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We're getting ready for a brand new season of Los Angeles Lakers basketball, so to count down the days we'll be looking at the best Lakers to wear the number. We'll continue at 40 days until the regular season begins, with a blast from the past who had a very successful career.
Who wore it the best: Lucius Allen
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(Credit: Focus On Sport, Getty Images)
I had to do some actual research on this one. This is Lucius Allen's second appearance in this series. When he first came to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975, he wore #40 and had his best season as a Laker. Following the '75 season, he changed his number to 42, and we all know that number belongs to "Big Game" James.
Lucius Allen was a college teammate of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, on the 1968 UCLA team, which many consider to be the greatest college basketball team ever. He was also a teammate of Kareem on the Milwaukee Bucks when they won the NBA Championship in 1971, and then on the Los Angeles Lakers from 1975-1977. Lucius Allen was traded to the Lakers in the middle of the '75 season, and became the teams starting point guard.
Following the 1977 season, Allen was traded to the Kansas City Kings. After finishing his storied basketball career which included a high school state championship, college national championship, and an NBA championship, Allen turned his attention to coaching aspiring players in the Los Angeles area.
|
Seasons w/ Lakers |
Years |
ppg |
rpg |
apg |
spg |
bpg |
mpg |
|
|
Lucius Allen |
3 |
1975-77 |
16.0 |
3.4 |
5.1 |
1.6 |
0.3 |
32.8 |
Who wore it last: Greg Foster
Greg Foster was selected in the second round of the 1990 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets. He played in the NBA for 13 years, and for 9 different teams. Standing at 6'11" and weighing 240 lbs., Foster was used throughout most of his career as a backup center. He did start 49 games for the Utah Jazz during the 1997-98 season. His longest stint with any team was the 4 years he spent with the Jazz.
Foster was on the Lakers 2001 NBA Championship team, his only season in a Lakers uniform. He served as a backup center. He played in 62 games, staring in 8 of those games, and averaged 7.3 minutes, 2.0 points and 1.8 rebounds. Foster played in the NBA for two more years, each with a different team, and retired at the end of the 2002-03 season.
#40 - Who has worn it:
Bill McGill (1965)
Jerry Chambers (1967)
Cliff Anderson (1969)
Lucius Allen (1975-1977)
Dave Robisch (1978-1979)
Jim Brewer (1981)
Mike McGee (1982-1986)
Antonio Harvey (1994-1995)
Travis Knight (1997-2000)
Greg Foster (2001)