Last Updated on August 7, 2026 by Mat Diekhake
League Search Page > NBA > Los Angeles Lakers > Roster & Statistics
The 1978–79 Los Angeles Lakers relied on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s dominant interior scoring, rebounding, and rim protection, while Norm Nixon orchestrated the offense as the primary playmaker and Jamaal Wilkes supplied efficient wing scoring. Adrian Dantley added another potent scoring option, giving the team balanced offensive production. Excellent shooting efficiency, strong rebounding, and unselfish ball movement defined a well-rounded attack built around an elite frontcourt presence.
Roster
| No. | Player | Pos | Height | Weight | Birthdate | College/From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Davis | G | 6’3″ | 180 lb | Dec 17, 1955 | Maryland |
| 11 | Ollie Johnson | F | 6’6″ | 200 lb | May 11, 1949 | Temple |
| 15 | Don Chaney | G | 6’5″ | 210 lb | Mar 22, 1946 | Houston |
| 20 | Ron Boone | G | 6’2″ | 200 lb | Sep 6, 1946 | Idaho State |
| 21 | Norm Nixon | G | 6’2″ | 185 lb | Oct 11, 1955 | Duquesne |
| 25 | Kenny Carr | F | 6’7″ | 220 lb | Aug 15, 1955 | NC State |
| 30 | Jim Chones | C | 6’11” | 220 lb | Nov 30, 1949 | Marquette |
| 31 | Jamaal Wilkes | F | 6’6″ | 190 lb | May 2, 1953 | UCLA |
| 32 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | C | 7’2″ | 225 lb | Apr 16, 1947 | UCLA |
| 33 | Earl Tatum | G/F | 6’4″ | 185 lb | Jul 26, 1953 | Marquette |
| 40 | Don Ford | F | 6’9″ | 215 lb | Dec 31, 1952 | UC Santa Barbara |
Regular Season Per Game
| Player | Pos | Age | G | GS | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | C | 31 | 80 | 0 | 39.5 | 23.8 | 12.8 | 5.4 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 16.8 | .577 | — | — | 5.9 | .736 |
| Norm Nixon | PG | 23 | 82 | 82 | 38.4 | 17.1 | 2.8 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 14.0 | .542 | — | — | 2.5 | .775 |
| Jamaal Wilkes | SF | 25 | 82 | 82 | 35.5 | 18.6 | 7.4 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 15.1 | .504 | — | — | 4.4 | .751 |
| Adrian Dantley | SF | 23 | 60 | 0 | 29.6 | 17.3 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 12.2 | .510 | — | — | 5.7 | .854 |
| Lou Hudson | SG | 34 | 78 | 0 | 21.6 | 9.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 8.2 | .517 | — | — | 1.6 | .887 |
| Don Ford | PF | 26 | 79 | 0 | 19.5 | 6.7 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 5.7 | .507 | — | — | 1.1 | .809 |
| Ron Boone | SG | 32 | 82 | 0 | 19.3 | 7.4 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 6.9 | .455 | — | — | 1.3 | .865 |
| Jim Price | PG | 29 | 75 | 0 | 16.1 | 5.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 4.6 | .497 | — | — | 1.1 | .696 |
| Kenny Carr | PF | 23 | 72 | 0 | 16.0 | 7.4 | 4.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 6.3 | .500 | — | — | 1.9 | .606 |
| Dave Robisch | C | 29 | 80 | 0 | 15.2 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 4.2 | .446 | — | — | 1.4 | .748 |
| Brad Davis | PG | 23 | 5 | 0 | 13.0 | 3.8 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 2.2 | .727 | — | — | 0.8 | .750 |
| Ron Carter | SG | 22 | 46 | 0 | 7.2 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 2.7 | .435 | — | — | 1.2 | .667 |
| Michael Cooper | SG | 22 | 3 | 0 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.0 | .500 | — | — | 0.0 | — |
| Team Totals | — | — | 82 | 82 | 241.2 | 112.9 | 42.8 | 28.5 | 9.7 | 6.1 | 19.1 | 90.2 | .517 | 25.5 | .769 | 25.5 | .769 |
Playoff Per Game
| Player | Pos | Age | G | GS | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | C | 31 | 8 | 0 | 45.9 | 28.5 | 12.6 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 19.0 | .579 | — | — | 7.8 | .839 |
