Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary.
As the Lakers approach their 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years.
In the mid-1970s, the Lakers were rebuilding following the retirements of Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West earlier in the decade. They had traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975, but they initially had little talent around him. In 1977, they took a sizable step toward filling out the rest of their roster with quality talent by taking Norm Nixon with the No. 22 pick in the NBA draft.
Nixon was a small but very fast and quick 6-foot-2 point guard who had starred at Duquesne University. He averaged 13.7 points and 6.8 assists a game as a rookie, and the following season, he boosted those numbers to 17.1 points and nine assists a game while shooting 54.2% from the field.
In Nixon’s third season as a pro, he had to adjust to the arrival of a rookie named Earvin “Magic” Johnson. But he made the changes that were necessary, and he and Johnson formed a starting backcourt that led Los Angeles to the NBA championship that year, as well as another one in 1982.
However, during the 1982-83 season, Nixon’s production fell off a bit, and he was dogged by allegations of illegal drug use. In October 1983, he was sent to the San Diego Clippers for center Swen Nater and the rights to Byron Scott, the No. 4 pick in that year’s draft.
Nixon would go on to have three more productive years before knee and Achilles injuries did him in and forced him to miss consecutive seasons. Meanwhile, Scott would prove to be the ideal fit next to Johnson as a dead-eye outside shooter and high-flying finisher on the fast break.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 10 — Norm Nixon
