The Top 20 Players to Ever Play in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California.
You can best describe it as a city unlike any other. The feeling you get when you jump off the plane at Los Angeles International Airport and those rays of L.A. sunshine beat down on your back is tough to describe.
L.A. is a city full of hope, flowing palm trees and sandy beaches. It doesn't feel as rushed as New York City or as fraudulent as Miami can be.
For sports fans, it's good to know that sports in Los Angeles is a big deal. They may not have an NFL team right now, but between USC and UCLA, fans can get their football fix.
In the professional ranks, you have the Dodgers, Lakers, Kings and Clippers. The Dodgers and Lakers will always be the most city's most famous franchises, but the other two have been successful and entertaining in their own right.
We've seen some amazing players shuffle through Hollywood. From hoops to the gridiron and beyond, here's a look at the top 20 players to ever play in the City of Angels, ranked in no particular order.
Pau Gasol
1 of 20
Pau Gasol won't be remembered like some of the other great Los Angeles Lakers players, but that doesn't mean he wasn't one of the best.
The Lakers needed a big man, which led them to the doorstep of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008. Acquiring the services of Gasol turned out to be one of the best moves the franchise has ever made.
In seven seasons with the Lakers, he averaged 17.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. In a complimentary role to Kobe Bryant, Gasol served as the missing piece the Lakers needed to get back to championship form.
With Gasol slotted in at power forward, the Lakers played in back-to-back NBA Finals. After losing their first trip in six games to the Boston Celtics, they bounced back the following season, defeating the Orlando Magic 4-1.
There have been plenty of Lakers players who have had more impressive careers than Gasol, and that's fine. But everything he did for the Lakers in the post-Shaquille O'Neal era can't be overlooked.
He was an excellent team player, who gave the city of Los Angeles seven great years of basketball.
Marcus Allen
2 of 20
Marcus Allen is the definition of a great Los Angeles athlete.
Allen played his college ball at USC, where he ran for 4,810 yards and 45 touchdowns on 932 attempts. He was a seasoned and dominant tailback between 1978 and 1981.
When Allen entered his name in the NFL draft, fate made sure he stayed local. At the time, the Raiders were operating out of Los Angeles, which meant he got to stay right where he was when they drafted him No. 10 overall.
Without missing a beat, the Hall of Fame halfback ran for 697 yards and 11 touchdowns in his rookie season. He continued to pulverize people detonating out of the gritty Raiders backfield for 11 seasons.
The kid who attended USC was brilliant for the Silver and Black. For producing 8,545 yards rushing, 4,258 receiving yards and 97 combined touchdowns, he is arguably the top running back in the team's history.
Jerry West
3 of 20
Jerry West was an innovator and a crucial part of the illustrious fabric that make up the Lakers. The man known as Mr. Clutch battled his way into the Hall of Fame thanks to his bulldog-like defense, buttery-smooth jump shot and on-court bravado.
On a national level, West will never be as famous as some of the modern guys. Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are more revered among most NBA fans.
But that doesn't mean what he accomplished during his 14 seasons with the Lakers should be forgotten. As if his career average of 27 points, 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game wasn't impressive enough, the 6'2" guard was the third man to reach 25,000 points, via NBA.com.
He may have only walked away with one NBA title, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. He led the Lakers to nine Finals appearances in 14 seasons.
West was a integral part of the Lakers for years, and because of that, he means a whole lot to the city of Los Angeles.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4 of 20
Before there was Shaq, there was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The iconic archetypal big man for the Lakers played in the City of Angels for 14 years, winning five NBA titles in that period.
Abdul-Jabbar's impact on the Lakers franchise was the stuff legends are made out of. When he retired following the 1988-89 season, he left the game as the NBA's all-time leading scorer—a record that still stands today.
Part of the Showtime Lakers of the '80s, Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson became hardwood royalty.
There may never be a more dominant player in the history of basketball. Dating back to his days at UCLA—when he went by the name of Lew Alcindor—Abdul-Jabbar was orbiting on a different stratosphere to his peers. He won three national titles under head coach John Wooden.
