Much of the focus for the Lakers dynasty of the early-2000s was on the star players, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, and rightfully so. However, none of those championships happen without big plays from the team’s excellent role players like Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Brian Shaw, and Rick Fox.
Of all of the role players, Fox tends to slip through the cracks for some reason. He was a lockdown defender, one of the team’s true enforcers, and a reliable shooter. And even though Shaq didn’t want to admit it at first, Fox was viewed as the inspirational, vocal leader for the team.