Devean George's stats

Forward, #3

• Born Aug. 29, 1977
• Attended Augsburg
• Coached by Frank Hamblen, Phil Jackson, Rudy Tomjanovich

Drafted by the Lakers in 1999, Devean George enjoyed immediate NBA success, winning three league championships in his first three seasons with the team.

But George got more than just three rings out of his seven years in purple and gold.

"There’s a lot of good memories," George said in The Times upon signing with the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent after the 2006 season. "The winning and the locker room with the guys, us joking with each other and laughing."

The championship run from 2000-02, he said, was "gravy on top of the mashed potatoes."

A backup for most of his time in L.A., the 6-foot-8 forward had his best season in 2003-04, when he started 42 games in place of the injured Rick Fox and achieved career-bests in points (7.4), rebounds (4.0) and assists (1.4).

George also started in 19 of 22 playoff games that season, when the Lakers won another Western Conference title before falling to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals. He had a career playoff high in Game 5 of the conference semifinals, a 74-73 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.