Lakers jersey history No. 5/No. 3 — Josh Hart

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.Let's take a look at a player whom Lakers fans fondly remember from not that long ago -- Josh Hart.Hart played four seasons of college basketball at Villanova University, and by the 2015-16 season, his junior season there, Villanova had assembled a scary roster that included Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo.

It won the national championship that season, and the following year, Hart took home the Big East Player of the Year award.The Utah Jazz took him with the No.

30 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

The Lakers acquired his draft rights along with center Thomas Bryant in return for Tony Bradley, and it turned out to be a deft move for them.Hart spent his first two NBA seasons with the Lakers, and he averaged 7.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.4 minutes a game during that time.

He started to establish himself as the type of multi-faceted role player who would do whatever a team needs him to do.He can score, handle the ball in the open court, hit from 3-point range when needed and defend at an above-average level.

Despite being a 6-foot-4 guard, he also demonstrated the ability to grab rebounds in bunches.Hart was sent to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019 in the deal that brought Los Angeles Anthony Davis.

Midway through the 2022-23 season, he was traded to the New York Knicks, a long-derided franchise that was finally starting to build a winning roster.As the Knicks started to become a power and gain the type of real respect they had lacked in decades, Hart raised his game.

This past season, he started in each of his 77 games and averaged 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 steals a game and helped them reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000.His heart (no pun intended), grit, resolve and resourcefulness seem to typify a Knicks team that could have a real shot of winning its first NBA championship since 1973.

There is no doubt that Lakers fans would welcome him back with open arms in an instant, but at least for the time being, he has found a definite home in the Big Apple.This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No.

5/No.

3 Josh Hart.

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