Sports
I won four NBA titles and played on Magic-Kareem Lakers team – it was nice to win rings after without the s… – The US Sun
A CERTIFIED legend of the game, one NBA Hall of Famer has opened up on starring alongside some of the all-time greats.
Jamaal Wilkes, 70, is a true legend of the Los Angeles Lakers.
A member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame, Wilkes was a stud during his time at UCLA.
As a member of the Bruins, he won two NCAA titles and was named a Consensus All-American twice.
Subsequently picked eleventh overall in the 1974 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, Wilkes went on to be named the NBA's Rookie of the Year after helping lead the Warriors to a Finals win over the Washington Bullets.
After three seasons with the Warriors, Wilkes headed for the Showtime Lakers where he joined forces with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and two seasons later, Magic Johnson.
He wound up spending eight years in LA, winning another three NBA titles.
But despite his success, Wilkes wasn't the star of the show on a loaded Lakers team.
However, according to an interview with Sporting News in 2015, this didn't bother the three-time All-Star.
"It would be nice to be the leading scorer and the All-Star every year and considered for MVP every year," Wilkes admitted.
"But it was even better to win championships. And for me, that was, what helped me not only accept but thrive in those systems.
"And the players always appreciated me. The organizations always appreciated me. The fans always appreciated.
"And I wanted to be known as a winner first, and then worry about the individual accolades. And don't misunderstand me; I wanted them. I strived for them. But I wanted to win first."
Wilkes went on to play one more year, this time with the LA Clippers, before calling it a career.
Despite his departure from the Lakers, they continued to succeed, winning another two titles.
Not that Wilkes was bitter, rather he seemed to be happy for his former teammates.
"I was pretty physically burnt out, and I knew James Worthy was a great young player," he explained.
"Byron Scott came in for Norm Nixon. I had mentored him and schooled him.
"But I didn't, quite frankly, see Magic evolving to the extent that he did. He took it up another notch or two, and he was already at a very high level.
"I thought they would do well, but any time you have a great organization with a great team and a great foundation, anything can happen. And I was happy for them."
Wilkes' number wound up being retired by both the Bruins and the Lakers.
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