Johnny Egan

Seasons

Season G PPG RPG NBA
Title
1968-69 (#21) 82 8.5 1.8
1969-70 72 7.3 1.4

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Guard, #21

 

While he wasn’t the highest profile player to join the Lakers during the 1968 off-season (Wilt Chamberlain came aboard the same year), seven-year NBA veteran Johnny Egan also had an impact during the team’s run to the 1969 NBA Finals.

Acquired by trade from the Milwaukee Bucks, Egan was the only Laker to play all 82 games that season and had the second-highest point total of his 11-year career (696 points, 8.5 a game). His productivity increased during the playoffs, as his 13.9 points per game tied Chamberlain for third best on the team. Egan also had 3.9 assists per game, third best on the team.

The Lakers returned to the NBA Finals in 1970, but Egan was not as effective. He played in 10 fewer games during the regular season, and his scoring average dipped to 7.3. In the playoffs, Egan averaged 3.5 points and 1.4 assists in 16 games.

Egan’s career as a Laker ended when he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1970 expansion draft. He would later serve as head coach of the Houston Rockets from 1973-76.

— Chuck Schilken
Feb. 12, 2011