Kareem isn't Magic; he didn't have the charisma or charm of the ex-Michigan State point guard. Nevertheless, without him anchoring the center of the Lakers, odds are Johnson's career wouldn't look the same as it does right now.
Wayne Gretkzy
5 of 20
It's not often that the greatest player in his respective sport is traded to another team during the prime of his career. In Wayne Gretzky's case, that's exactly what went down when he was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings in August 1988.
To this day, the trade remains a significant one. The Kings handed the Edmonton Oilers $15 million and three first-round draft choices for the services of the Great One, per Ryan Dadoun of Pro Hockey Talk.
Gretzky and Los Angeles were a match made in heaven from a fan's perspective. It's not often you get to see a talent like that skate for your hometown team. At the time, L.A. was a basketball town.
When Gretzky threw on the white Kings sweater, hockey—as a product—changed. It became more commercially viable, and a lot of that was to do with Gretzky being slotted into a major media market.
The Kings never won a Stanley Cup with him on the roster, despite playing in the 1993 edition, but the significance of his time in Los Angeles makes him one of the top players to ever step foot in the city.
Sandy Koufax
6 of 20
In the era of great Los Angeles baseball, there's Sandy Koufax, and then below him is everybody else.
Koufax was a masterful pitcher. While in that Dodgers blue, he flat out dominated from the mound. Three World Series titles, three Cy Young Awards and just for good measure, he hurled four no-hitters on top of that—one of those was actually a perfect game.
Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated fame wrote a fascinating dialogue about Koufax and his life. In it, you see both a once-in-generation pitcher and a remarkable man.
"Koufax is a living James Dean, the aura of his youth frozen in time; he has grayed without our even knowing it. He is a sphinx, except that he doesn't want anyone to try to solve his riddle," Verducci wrote.
He's a living legend who is still the crowning jewel of the Dodgers to this day.
Bill Walton
7 of 20
Collegiately speaking, Bill Walton was a hero in Los Angeles.
Walton anchored the UCLA Bruins during their heyday. With the incomparable big man from La Mesa starring, John Wooden's team won 88 games in a row, including two national championships.
Personally, Walton collected three Naismith Awards for his outstanding efforts with the program. In three seasons with the Bruins, he averaged 20.3 points and 15.7 rebound a game.
Men lie, women lie, but numbers most certainly do not. Walton was one of the greatest college basketball players ever, which automatically qualifies him entry on this list.
Derek Fisher
8 of 20
Few have hit bigger shots in their careers than former Lakers point guard Derek Fisher.
Along with Robert Horry, Fisher was an essential component in the Lakers' championship runs between 2000 and 2002. He was never an elite point guard, but he helped run Phil Jackson's triangle offense and was the glue that kept this Lakers team together.
His biggest moment came when he hit a game-winning shot with 0.4 seconds left on the clock in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals. In one of the most exciting finishes in NBA history, Fisher answered a circus shot from Tim Duncan with one of his own to defeat the San Antonio Spurs.
The Lakers would go on to lose the NBA title to the Detroit Pistons that season, but the shot was a microcosm of his great career playing in the city.
Don Drysdale
9 of 20
Right next to Sandy Koufax was a right-handed pitcher by the name of Don Drysdale.
Not to be overshadowed by his lefty counterpart, Drysdale was quite the thrower himself. He was part of three World Series-winning Dodgers sides thanks to his screaming fastball and supreme confidence.
The 6'6" pitcher was able to put a Cy Young trophy on his mantle in 1962, after going out and winning 25 games that season.
Drysdale consistently put up great numbersthroughout his 14 years in the big leagues. He won 209 total games, boasted lifetime ERA of 2.95 and—aside from his first and last seasons with the team—never won less than 10 games in a single year.
Because of all of that, you can make the argument that Drysdale and Koufax are the best duo in the history of Los Angeles sports.
Elgin Baylor
10 of 20
Elgin Baylor is all about Los Angeles. From his productivity on the court with the Lakers to the days he spent serving as general manager of the rival Clippers, Baylor is a long-term fixture of this city.
