Last Updated on August 7, 2026 by Mat Diekhake
League Search Page > NBA > Los Angeles Lakers > Roster & Statistics
The 1956–57 Los Angeles Lakers were led by Clyde Lovellette, who served as the team’s primary scoring option while also providing a strong presence on the boards. Slater Martin directed the offense as the chief playmaker, and Vern Mikkelsen contributed balanced scoring and rebounding in the frontcourt. The Lakers relied on experienced veterans, combining interior production with steady ball movement, though much of their overall output was concentrated among their established core players.
Roster
| No. | Player | Pos | Height | Weight | Birthdate | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Clyde Lovellette | C | 6’9″ | 234 lbs | Sept 7, 1929 | Kansas |
| 19 | Vern Mikkelsen | F | 6’7″ | 230 lbs | Oct 21, 1928 | Hamline |
| 17 | Jim Pollard | F | 6’4″ | 185 lbs | July 9, 1922 | Stanford |
| 20 | Slater Martin | G | 5’10” | 170 lbs | Oct 22, 1925 | Texas |
| 22 | Chuck Mencel | G | 6’0″ | 180 lbs | Aug 10, 1933 | Minnesota |
| 14 | Walter Dukes | C | 7’0″ | 230 lbs | June 23, 1930 | Seton Hall |
| 15 | Whitey Skoog | G | 5’11” | 180 lbs | Nov 2, 1926 | Minnesota |
| — | Bob Schafer | G | 6’3″ | 185 lbs | Mar 18, 1933 | Villanova |
| — | Ed Kalafat | F | 6’6″ | 245 lbs | Oct 13, 1932 | Minnesota |
Regular Season Per Game
| Player | Pos | Age | G | GS | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde Lovellette | C | 27 | 69 | 69 | 36.1 | 20.8 | 13.5 | 2.0 | – | – | – | 19.5 | .426 | – | – | 5.8 | .717 |
| Dick Garmaker | SG | 24 | 72 | 72 | 33.4 | 16.3 | 4.7 | 2.6 | – | – | – | 14.1 | .400 | – | – | 6.0 | .839 |
| Vern Mikkelsen | PF | 28 | 72 | 72 | 30.5 | 13.7 | 8.8 | 1.7 | – | – | – | 11.9 | .377 | – | – | 5.9 | .807 |
| Whitey Skoog | SG | 30 | 23 | 23 | 28.5 | 8.7 | 3.1 | 3.3 | – | – | – | 9.6 | .355 | – | – | 2.0 | .936 |
| Slick Leonard | PG | 24 | 72 | 72 | 27.0 | 11.0 | 3.1 | 2.3 | – | – | – | 12.0 | .349 | – | – | 3.3 | .772 |
| Walter Dukes | C | 26 | 71 | 71 | 26.3 | 10.1 | 11.2 | 0.8 | – | – | – | 8.8 | .364 | – | – | 5.4 | .689 |
| Chuck Mencel | PG | 23 | 72 | 72 | 25.7 | 9.2 | 3.3 | 2.8 | – | – | – | 9.6 | .353 | – | – | 3.3 | .746 |
| Ed Kalafat | SF | 24 | 65 | 65 | 24.9 | 8.5 | 6.5 | 1.6 | – | – | – | 7.8 | .351 | – | – | 4.6 | .661 |
| Jim Paxson | SF | 24 | 71 | 71 | 17.9 | 6.3 | 3.7 | 1.2 | – | – | – | 6.8 | .285 | – | – | 3.3 | .720 |
| Dick Schnittker | SF | 28 | 70 | 70 | 14.2 | 5.5 | 2.6 | 0.7 | – | – | – | 5.0 | .322 | – | – | 2.8 | .829 |
| Bob Williams | – | 25 | 4 | 4 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.0 | – | – | – | 1.0 | .250 | – | – | 0.8 | .667 |
