The Lakers will play the Houston Rockets at Staples Center to kick off the NBA season tonight. In light of this, we thought we’d share some humorous Dodger-Laker connections with you along with a few more Dodger-NBA connections.
Howie Schultz (first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers 1943–1947; power forward for the Minneapolis Lakers 1951–1953)
Nicknamed “Stretch,” the first baseman stood 6 feet 6 inches tall. 1944 was his greatest Dodgers season, batting.255 with 11 home runs and 83 RBI. Throughout his six-year Major League Baseball career, he hit.241 with 24 home runs in 470 games. Schultz participated in three NBA seasons and 104 games with the Lakers. Throughout his NBA career, he averaged 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Lee Pfund, the father of former Lakers head coach Randy Pfund, was a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945.
Pfund played in 15 games in the major leagues, all with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. During that season, he pitched 62 1/3 innings and had a 5.20 ERA, going 3–2. Pfund was acquired by the Dodgers in the 1944 Rule 5 Draft after being originally signed by the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1950, he made his final appearance for the Dodgers A-ball affiliate in Pueblo. Baseball Almanac lists him as the 15th oldest living Major Leaguer at 95 years old. Randy Pfund served as the Lakers’ head coach for the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons after serving as Pat Riley and Mike Dunleavy’s assistant coach for seven seasons. With 16 games left in the 1993–94 season, Pfund was fired, and Magic Johnson assumed the position of head coach.
Bill Sharman, a 1950–55 Brooklyn Dodgers farmhand and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, is regarded as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
The first sentence of Sharman’s bio on NBA.com reads, “Arguably the greatest shooter of his era.” Prior to joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950 and getting selected by the Washington Capitals in the same year, Sharman was a two-sport standout at USC. He ended his professional baseball career in 1955 with Brooklyn’s Triple-A farm team in St. Paul, but he was never able to make it to the major leagues. The third baseman and outfielder played in 133 games that season, batting.292 with 11 home runs and 58 RBI. Sharman was an eight-time All-Star, an 11-year NBA player (10 with the Boston Celtics), and a four-time NBA champion. From 1971 to 1976, he led the Lakers as their head coach and helped them win the NBA championship in 1972. With 33 games remaining, the team still has the longest winning run in NBA history. On October 25, 2013, Sharman passed away at the age of 87.
Tommy Hawkins, an NBA player for ten seasons, six with the Lakers, was formerly
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