The Los Angeles Lakers teams of the mid-2000s, after the trade of Shaquille O’Neal, are mainly remembered solely for the ridiculous scoring outbursts of Kobe Bryant. On the other side of the spectrum from that era is starting point guard Smush Parker.
Parker spent two years with the Lakers, starting 162 of 164 games over that stretch. At the time, Parker had played just two seasons in the NBA and showed little to suggest that he was a starter in the league.
But here he was leading Phil Jackson’s triangle offense with many fans wondering how it happened.