It didn't matter if he was rocking the powder blues or the Laker gold, Baylor was special. Revisiting his career, NBA.com enriched us all with this perfect description about the Los Angeles legend:
"Had Elgin Baylor been born 25 years later, his acrobatic moves would have been captured on video, his name emblazoned on sneakers, and his face plastered on cereal boxes. But he played before the days of widespread television exposure, so among the only records of his prowess that remain are the words of those who saw one of the greatest ever to play.
"
What's also cool about Baylor is he who he played with. Besides his long-time partnership with Jerry West, Baylor also got to spend the twilight his career with Wilt Chamberlain.
Fernando Valenzuela
11 of 20
At 20 years old, Fernando Valenzuela had one of the great rookie years of all time. He came in and cruised through the regular season, won the Cy Young award and helped the Dodgers win the World Series. That's pretty good for a 20-year-old, right?
That first year it was all about "Fernandomania."
Valenzuela was fresh faced and exciting. And let's be honest, isn't that what everyone in Hollywood is looking for?
He was a major part of the Dodgers for 11 seasons, posting 141 career wins, 29 shutouts and a 3.31 ERA. Anyone who was around during Fernandomania will agree that he deserves to be on this list.
Wilt Chamberlain
12 of 20
Wilt Chamberlain is a name basketball fans won't ever forget. Together with Bill Russell, he helped defy the center position when he took the court in the late '50s.
Out of the two, Chamberlain was the one with all of the swagger. When he wanted out of Philadelphia before the 1968-69 season, the 76ers traded him to the Lakers.
His charisma and machismo were a perfect combination for the glamorous city he was now playing in. During a season in which he averaged 14.8 points, four assists and 19.2 points per game, he helped the Lakers win a title in 1972.
Chamberlain wasn't on the level of Abdul-Jabbar or O'Neal, but he was a darn good player and a true stalwart of Los Angeles sports.
Reggie Bush
13 of 20
Reggie Bush will go down as one of the most exciting college football players in USC history. He ran like he was a character in a video game during his three seasons in a Trojans uniform.
Bush's totals when he left the program were amazing. On 433 attempts, he picked up 3,169 yards rushing and scored 25 touchdowns on the ground. Used as a weapon in the passing game, he also caught 95 passes for 1,301 yards and 13 TDs.
He was the ultimate dual-threat player and could also work wonders on special teams. Drafted No. 2 overall by the New Orleans Saints, Bush would go on to win a Super Bowl with his first NFL team during the 2009-10 season.
Despite being stripped of his Heisman Trophy for violating NCAA rules, no one is ever going to forget how dynamic a football player this guy once was.
Chris Paul
14 of 20
Chris Paul has been part of the Los Angeles Clippers since 2011 and has already proved to be arguably their greatest ever player.
Paul is one of the league's top point guards. At 6'0" tall, he can just about do it all. Since he arrived in Los Angeles, Paul has averaged 18.6 points, 9.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Even with those impressive numbers, Paul means so much more to this franchise.
He's the heart and soul of the Clippers. He's also the guy who has elevated the play of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Without Paul, there would never have been the chronicles of "Lob City."
If the Clippers eventually win a championship, Paul will have a shrine built honoring him. Championship or not, he's already become the savior for the other Los Angeles team.
Orel Hershiser
15 of 20
Great pitching has been a theme for the Dodgers over the years. Orel Hershiser is just another a name in a long line of accomplished players.
Out of the 18 years he played in the MLB, 13 of those were in Los Angeles. Hershiser may have won 135 games for the Dodgers, but his crowning achievement was the scoreless innings streak he posted in 1988.
That was the year he threw 59 innings in a row without giving up a run. He pitched nine straight complete-game shutouts to end the regular season.
Hershiser was never a flamethrower like some of the other great Dodgers, but his pinpoint control and ability to muster up ground balls worked to perfection. He wasn't Drysdale, Koufax or even Valenzuela; he was his own entity who, for one magical season, defied the odds.
To cap off that year, he also snagged World Series MVP honors and helped the Dodgers upset the Oakland Athletics four games to one.
Mike Trout
16 of 20
How lucky are the Los Angeles Angels to have Mike Trout on their roster?
The 23-year-old outfielder is one of the best young players in the history of baseball. That's not even hyperbole or fruitless banter. It's the cold, hard truth.
