Ever since the late 1990s, Gonzaga University has been a heavyweight when it comes to men's college basketball. It has appeared in every NCAA Tournament since 1999, and it reached the national championship game in 2017 and 2021, only to lose there on both occasions.
For a long time, Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton was the only notable NBA player who had played for the Bulldogs. But in recent years, Brandon Clarke, Chet Holmgren, Andrew Nembhard, Corey Kispert, Kelly Olynyk, Domantas Sabonis and former Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura entered the league after playing at Gonzaga University.
The Lakers have taken five Gonzaga University products in the NBA draft. Here is a look at each of them.
Jean-Claude Lefebvre -- center
Lefebvre played two years with the Bulldogs
and averaged 12.1 points and 8.2 rebounds a game while there. The Lakers took him in the ninth round of the 1960 draft, and in doing so, they made him the first French player taken in the NBA draft.
He never played in the NBA, instead opting to play pro basketball back in his native France.
Frank Burgess -- guard
Burgess averaged 28.2 points and 7.6 rebounds a game in three years at Gonzaga University and led the nation in scoring in 1961 by averaging 32.4 points per game. The Lakers took him in the third round of the draft that same year.
Instead of playing in the NBA, he joined the rival American Basketball League and suited up for the Hawaii Chiefs. Afterward, Burgess ended up going back to Gonzaga University to attend law school, and he became a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington from 1994 to 2005.
Paul Rogers -- center
In three years with the Bulldogs, Rogers registered 13.1 points and 6.7 rebounds a contest. After the Lakers took him in the second round of the 1997 draft, he spent 12 seasons in Australia's National Basketball League, where he won a league MVP award and two championships.
Ronny Turiaf -- power forward/center
The Lakers selected Turiaf in the second round of the 2005 draft after he put up 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds a game in four years with the Bulldogs. Shortly after he was drafted, an enlarged aortic root was discovered in his heart, and he underwent open-heart surgery as a result.
He overcame that ailment and started playing with the Lakers just six months after having his procedure. He was with them for three seasons and lasted 10 seasons overall in the NBA, averaging 4.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 17 minutes a game for his career.
Robert Sacre -- center
In five years with the Bulldogs, Sacre averaged 9.3 points and five rebounds a game. After he was a second-round draft choice in 2012, he played four seasons in the NBA, all of them with the Lakers, and averaged 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Every Gonzaga University player drafted by the Lakers
