Lakers jersey history No. 2 — Aaron McKie
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 Aaron McKie, a guard who briefly played for the Lakers during the mid-2000s.
McKie starred at Temple University and was a first-round draft pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1994. Midway through the 1997-98 season, the Detroit Pistons traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers, his hometown team.
There, he became a key part of that memorable 2001 squad that lost to the Lakers in five games in the NBA Finals. McKie averaged 11.6 points, 5.0 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals a game and was named the Sixth Man of the Year that season.
The Lakers then signed him as a free agent in the summer of 2005. He played 24 games for them over the next two years and averaged 1.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 10.5 minutes a game during that time.
Ultimately, McKie's only real contribution to the team was as salary ballast in the Pau Gasol trade in 2008. He wasn't on the team's roster that season, but then-executive Mitch Kupchak was able to convince him to sign a contract solely to facilitate the trade and make the numbers work.
He spent the next few years as an assistant coach with the Sixers before serving as an assistant at Temple University. He is now a special advisor to the athletics department at that school.
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