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.

We will now take a look at Benoit Benjamin, a center who had a brief stint with the Purple and Gold.

Benjamin had a reasonably successful three-year stint at Creighton University, where he averaged 21.5 points and 14.1 rebounds as a junior. He was the No. 3 pick in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, and the seven-footer initially showed some promise. In his fourth season in the NBA, he registered 16.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.

However, that would be his peak, and he would soon be called a draft bust. He was often accused of lacking dedication and a positive attitude, and in 1988, Dick Vitale, the well-known basketball color commentator, went off on Benjamin.

“He has a double zero on his back, but he should add another zero. I give him a zero for his offensive attitude, a zero for his defensive attitude, and a zero for his mental attitude … he’s an absolute, flat-out disgrace to everyone that’s ever worn a basketball uniform.”

Benjamin was traded to the Lakers midway through the 1992-93 season, along with rookie wing Doug Christie, for Sam Perkins. The trade came shortly after Magic Johnson’s second retirement, and then-Lakers general manager Jerry West didn’t necessarily make the deal to improve the team — he did it to trigger a long-term rebuilding project and get out of Perkins’ big contract.

Benjamin did little of note with the Lakers. In 28 regular-season games with them, he mustered just 4.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 10.9 minutes a game. They ended up trading him in June 1993 to the New Jersey Nets for Sam Bowie, another once-heralded center who turned into a bust, and a future second-round draft pick.

He would spend seven more seasons, most of which were unproductive, before his NBA career ended. He did return to the Lakers as a free agent in September 1999, but they waived him a month later, and he didn’t appear in any regular-season games for them that year.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 00 — Benoit Benjamin