There is no team that has had more basketball legends than the Los Angeles Lakers, which means that their roster of retired jerseys is the most exclusive in the best league in the world. It is a list that could soon be joined by LeBron James, who has worn the No.23 and No.6 with the yellow team. If he decides to retire, his jersey will hang from the ceiling of Crypto.com Arena alongside some of the greatest players to ever step on a court.
Hanging from that ceiling are 13 jerseys and a microphone. The latter is in honor of Chick Hearn, the legendary Lakers announcer from the 1960s until 2002. There are also the two numbers retired to Kobe Bryant, 8 and 24 after his tragic death in a helicopter accident.
Complete list of retired numbers by the Los Angeles Lakers
- Jamal Wilkes (52). The ‘Showtime’ Lakers forward played 575 regular season games with the franchise and won three rings.
- Wilt Chamberlain (13). The record man played a total of five seasons with the Lakers and won the 1972 ring with them. He played 339 games with the purple and gold and was an All-Star four times with them.
- Elgin Baylor (22). Eternally underrated, Baylor was the man who made the transition between Minneapolis and Los Angeles without suffering along the way. Between the two cities, he played 14 seasons and 846 games from 1958 to 1972 without winning a single ring with them. The only one on the list who lacks jewelry.
- Gail Goodrich (25). Jerry West’s inseparable teammate with the Lakers in the 60s and 70s. He spent two spells with the club from 1965 to 1968 and, after a spell in Phoenix, from 1970 to 1976. He played 687 games and won the ring in ’72.
- Kobe Bryant (8 and 24). Opponent to the best ‘Laker’ in history. He played from 1996 to 2016, playing 1,198 games and winning five championship rings. He is the only player with two retired numbers, wearing each for 10 years.
- Jerry West (44). The NBA logo. One of the greatest legends in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers, he played 14 seasons, reached the finals nine times and won the 1972 championship. He is the only MVP of a finals playing for the losing team. After retiring, he became one of the most successful executives in NBA history.
- Earving ‘Magic’ Johnson (32). The second candidate to be the best purple and gold in history. He changed the fortunes of the franchise in 1979 and was the great on-court driver of the Showtime. He played 12 seasons until 1991, when he had to retire affected by the HIV virus. He returned briefly for the 95-96 season to round off his 906 games and five championship rings.
- James Worthy (42). Another of the great stars of the golden era of ‘Showtime’. The power forward joined the Lakers as the number one draft pick and retired there in 1994. He played a total of 926 games, winning three rings.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32). One of the best players in history, his ‘Sky Hook’ is a world sporting heritage. He came from Milwaukee to the Lakers in 1975 and played 14 seasons, 1,019 games and won five championship rings to add to the one he won with the Bucks.
- Shaquille O’Neal (34). He arrived in Los Angeles in 1996 and reigned with an iron fist in the early years of the new century. Three consecutive rings in 2000, 2001 and 2002 with MVP awards in the finals. He played 514 games before leaving for Miami in 2004.
- George Mikan (99). The first great ‘Laker’ myth and the last to have his jersey retired before Pau. He only played during the Minneapolis era, inaugurating the NBA as a united league in 1948. He played seven seasons in which he won five championships.
- Pau Gasol (16). The Spaniard has the honor of being the last player whose jersey was retired by the Lakers, in recognition of the mark he left on the team and the titles he won.
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