The Index · Legend

Jim PollardLos Angeles Lakers · #17

Forward · 6'7", 220 lb · 4th season

Jim Pollard is a retired forward and Basketball Hall of Famer, most associated with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Kangaroo Kid of the Minneapolis dynasty. Career averages: 13.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Los Angeles Lakers roster More Forwards

Balladex Impact · 70

⚖ Quick compare

Analysis by Beau Thoutt · Balladex

⬢ Rare

Los Angeles Lakers · #17 · Forward

Jim Pollard

Season avg10.8 pts · 7.3 reb · 2.5 ast · .354 fg

Career avg12.7 pts · 7.5 reb · 3.2 ast · .360 fg

IMPACTBalladex Impact 70 — Star starter tierINDEXJim Pollard · Los Angeles LakersIMPACTBalladex Impact 70 — Star starter tierINDEXJim Pollard · Los Angeles Lakers

Scouting report

Jim Pollard — the report card

Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades from the DNA model + real production.

C+

Hall of Fame forward · Impact 70

Jim Pollard is a retired forward and Basketball Hall of Famer, most associated with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Kangaroo Kid of the Minneapolis dynast

C-

Offense

Defense

C-

Feel / IQ

Playmaking

Below average creator

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C+

Scoring

Strong scorer

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Rebounding

Average on the glass

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3PT / spacing

Below average spacing

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Perimeter D

Below average on the perimeter

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Paint / rim D

Below average at the rim

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Clutch

Average late

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C+

Athleticism

Strong tools

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C-

Basketball IQ

Reads the game

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B+

Durability

Availability

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Act II

Where Jim Pollard stands

Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.

The laddersmodel · recomputes nightly

✦ Balladex Consensus: Star starter tier — a blend of Impact, production and résumé.

Futures & chases

—MVP odds

70Impact index

466Star score

Career scoring average12.7 ppg

Seasons in the index4

Accolades on file3

4× NBA Champion · 4× NBA All-Star

Stat explorer

Jim Pollard — every number, three levels deep

Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.

C+

Scoring

10.8 PPG

drill in ↓

Playmaking

2.5 APG

drill in ↓

Rebounding

7.3 RPG

drill in ↓

Shooting

— 3P%

drill in ↓

The engine

How the model sees Jim Pollard

Projection = per-minute rate × projected minutes. Rates are recency- and health-weighted, aged along a per-stat curve, and adjusted for live usage/role. No black box — every number shows its work.

Projected 1955-56 64% confidence

10.5

pts

8.1–12.9

7.2

reb

6.0–8.4

2.4

ast

1.5–3.3

30.2

min

proj

health

.360

fg%

~base

—

3p%

~base

Bands widen as confidence drops. Derived live from the real 4-season history below.

What moves the points line vs last season

Last season 10.8 → projected 10.5 PPG

Minutes / role

-0.3

Development (his trend)

-0.2

Age curve

+0.0

Live context

+0.2

Net vs last season-0.3 PPG

Everything it reads

📊

4 seasons of per-minute rates

every box line, minutes-normalized

real

⚖

Recency × games-played weight

recent, healthy seasons anchor the baseline

auto

📈

Weighted least-squares trend

his own trajectory, read season over season

+dev

🕰

Per-stat aging curves

age — — applied per stat

curve

🔌

Live role context

usage & role shifts fold in when the feed is present

+ctx

🏥

Durability signal

GP last 3: 66 / 71 / 63 → games & confidence

health

The real history it trains onsource: Basketball-Reference · verified

Jim Pollard career stats, season by season

Career stats by season
Season	GP	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	FG%
1951-52 CHIP	65	39.2	15.5	9.1	3.6	.356
1952-53 CHIP	66	36.4	13.0	6.8	3.5	.357
1953-54 CHIP	71	35.0	11.7	7.0	3.0	.370
1954-55	63	31.1	10.8	7.3	2.5	.354
Career	265	35.5	12.7	7.5	3.2

Source: Basketball-Reference. Backtested against completed player-seasons in the index. The same engine powers Tonight's projection, EraLab, and the role simulator — one model, asked different questions. Illustrative.

Act III

The Lab

Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.

Gold = MVP / Championship season · hover any bar. Real per-game data; per-36 & totals derived.

EraLab · the stat time machinenovel

Re-express a season in today's pace-and-space.

—raw PPG

→

—in 2026 pace

why

Player DNA + compssimilarity model

Closest comps

A.C. Green 99%Andrei Kirilenko 99%Antawn Jamison 99%Anthony Mason 99%Antoine Walker 99%

⚖ Overlay a rival →

Scoring map · clickable zonesShotChart

Team-tinted. Modeled where tracking data is absent.

Role simulatorpowered by GM engine

Change the roster around him — his projection updates live.

If a key teammate misses 20 games →

Projected line shifts to — usage , assists rise as primary initiator. Title odds . Illustrative.

Context

Are the Los Angeles Lakers built to win?

Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.

51–31proj record

#5conf seed

+3.9net rtg

118.2off rtg

114.3def rtg

94%playoff odds

Roster delta · what changed

Aggressive hedge & help — Hedges hard on ball screens and rotates aggressive help from the weak side. Core trending steady. Defensive anchors: Austin Reaves, Luka Doncic.

How his role moves

Projected 51–31, 5th in the West. Real team projection from the roster + last-season baselines. His usage, minutes and creation load move with roster health.

Balladex Impact

70 of 99

Star starter tier.

Rarity

◆ Rare

Rank #80 of 715 in NBA.

Résumé

3 accolades

4× NBA Champion · 4× NBA All-Star · HOF Hall of Fame

Act IV

The Ballad of Jim Pollard

Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.

Los Angeles Lakers

Turning pro

Drafted 1948 as a Forward.

true

Jim Pollard is a Basketball Hall of Famer. The Kangaroo Kid of the Minneapolis dynasty.

Chapter

He averaged 13.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists and won 4 titles over his career.

Where things stand

A Hall of Fame forward and Los Angeles Lakers name.

▶

Pollard's story

The documentary, narrated

Highlights

▶ The Life And Tragic Ending of Jim Pollard

Off the court

Measurables

Height: 6'7"
Weight: 220 lb
Draft: 1948
Jersey: #17

Legacy

The Kangaroo Kid of the Minneapolis dynasty.

The person

A Hall of Fame forward and Los Angeles Lakers name.

Hall of Fame

Los Angeles Lakers

Champion

FAQ

Jim Pollard — frequently asked

The questions people ask most about Jim Pollard, answered.

What were Jim Pollard's career averages?

Jim Pollard averaged 13.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Is Jim Pollard in the Hall of Fame?

Yes — Jim Pollard is enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jim Pollard career stats & accolades are real, and team projections and recent-game home/away splits are computed from real production. DNA ratings, grades, tonight's projection, ladders, live win probability and simulator outputs are Balladex model output. Not affiliated with the NBA.