NB70s: Gail Goodrich (1973-78)

The 1973–74 season was the best all-around season in his career. He was first-team All-NBA and again an all-star. He scored over 2,000 points and averaged 25.3 points a game — fourth in the league in scoring — while leading the NBA in free throws made and free throw attempts as he drove the basket perhaps more than at any point in his career. On October 28, 1973, he fired in a career-high 49 points against the Portland Trail Blazers. In 1973–74, he was in the second year of earning $180,000 per season.

Goodrich, then 31, dropped about 10 pounds (4.5 kg) for the 1974–75 season stating, "I decided prior to this season that I would lose about 10 pounds to get down to my college playing weight of 172 . I'm sure it helps with my quickness and my stamina." Goodrich led the Lakers in scoring with a 22.6 per game average. On March 28, 1975, for the first time in his career, Goodrich topped 50 points in a game with 53 against the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

Goodrich held out in the fall of 1975 and missed the first four games while playing out his option to become a free agent the following season. In the 1975–76 season, Goodrich switched roles, becoming the "playmaking" guard rather than the "shooting guard", switching spots with Lucius Allen. Goodrich had played a similar role in Phoenix, but during his time with Jerry West, Goodrich was the shooting guard. Ironically, Allen was the shooting guard when he played with Oscar Robertson on the champion Milwaukee Bucks team. So, both were familiar with the roles. According to a Long Beach newspaper, the switch worked and "did wonders for a slumping Laker team". That same season the Lakers had acquired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to upgrade the center position from previous center Elmore Smith.

On August 6, 1976, Goodrich signed a three-year contract, reportedly worth $1.4 million, with the New Orleans Jazz, where he teamed in the backcourt with Pete Maravich. Early in the 1976–77 season, Goodrich sustained an Achilles heel injury that required surgery. In January 1977, Goodrich filed a lawsuit against the Lakers, alleging that he was shorted over $150,000 of his $275,000 1975–76 season salary due to fines for missing training camp and for pre-season and some regular season games. The lawsuit also asked for $75,000 punitive damages, stating that the fines were a "breach of contract". He rehabilitated the leg and prepared hard for the 1977–78 season and it seemingly paid off as he averaged 16.1 points a game and shot a career-best .495 from the field as a 34-year-old guard.

He played one final campaign in 1978–79, the 14th of his career. After averaging 12.7 ppg in 74 games, Goodrich retired, having scored 19,181 career points.

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