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Lakers jersey history No. 4 — Luke Walton
Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary.
As the Lakers approach their 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years.
Here's a look at Luke Walton, a forward who played for the Lakers during a good chunk of the Kobe Bryant era.
Walton, the son of Hall of Famer Bill Walton, played four seasons of college basketball at the University of Arizona under legendary coach Lute Olson and earned two straight first-team All-Pac 10 selections. The Lakers took him in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft after his senior season with the Wildcats.
The 6-foot-8 forward lacked the ability to score and was relatively unathletic by NBA standards. But he found his place within Lakers coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense, and he became adept at facilitating the offense and setting up the correct sequences.
During his rookie season, the team reached the NBA Finals, and although it lost there in five games to the Detroit Pistons, he made a definite contribution in Game 2 with seven points, eight assists, five rebounds and two blocks. Los Angeles won that game in overtime, 99-91.
The younger Walton stuck around long enough to win back-to-back championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010. His tenure with them came to an end late in the 2011-12 season when they traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He remained a member of the Cavs until the end of the following season.
He later became an assistant coach of the Golden State Warriors during the 2014-15 campaign. Two years later, the Lakers brought him back as their head coach, a post he held until he left at the end of the 2018-19 season. The younger Walton then spent two seasons and change as the Sacramento Kings' head coach.
