The Los Angeles Lakers have a total of 506 players playing for them throughout the 2024-25 season, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some are forgettable, some are serviceable, some are good, and some are downright legendary.
In the 80th season of the Lakers franchise, founded in 1946 as the Detroit Gems, LeBron Wire is taking a look at every player who has worn one of their uniforms, whether it’s the purple and gold or those from their early days in the Midwest.
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Slater Martin, a 5-foot-10 University of Texas graduate, was a key member of the Lakers’ early championship teams led by George Mikan. The team selected him in the third round of the 1949 draft, and soon he became the team’s trusted floor general.
Martin spent his first seven seasons with the Lakers, averaging 9.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He was selected to the All-Star team each of the past four seasons and won four NBA championships in his first five seasons in the league.
In 1956, Martin was traded to the New York Knicks, who sent him to the St. Louis Hawks a few months later. He finished his career in St. Louis and retired as a player after the 1959-60 season with lifetime averages of 9.8 points and 4.2 assists. He was selected to a total of seven All-Star Games and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers Jersey History No. 22 — Slater Martin
