‘Wheel of Fortune’: Los Angeles Lakers Alum Wins Five-Figures

A former Los Angeles Lakers cashed in big in Wheel of Fortune. Andre Ingram, who spent the majority of his career in the G League, appeared as one of the contestants on the show last week and won a large sum of money. He ended up taking home $31,750 and finished in first place for the day. According to ESPN, Ingram had a chance to win $39,000 but failed to solve the game’s final puzzle. Ingram’s winnings were matched for a Wheel Watchers Club member at home. He appeared on the show during Wheel of Fortune’s Disney Secret Santa Week.

“Probably more nervous doing this than basketball,” Ingram said in an interview after competing in Wheel of Fortune. “You know, basketball you’re so used to it. I’ve been doing it for years. This is like once in a lifetime.” Ingram was also asked if he had a strategy to play the game. “I did and it kind of went all out of the window once you get up there, he stated. “It is really different than what you see at home.”

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Ingram, 36,  played for the Lakers in 2018 and 2019. He played two games in 2018 and four games in 2019 while spending most of his time in the G League. He started his G League career with the Utah Flash in 2007 and was with the team for four years. He then spent time with the Los Angeles D-Fenders, Perth Wildcats and is now with the South Bay Lakers. Ingram is the G League’s career leader in three-point field goals and games played. He also won the league’s three-point contest in 2010 and 2016. 

Last year, Ingram was named president of the G League Players Union known as the Basketball Players Union (BPU). “Anybody who’s ever accomplished a dream will tell you it’s those times,” Ingram said to the Palm Springs Desert Sun in 2019, “it’s those failures, it’s those disappointments, they are the real story behind achieving what they’ve achieved.

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“That is the key to my story. I failed time and time again. At one point, I failed 10 seasons straight. Nobody plays in the G-League to stay in the G-League. If you don’t make the NBA, that’s a failure. I failed 10 seasons straight, but you keep going anyway.”