| 13 October 2011
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GEORGE LYNCH Position: Small Forward Height: 6' 8" Weight: 218 lbs. Jersey Numbers: 24, 30, 34 College: University of North Carolina Seasons with Lakers: 1993-96 Averages as a Laker: 46.9% FG / 15% 3Pts. / 66% FTs / 6.5 PPG / 4 RPG / 1.07 AST / 1 STL / .2 BLK / 1 TO / 1.8 PF / 18.4 MPG |
A promising young player that has the potential to be a star in the NBA, right? Not quite, unfortunately.
While Lynch had a good rookie season (9.6 PPG/5.8 RPG/50.8% FG), he never learned to adapt being a role player coming off the bench nor take having his minutes reduced in 1994 and 1995 to be a more efficient player. Instead, he publicly took a shot at the Lakers after getting traded (along with Anthony Peeler) to the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1996 to free up more money to sign Shaquille O'Neal. Lynch stated during an interview that the Lakers will always start hot in the season but will ultimately fold in the playoffs.
The Lakers were eliminated by the Utah Jazz in the 2nd round of the playoffs, 4-1, in Shaq's first year with the team.
Attitude wasn't the only reason why the Lakers got rid of the former Tarheel standout. Lynch was a poor mid-range and free-throw shooter who relied too much on his offensive rebounding to score instead of spending the summers working on his shooting stroke and post-up game. After averaging starter-like numbers in his first season, his production fell off significantly to 6.1 PPG and 3.3 RPG in '94 and 3.8 PPG and 2.8 RPG the following year.
Lynch spent 12 seasons in the NBA and also played for Philadelphia, Charlotte and New Orleans. He was a member of the 76ers team that the Lakers defeated to win their 2nd of 3 title in the 2001 Finals. He retired in 2005.
Then in 2006, Lynch became a staff for the United Methodist University under former Tarheel teammate Matt Doherty. He's currently their administrative assistant/graduate manager.
