paid player on the team. His legacy will forever remain the same.
7. Isaiah Rider (2000-2001)
Another case of decent numbers masking some awful moments, Isaiah Rider is one of the premier cases of how a bad attitude can ruin an NBA career.
The Lakers brought Rider on, and he was the team’s leading scorer off the bench. But Phil Jackson left him off the playoff roster in favor of Devean George and Greg Foster. Why? I’m glad you asked.
During the season Rider missed the team bus for a game in San Antonio and upon showing up late to the game (!!!!) gave Phil Jackson a note saying he didn’t receive his wake-up call. Couple that with a drug suspension and it’s no wonder why the Lakers got rid of him as quickly as possible. Somehow, he got a championship ring.
Here is Rider’s one claim to fame:
6. Antonio Harvey (1993-1995)
Honest question, can you remember one thing Antonio Harvey did that stood out? The man tried hard, but he did absolutely nothing with the Lakers averaging three points and two rebounds while shooting under 37 percent from the field.
I couldn’t figure out which video was a better summarization of Harvey’s time with the Lakers, so I added them both. Enjoy
5. DJ Mbenga (2007-2010)
Mbenga is undoubtedly near the top of the list of worst players with multiple championship rings. He rarely got on the floor and was pretty awful when he did play.
Terrible hands, zero scoring ability, but he could do one thing, he was one of the best foulers the Lakers have ever seen. He averaged more than six fouls per 36 minutes and will forever go down as one of Blake Griffin‘s best posterizations ever.
4. Adam Morrison (2008-2010)
Remember that list of worst players with multiple championships?? Meet the man at the top. Morrison was the third pick of the 2006 draft ahead of guys like Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, and Rajon Rondo.
The Charlotte Bobcats gave up on him in less than two years, and once on the Lakers, Morrison did nothing other than sit on the bench collect rings. Morrison average two points and one rebound in 39 games with the Lakers and is the only person on this list to never start a game for the team. He literally contributed nothing, other than some occasional motivational tactics.
3. Travis Knight (1996-1997, 1998-2000)
The Lakers have a history of great centers throughout their history, but when they were bad, they were really bad.
Travis Knight was unnoticeable in his rookie season with the team. After a season away in Boston, he returned and got worse. Except when it came to committing fouls. He averaged more than seven fouls per 36 minutes in his last two seasons with the team.
He has legitimately done nothing of note in the NBA, so here is a video of him getting drafted.
2. Kwame Brown
Though I’m sure he’s number one on a lot of people’s list, Brown slides in at number two here.
In 2005, The Lakers traded away Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins for the top pick of the 2001 draft, and Laron Profit. By the time we received Brown, he was already a draft bust.
Brown was just bad. He was incapable of catching passes, especially in traffic, was consistently lost on defense, and was quite simply the bane of Lakers fans’ existence. His saving grace from being number one is that he was included in the trade that brought Pau Gasol to L.A.
1. Smush Parker
Smush Parker, where do we start with you?
The numbers with the Lakers are actually some of the best numbers of anyone on the list. But everything else was awful. He clashed with coaches and players and has even admitted to looking off Kobe Bryant and not passing him the ball nearing the end of his second season.
You just don’t disrespect the Mamba like that. Add to that his crash and burn in Game 7 of the 2006 first round against the Phoenix Suns when he shot 4-13 and his attempts to remain relevant by attacking Kobe Bryant years later is just icing on the cake. Smush will forever go down in Lakers lore as the worst of the worst.
