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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 39 days until the regular season begins, where we run into our first problem in this series.
Who wore it the best: N/A
Number 39 has never been worn by a Minneapolis or Los Angeles Laker. So I went to the NBA record books and found out that number 39 has only been worn by 4 people in the history of the NBA:
Tom Tolbert (Charlotte Hornets, 1995)
Zeljko Rebraca (Detroit Pistons, 2002-2005)
Greg Ostertag (Utah Jazz, 2000-2001)
Jerami Grant (Philadelphia 76ers, 2015)
So, the best to ever wear #39 by default is:
#39 - Greg Ostertag
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(Credit: Gina Ferazzi, Getty Images)
Greg Ostertag was selected with the 28th overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. He played 11 years in the NBA, 10 with the Jazz and 1 with the Sacramento Kings. His career averages are 4.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists & 1.7 blocks in 19.5 minutes per game. Standing at 7'2" & 280 lbs, he was known mostly for his defensive presence.
Ostertag, among Laker fans, is most known for the defense he attempted to play against Shaquille O'Neal as a member of the Utah Jazz. He might be notoriously known as being the guy that Shaq "bitch-slapped" before a game during the 1997 season, after Ostertag relentlessly talked shit after the Jazz beat the Lakers in the 1996 playoffs. Ostertag retired from the NBA after the 2006 season.