Lakers jersey history No. 34 — Erwin Mueller

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.

During the Lakers' 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.

Erwin Mueller grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and spent three years on the varsity squad at the University of San Francisco, where he averaged 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds a game. After he was taken in the second round of the 1966 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls, he averaged 12.7 points and 6.2 rebounds in 26.7 minutes a game as a rookie and was named to the All-Rookie team.

Midway through the next season, he was traded to the Lakers. The 6-foot-8 big man appeared in 39 regular-season games with the Lakers that year and averaged 8.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in 24.9 minutes a game.

Los Angeles traded Mueller back to the Bulls during the 1968 offseason for Keith Erickson. He bounced around from team to team for the rest of his career, and he ended his pro career by spending the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Over eight seasons in the NBA and ABA, Mueller averaged 7.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers jersey history No. 34 — Erwin Mueller