Since Trout's rookie season in 2011, he's done nothing but produce at a crazy level. Ted Berg of USA Today Sports and For the Win dug up this crazy statistic regarding Trout:
"Check this out: Using baseball-reference’s version of WAR (wins above replacement), Trout was worth 20.3 wins through 2013. The next best player through his age-21 season was Hall of Famer Mel Ott, and Ott was worth 2.4 wins less that Trout in 203 more games played.
"
Nowadays, he also can add MVP to his list of accomplishments. At 23 years old, he took home the hardware that honors the player of the season, per ESPN.com.
Trout is special, and if he can continue this torrid pace, he's going to go down as one of the greatest players to ever put on a pair of baseball cleats.
Bo Jackson
17 of 20
There's a mystique about Bo Jackson, for he was a superhuman.
Watching him play baseball for the Kansas City Royals or run the rock for the Los Angeles Raiders, Jackson was a marvel. To this day, we haven't seen anyone like him—we probably never will again.
Had it not been for a career-ending injury in 1991, he could have been one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.
Jackson's legacy in L.A. reflects how the rest of the country looked at him. He was a multi-sport, cultural icon whose potential is just as important to his folklore as what he actually accomplished on the field.
Shaquille O'Neal
18 of 20
We have talked about the other great Lakers big men at length already. Apart from Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal was the most influential center to ever play for this prestigious franchise.
When the Lakers lured Shaq away from Orlando with a seven-year deal worth $121 million, it was a big deal.
At the time, then-general manager Jerry West told the press: "At about 2:15 in the morning when we signed the contract, it was probably the most relieved I've ever felt in my life," per Malcolm Moran, who at that juncture was writing for the New York Times.
O'Neal came to Los Angeles and, man, did he conquer. He won league MVP honors in 2000, and with Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant by his side, the Diesel got to hoist three NBA Finals trophies over his head.
Shaq played eight wonderful seasons wearing purple and gold, during which he averaged 27 points and 11.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
Since they traded him to the Miami Heat, the Lakers have been searching for his replacement. Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard had brief moments during their time in La La Land, but neither guy could live up to anything O'Neal accomplished.
Kobe Bryant
19 of 20
It's about time we talked about Kobe Bryant and all that he's done for the Lakers. Bryant has five NBA titles, he's a 16-time All-Star, a one-time league MVP and has the most points in franchise history.
There's always going to be a dispute when it comes to answering the question, "who's the most celebrated Laker in history?" Between Bryant and Magic Johnson, you can't go wrong either way.
Bryant is the closest thing L.A. has ever had to Michael Jordan; both guys are relentless competitors and proven winners.
He's done just about everything he can to lead this city and this team. Even with the emergence of the Clippers in recent years, none of those guys will ever be Kobe Bryant.
At one point, he was just a scrawny kid from Lower Merion High School. Now, the Black Mamba will be remembered as one of the best guards to ever set foot on an NBA court.
Magic Johnson
20 of 20
Before Bryant was the cornerstone of the Lakers, there was Magic Johnson.
Perhaps the most creative player not named "Pistol" Pete Maravich, Johnson was the heart and soul of the Showtime Lakers.
"With a smile so dazzling it, too, could be seen from the freeway, Earvin 'Magic' Johnson turned the Lakers into the must-see show in the sports world," Liz Claman of the Los Angeles Times recalled.
Magic was flashy, and he was gifted. But best of all, he had a sparkling personality that meshed perfectly with that Los Angeles lifestyle.
He was as Hollywood as a professional athlete could get, which was exactly what the city and team needed more than anything else.
For all the great things Bryant has done, nothing will ever be as captivating as the Lakers' rivalry with the Boston Celtics in the '80s. Led by Johnson and his on-court nemesis Larry Bird, these two teams defined exceptional basketball.
Magic's career numbers were simply amazing. Despite having to retire from the game early—minus a one-season comeback in 1995—Johnson made the most of his minutes. In the 906 games he played, he averaged 19.5 points, 11.2 assists, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
And just like Bryant, Magic also won five NBA championships sporting a Lakers uniform.
All MLB, NBA, NHL, college football and NFL information and stats provided by Sports-Reference.com, unless noted otherwise.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