| Norm Nixon | PG | 23 | 8 | 8 | 40.9 | 15.4 | 3.5 | 11.8 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 14.9 | .471 | — | — | 1.9 | .733 |
| Jamaal Wilkes | SF | 25 | 8 | 0 | 38.4 | 18.4 | 8.5 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 16.0 | .477 | — | — | 4.6 | .676 |
| Adrian Dantley | SF | 23 | 8 | 0 | 29.5 | 17.6 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 11.1 | .562 | — | — | 6.5 | .788 |
| Ron Boone | SG | 32 | 8 | 0 | 28.3 | 11.8 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 9.6 | .481 | — | — | 2.6 | .952 |
| Don Ford | PF | 26 | 8 | 0 | 17.3 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 3.8 | .533 | — | — | 0.4 | .333 |
| Jim Price | PG | 29 | 8 | 0 | 16.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.8 | .300 | — | — | 0.5 | .500 |
| Lou Hudson | SG | 34 | 6 | 0 | 15.0 | 6.3 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 5.3 | .531 | — | — | 0.7 | 1.000 |
| Kenny Carr | PF | 23 | 8 | 0 | 14.6 | 5.4 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 4.4 | .543 | — | — | 1.0 | .625 |
| Dave Robisch | C | 29 | 5 | 0 | 6.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.0 | .600 | — | — | 0.4 | 1.000 |
| Ron Carter | SG | 22 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | .000 | — | — | 0.0 | — |
| Team Totals | — | — | 8 | 8 | 246.3 | 109.4 | 38.3 | 26.5 | 7.8 | 5.0 | 16.8 | 87.3 | .510 | 26.0 | .784 | 26.0 | .784 |
Regular Season Totals
| Player | Pos | Age | G | GS | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FGA | FGM | 3PA | 3PM | FTA | FTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | C | 31 | 80 | 0 | 3157 | 1903 | 1025 | 431 | 76 | 316 | 282 | 1347 | 777 | — | — | 474 | 349 |
| Norm Nixon | PG | 23 | 82 | 82 | 3145 | 1404 | 231 | 737 | 201 | 17 | 231 | 1149 | 623 | — | — | 204 | 158 |
| Jamaal Wilkes | SF | 25 | 82 | 82 | 2915 | 1524 | 609 | 227 | 134 | 27 | 224 | 1242 | 626 | — | — | 362 | 272 |
| Adrian Dantley | SF | 23 | 60 | 0 | 1775 | 1040 | 342 | 138 | 63 | 12 | 155 | 733 | 374 | — | — | 342 | 292 |
| Lou Hudson | SG | 34 | 78 | 0 | 1686 | 768 | 140 | 141 | 58 | 17 | 99 | 636 | 329 | — | — | 124 | 110 |
| Ron Boone | SG | 32 | 82 | 0 | 1583 | 608 | 145 | 154 | 66 | 11 | 147 | 569 | 259 | — | — | 104 | 90 |
| Don Ford | PF | 26 | 79 | 0 | 1540 | 528 | 268 | 101 | 51 | 25 | 93 | 450 | 228 | — | — | 89 | 72 |
| Dave Robisch | C | 29 | 80 | 0 | 1219 | 386 | 285 | 97 | 20 | 25 | 53 | 336 | 150 | — | — | 115 | 86 |
| Jim Price | PG | 29 | 75 | 0 | 1207 | 397 | 123 | 218 | 66 | 12 | 100 | 344 | 171 | — | — | 79 | 55 |
| Kenny Carr | PF | 23 | 72 | 0 | 1149 | 533 | 292 | 60 | 38 | 31 | 116 | 450 | 225 | — | — | 137 | 83 |
| Ron Carter | SG | 22 | 46 | 0 | 332 | 144 | 45 | 25 | 17 | 7 | 40 | 124 | 54 | — | — | 54 | 36 |
| Brad Davis | PG | 23 | 5 | 0 | 65 | 19 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 8 | — | — | 4 | 3 |
| Michael Cooper | SG | 22 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | — | — | 82 | 82 | 19780 | 9260 | 3506 | 2338 | 793 | 500 | 1547 | 7397 | 3827 | 100 | 20 | 2088 | 1606 |
Playoff Totals
| Player | Pos | Age | G | GS | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FGA | FGM | 3PA | 3PM | FTA | FTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | C | 31 | 8 | 0 | 367 | 228 | 101 | 38 | 8 | 33 | 29 | 152 | 88 | — | — | 62 | 52 |
| Norm Nixon | PG | 23 | 8 | 0 | 327 | 123 | 28 | 94 | 11 | 0 | 24 | 119 | 56 | — | — | 15 | 11 |
| Jamaal Wilkes | SF | 25 | 8 | 0 | 307 | 147 | 68 | 16 | 15 | 2 | 15 | 128 | 61 | — | — | 37 | 25 |
