So Cal's All-Time Roster: No. 45
No. 45:
Our pick:
==A.C. Green, Lakers (1985-'93, '99-'00)
It was the scandalous story in the 1998 issue of Ebony magazine.
"An attractive Black woman recently asked me about my sex life," he said in the first-person account. "'A.C.,' she said, 'why are you a virgin at age 34? You're a handsome man, you're an athlete, and I know women are all over you all the time. Why are you still a virgin?' It was not the first time I've been asked that question. It came up in high school, and it came up when I attended Oregon State. But in recent years the question has taken on more significance. In today's society in which sex is portrayed as the alpha and omega, the way and means for all and everything, the fact that I am a virgin seems to present a perplexing oddity. But being different, being unusual, being odd is not a problem for me. I am who and what I am, and I'm quite comfortable with that."
From your lips to Shawn Kemp's ears.
Green, a true believer and deeply religious, still preaches abstinence on his personal website , but that isn't why the Lakers took the Pac-10 player of the year out of Oregon State with 23rd pick overall in the '85 draft. Green was a picture of durabilty, setting a league record with 1,192 straight games. He played all 82 games in his rookie season, the first rookie since LeRoy Ellis in the 1962-63 season to appear in every game. Then 79 in season two. Then 82 a season for the next nine seasons. Then 83 games in '96-'97 (because he played with two teams whose seasons overlapped). Eighty two the next season. All 50 of the strike-shortened '98-'99. Then 82 more in his final two seasons. A key starter in the playoffs in his first eight seasons with the Lakers, then returning for the '99-'00 season as a starter again to bridge the Magic years to the Kobe-Shaq title run as a 36-year-old.
He was all-NBA second team defense in '88-89, voted in as a starter in the 1990 All-Star game and was fourth in field-goal percentage in 1992-93 at .537.
He wasn't just screwing around out there on the court.
Runner ups:
==Pedro Martinez, Dodgers ('92-'93)
Tommy Lasorda thought he was too small to last as a starter, so PM was dealt to Montreal for Delino DeShields before the '94 season. He went on to win three Cy Young Awards and strike out more than 3,000 in his career.
==Henry Bibby, UCLA basketball ('69-'72)
The starting point guard on three NCAA title teams.
Other No. 45s:
==Andre McCarter, UCLA basketball ('72-'76)
==Noelle Quinn, UCLA women’s basketball
Sports Illustrated's choice for the all-time No. 45: Martinez, over Bob Gibson.
Did we miss anyone?
You've got our vote, now let's see yours: