Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary.

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.

Let’s take a look at Robert Horry, a key member of the Lakers during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Horry was the No. 11 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. The 6-foot-10 forward quickly became a key member of the Rockets teams that won back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995 thanks to his interior defense, passing and clutch 3-point shooting.

He was traded to the Lakers during the 1996-97 season for Cedric Ceballos, a former All-Star who had fallen into the Lakers’ doghouse. In Horry’s early years in L.A., his offensive productivity dipped, and some wondered what had happened to his once-magical shooting touch.

But as Kobe Bryant matured into the second superstar Shaquille O’Neal needed and the Lakers started winning championships, Horry started to hit again from downtown during crucial moments. He hit a key 3-pointer during their comeback in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals versus the Portland Trail Blazers, and he knocked down some key shots in that year’s NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

Horry connected on the game-clinching trey in Game 3 of the 2001 NBA Finals, and in arguably the greatest moment of his career, he hit the buzzer-beating 3-pointer that tied the 2002 West finals against the Kings at two games apiece. By now, he had become known as “Big Shot Rob” for his cool, uncanny ability to come through under pressure.

The forward left the Lakers in free agency in 2003 and joined the San Antonio Spurs, where he spent the final five seasons of his career. He earned two more rings there, giving him a total of seven, including three in a row with Los Angeles.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 5 — Robert Horry