| Adrian Dantley | SF | 23 | 8 | 0 | 236 | 141 | 33 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 19 | 89 | 50 | — | — | 52 | 41 |
| Ron Boone | SG | 32 | 8 | 0 | 226 | 94 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 77 | 37 | — | — | 21 | 20 |
| Don Ford | PF | 26 | 8 | 0 | 138 | 33 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 30 | 16 | — | — | 3 | 1 |
| Jim Price | PG | 29 | 8 | 0 | 128 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 30 | 9 | — | — | 4 | 2 |
| Kenny Carr | PF | 23 | 8 | 0 | 117 | 43 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 35 | 19 | — | — | 8 | 5 |
| Lou Hudson | SG | 34 | 6 | 0 | 90 | 38 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 32 | 17 | — | — | 4 | 4 |
| Dave Robisch | C | 29 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 3 | — | — | 2 | 2 |
| Ron Carter | SG | 22 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | — | — | 8 | 0 | 1970 | 875 | 306 | 212 | 62 | 40 | 132 | 698 | 356 | — | — | 208 | 163 |
HeatingUp Impact Index: Team Impact Spotlight
| Player Name | Role Tier | MPG | Usage Tier | PPG | RPG | APG | STK | Impact Index* | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Alpha Scorer / Anchor | 39.5 | High | 23.8 | 12.8 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 23.5 | Dominant two-way presence; MVP-level production; defensive anchor with elite rebounding. |
| Norm Nixon | Primary Facilitator | 38.4 | High | 17.1 | 2.8 | 9.0 | 2.7 | 16.8 | High assist load; playmaking engine; contributes modest defense; key driver of team offense. |
| Jamaal Wilkes | Secondary Scorer / Two-Way | 35.5 | Medium-High | 18.6 | 7.4 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 15.4 | Efficient scoring, solid rebounding for a wing; strong defensive contribution; versatile role. |
| Adrian Dantley | Scoring Specialist | 29.6 | Medium | 17.3 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 13.3 | Efficient scoring machine; limited defensive impact; growing all-around contributor. |
| Lou Hudson | Veteran Spot-Up / Scorer | 21.6 | Medium-Low | 9.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 6.7 | Provides scoring punch in limited minutes; veteran leadership; low defensive load. |
| Don Ford | Role Player / Energy | 19.5 | Low | 6.7 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 5.7 | Contributes energy, rebounds, and occasional scoring; solid role player. |
| Ron Boone | Veteran Glue / Shooter | 19.3 | Low | 7.4 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 5.5 | Floor spacing and steady minutes; minimal defensive impact; reliable scorer. |
| Jim Price | Backup Facilitator | 16.1 | Medium-Low | 5.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 5.5 | Solid backup PG; facilitates offense efficiently; minor defensive contributions. |
| Kenny Carr | Development PF | 16.0 | Low | 7.4 | 4.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 6.6 | Young player showing rebounding promise; defensive activity growing; scoring limited. |
| Dave Robisch | Backup C / Role Player | 15.2 | Low | 4.8 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 5.1 | Provides depth at center; modest scoring; defensive presence limited but active. |
| Brad Davis | Fringe Rotation | 13.0 | Low | 3.8 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 3.1 | Minimal impact; limited minutes; developmental PG. |
| Ron Carter | Spot Minutes / Development | 7.2 | Very Low | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 2.6 | Bench scorer; small sample; limited impact. |
| Michael Cooper | Very Limited Debut | 2.3 | Very Low | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.2 | Only appeared 3 games; negligible impact. |