| Team Totals | – | – | 72 | – | 26.2 | 102.3 | 63.6 | 16.6 | – | – | – | 35.9 | .371 | – | – | 40.3 | .757 |
Playoff Per Game
| Player | Pos | Age | G | GS | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slick Leonard | PG | 24 | 5 | 5 | 40.8 | 21.4 | 6.0 | 7.6 | – | – | – | 20.0 | .420 | – | – | 5.2 | .885 |
| Dick Garmaker | SG | 24 | 5 | 5 | 37.4 | 13.0 | 7.0 | 3.4 | – | – | – | 13.8 | .275 | – | – | 6.4 | .844 |
| Clyde Lovellette | C | 27 | 5 | 5 | 36.2 | 24.2 | 9.4 | 2.2 | – | – | – | 23.6 | .432 | – | – | 5.2 | .731 |
| Walter Dukes | C | 26 | 5 | 5 | 35.4 | 13.6 | 14.8 | 1.0 | – | – | – | 11.4 | .421 | – | – | 5.4 | .741 |
| Vern Mikkelsen | PF | 28 | 5 | 5 | 32.4 | 17.6 | 8.6 | 3.4 | – | – | – | 16.6 | .398 | – | – | 6.8 | .647 |
| Ed Kalafat | SF | 24 | 5 | 5 | 20.8 | 12.6 | 4.8 | 1.8 | – | – | – | 7.2 | .583 | – | – | 6.2 | .677 |
| Chuck Mencel | PG | 23 | 5 | 5 | 19.6 | 5.0 | 2.6 | 1.2 | – | – | – | 7.2 | .250 | – | – | 1.8 | .778 |
| Dick Schnittker | SF | 28 | 5 | 5 | 16.6 | 5.4 | 2.4 | 1.6 | – | – | – | 4.2 | .286 | – | – | 3.4 | .882 |
| Jim Paxson | SF | 24 | 5 | 5 | 10.8 | 5.0 | 2.8 | 0.6 | – | – | – | 5.4 | .333 | – | – | 2.8 | .500 |
| Team Totals | – | – | 5 | – | 250.0 | 117.8 | 66.8 | 22.8 | – | – | – | 109.4 | .391 | – | – | 43.2 | .745 |
Regular Season Totals
| Player | Pos | Age | GP | GS | Min | Pts | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | FGA | FGM | 3PA | 3PM | FTA | FTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde Lovellette | C | 27 | 69 | 69 | 2492 | 1434 | 932 | 139 | – | – | – | 1348 | 574 | – | – | 399 | 286 |
| Dick Garmaker | SG | 24 | 72 | 72 | 2406 | 1177 | 336 | 190 | – | – | – | 1015 | 406 | – | – | 435 | 365 |
| Vern Mikkelsen | PF | 28 | 72 | 72 | 2198 | 986 | 630 | 121 | – | – | – | 854 | 322 | – | – | 424 | 342 |
| Slick Leonard | PG | 24 | 72 | 72 | 1943 | 792 | 220 | 169 | – | – | – | 867 | 303 | – | – | 241 | 186 |
| Walter Dukes | C | 26 | 71 | 71 | 1866 | 720 | 794 | 54 | – | – | – | 626 | 228 | – | – | 383 | 264 |
| Chuck Mencel | PG | 23 | 72 | 72 | 1848 | 665 | 237 | 201 | – | – | – | 688 | 243 | – | – | 240 | 179 |
| Ed Kalafat | SF | 24 | 65 | 65 | 1617 | 553 | 425 | 105 | – | – | – | 507 | 178 | – | – | 298 | 197 |
| Jim Paxson | SF | 24 | 71 | 71 | 1274 | 446 | 266 | 86 | – | – | – | 485 | 138 | – | – | 236 | 170 |
| Dick Schnittker | SF | 28 | 70 | 70 | 997 | 386 | 185 | 52 | – | – | – | 351 | 113 | – | – | 193 | 160 |
| Whitey Skoog | SG | 30 | 23 | 23 | 656 | 200 | 72 | 76 | – | – | – | 220 | 78 | – | – | 47 | 44 |
| Bob Williams | – | 25 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 1 | – | – | 3 | 2 |
