Though HOFer Gail Goodrich was often told in his early days that he was too small to play ball at the next level, the fiery lefthander invariably proved his critics wrong. He responded to his detractors' remarks with perseverance, discipline, and improvement--all typical Goodrich traits. In a career that spanned 1,031 games in 14 NBA seasons, he scored 18.6 points per contest and was a five-time All-Star. He was also the leading scorer on one of the greatest teams in NBA history, the 1971-72 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Los Angeles Lakers selected Goodrich as a territorial pick in the 1965 NBA Draft (the last one), but he spent a number of years on the bench before getting the chance to make his mark as a starter. That opportunity came when the Phoenix Suns nabbed the 6-1 guard in the 1968 expansion draft. Goodrich would explode in his first season and only full season with the Suns, averaging 23.8 points per game, easily the best on the team and good for the sixth best average in the whole NBA. Before the next year was out, the Lakers had traded to get Goodrich back and watched him pick up his scoring rate in 1971-1972 to 25.9 points per game to lead the team. He also helped the Lakers to a NBA record 33 game win streak en route to their first NBA Championship since moving from Minneapolis. That performance was good enough to win Goodrich a second All-Star nod in 1972, to which he would add three more All-Star selections in his career. He would lead the Lakers in scoring in each of the next two seasons, before finishing his Hall of Fame career with the New Orleans Jazz, amassing 19,181 career points over 14 years. Across the front of the jersey is "LOS ANGELES." Below that and on the back is the player number "11." Across the back is the player name "GOODRICH." All lettering and numbering is done in white on light blue tackle twill. Autographed on the front and back numbers in black marker and rates a 7. The jersey shows tremendous game-use and there appear to be no alterations of any kind. The autograph is accompanied by a LOA from JSA.