| Team Totals | – | – | 72 | – | 17317 | 7363 | 4102 | 1193 | – | – | – | 6965 | 2584 | – | – | 2899 | 2195 |
Playoff Totals
| Player | Pos | Age | GP | GS | Min | Pts | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | FGA | FGM | 3PA | 3PM | FTA | FTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slick Leonard | PG | 24 | 5 | 5 | 204 | 107 | 30 | 38 | – | – | – | 100 | 42 | – | – | 26 | 23 |
| Dick Garmaker | SG | 24 | 5 | 5 | 187 | 65 | 35 | 17 | – | – | – | 69 | 19 | – | – | 32 | 27 |
| Clyde Lovellette | C | 27 | 5 | 5 | 181 | 121 | 47 | 11 | – | – | – | 118 | 51 | – | – | 26 | 19 |
| Walter Dukes | C | 26 | 5 | 5 | 177 | 68 | 74 | 5 | – | – | – | 57 | 24 | – | – | 27 | 20 |
| Vern Mikkelsen | PF | 28 | 5 | 5 | 162 | 88 | 43 | 17 | – | – | – | 83 | 33 | – | – | 34 | 22 |
| Ed Kalafat | SF | 24 | 5 | 5 | 104 | 63 | 24 | 9 | – | – | – | 36 | 21 | – | – | 31 | 21 |
| Chuck Mencel | PG | 23 | 5 | 5 | 98 | 25 | 13 | 6 | – | – | – | 36 | 9 | – | – | 9 | 7 |
| Dick Schnittker | SF | 28 | 5 | 5 | 83 | 27 | 12 | 8 | – | – | – | 21 | 6 | – | – | 17 | 15 |
| Jim Paxson | SF | 24 | 5 | 5 | 54 | 25 | 14 | 3 | – | – | – | 27 | 9 | – | – | 14 | 7 |
| Team Totals | – | – | 5 | – | 1250 | 589 | 292 | 114 | – | – | – | 547 | 214 | – | – | 216 | 161 |
HeatingUp Impact Index: Team Impact Spotlight
| Player Name | Role Tier | MPG | Usage Tier | PPG | RPG | APG | STK (SPG+BPG) | Impact Index* | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde Lovellette | Primary Interior Anchor | 36.1 | High Scoring Hub | 20.8 | 13.5 | 2.0 | N/A | 18.15 | All-Star |
| Dick Garmaker | Premier Wing Scorer | 33.4 | High Secondary Scorer | 16.3 | 4.7 | 2.6 | N/A | 11.80 | All-Star, All-NBA |
| Vern Mikkelsen | Two-Way Enforcer | 30.5 | Balanced | 13.7 | 8.8 | 1.7 | N/A | 12.10 | All-Star |
| Whitey Skoog | Secondary Creator | 28.5 | Medium Facilitation | 8.7 | 3.1 | 3.3 | N/A | 7.55 | — |
| Slick Leonard | Primary Ballhandler | 27.0 | Medium Creator | 11.0 | 3.1 | 2.3 | N/A | 8.20 | — |
| Walter Dukes | Defensive Rebound Specialist | 26.3 | Low Usage Big | 10.1 | 11.2 | 0.8 | N/A | 11.05 | — |
| Chuck Mencel | Support Guard | 25.7 | Secondary Ballhandler | 9.2 | 3.3 | 2.8 | N/A | 7.65 | — |
| Ed Kalafat | Rotational Forward | 24.9 | Depth/Role Player | 8.5 | 6.5 | 1.6 | N/A | 8.30 | — |
| Jim Paxson | Depth Wing | 17.9 | Bench Scorer | 6.3 | 3.7 | 1.2 | N/A | 5.60 | — |
| Dick Schnittker | Veteran Shooter | 14.2 | Spot-Up Usage | 5.5 | 2.6 | 0.7 | N/A | 4.40 | — |
| Bob Williams | End-of-Bench Big | 5.0 | Minimal | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.0 | N/A | 1.15 | — |
| TEAM TOTALS | — | 26.2 | — | 102.3 | 63.6 | 16.6 | N/A | 91.25 | Totals provided by user |