Los Angeles Lakers
The Detroit Gems finished last in the 1946, 47 season with only four wins and forty-four losses. Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen purchased the franchise for fifteen thousand dollars and moved it to Minnesota. They renamed the team the Lakers, inspired by the state nickname Land of 10,000 Lakes. Sid Hartman helped sell the idea to John Kundla from College of St. Thomas to become head coach. George Mikan became their first superstar after being selected with the first pick in the 1947 Professional Basketball League of America dispersal draft. The new roster included forward Jim Pollard and playmaker Herm Schaefer. In their first season as the Lakers they led the league with a forty-three win seventeen loss record. They won the NBL championship that same year. Mikan averaged twenty-eight point three points per game setting a BAA record when the team moved leagues in 1948. The Lakers defeated the Washington Capitols four games to two in the 1949 BAA Finals. Following the merger of the NBL and BAA into the NBA they improved to fifty-one wins and seventeen losses. They won their third straight professional championship. One infamous game against the Fort Wayne Pistons ended with a score of nineteen to eighteen making it the lowest scoring game in NBA history. Mikan won his third straight scoring title at twenty-eight point four points per game during the 1950, 51 season. The team went on to win their second straight division title. They defeated the Indianapolis Olympians in three games but lost to the Rochester Royals in the next round. During the 1951, 52 season the Lakers won forty games finishing second in their division. They faced the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals winning in seven games. Mikan led the NBA in rebounding averaging fourteen point four rebounds per game. He was named MVP of the 1953 NBA All-Star Game. After a forty-eight win twenty-two loss regular season the Lakers defeated the Fort Wayne Pistons in the Western playoffs. They then defeated the New York Knicks to win their second straight championship. Though Mikan suffered from knee problems he still averaged eighteen points per game. Clyde Lovellette helped the team win the Western Division after being drafted in 1952. The team won its third straight championship in the 1950s and sixth in seven seasons when it defeated the Syracuse Nationals in seven games.
In their last year in Minneapolis the Lakers went twenty-five wins and fifty losses. On the 18th of January 1960 the team plane crash-landed in a cornfield due to snow storms driving the pilot off course. No one was hurt. Their record earned them the number two pick in the 1960 NBA draft. The team selected Jerry West from West Virginia University. During the 1960 off-season owner Bob Short decided to move the team to Los Angeles making them the NBA's first West Coast team. Led by Elgin Baylor averaging thirty-four point eight points and nineteen point eight rebounds the team won eleven more games than the previous year. On November 15 that season Baylor set a new NBA scoring record with seventy-one points against the New York Knicks while grabbing twenty-five rebounds. He broke his own record of sixty-four points. Despite a losing record the Lakers made the playoffs coming within two points of the Finals. They lost in game seven of their second round series against St. Louis. Frank Selvy missed a potential game-winning eighteen foot jump shot in regulation which he said still haunted him forty years later. Los Angeles improved to fifty-four wins and twenty-six losses in 1961, 62 behind Baylor and West. In game five of the finals Baylor grabbed twenty-two rebounds setting the still-standing NBA record for points in a finals game with sixty-one despite fouling out. The Lakers lost to the Celtics by three points in overtime of game seven. They won fifty-three games in 1962, 63 but lost in the NBA Finals in six games to the Celtics. After falling to forty-two wins and losing in the first round of the 1964 playoffs they won forty-nine games in 1964, 65. West averaged forty-six point three points per game in the series against the Baltimore Bullets. They lost again to the Celtics in the Finals however this time in five games. Los Angeles lost in the finals to Boston in seven games again in 1966 down by sixteen entering the fourth quarter. They mounted a furious rally in the closing moments which fell just short. After dropping to thirty-six wins and losing in the first round of the 1967 playoffs they lost in the finals to the Celtics again in 1968. Los Angeles moved to a brand-new arena called The Forum in 1967 after playing seven seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
On the 9th of July 1968 the team acquired Wilt Chamberlain from the Philadelphia 76ers for Darrell Imhoff Archie Clark and Jerry Chambers. In his first season as a Laker Chamberlain set a team record by averaging a league-leading twenty-one point one rebounds per game. West Baylor and Chamberlain each averaged over twenty points helping Los Angeles win their division. The Lakers and Celtics met in the finals with Los Angeles having home court advantage for the first time. They won the first game behind Jerry West's fifty-three points and had a three-two lead after five games. Boston won the series in seven games earning their eleventh NBA Championship in thirteen seasons. West was named the first-ever Finals MVP remaining the only time that a member of the losing team has won the award. In 1970 West won his first scoring title at thirty-one point two points per game. The next season the Lakers were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks led by future Laker Lew Alcindor now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the Western Conference Finals. The 1971, 72 season brought several changes including Bill Sharman as head coach and Elgin Baylor announcing his retirement early due to unhealthy legs. Sharman increased discipline introducing the concept of the shootout where players arrived early to practice shots. They won fourteen straight games in November and all sixteen games played in December. On the 9th of January 1972 the Milwaukee Bucks ended their winning streak defeating the Lakers 120, 104. By winning thirty-three straight games Los Angeles set a record for longest winning streak of any team in major American professional team sports. The Lakers won sixty-nine games that season standing as the NBA record for twenty-four years until the Chicago Bulls won seventy-two games in 1995, 96. Chamberlain averaged a low fourteen point eight points but led the league in rebounding at nineteen point two a game. West's nine point seven assists per game led the league and he was named MVP of the 1972 NBA All-Star Game. The team failed to score one hundred points just once all year. At the end of the season Bill Sharman was named Coach of the Year. The Lakers went on to reach the finals against the New York Knicks defeating them four games to one. Chamberlain tallied twenty-four points and twenty-nine rebounds in game five winning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award.
During the 1996 off-season the Lakers acquired seventeen-year-old Kobe Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets for Vlade Divac. Bryant was drafted thirteenth overall out of Lower Merion High School in Ardmore Pennsylvania. Los Angeles also signed free-agent Shaquille O'Neal. Trading for Bryant was Jerry West's idea and he influenced the signing of the center. They used their twenty-fourth pick to select Derek Fisher. During the season the team traded Cedric Ceballos to Phoenix for Robert Horry. O'Neal led the team to a fifty-six win twenty-six loss record missing thirty-one games due to a knee injury. He averaged twenty-six point two points per game and twelve point five rebounds per game finishing third in the league in blocked shots. The Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round as O'Neal scored forty-six points in Game One marking the highest single-game playoff scoring output by a Laker since Jerry West scored fifty-three against the Celtics in 1969. In the next round they lost in five games to the Utah Jazz. In the 1997, 98 season O'Neal and the Lakers had the best start in franchise history at eleven wins and zero losses. O'Neal missed twenty games on the season due to an abdominal injury. Los Angeles battled Seattle for the Pacific Division title most of the season. In the final two months the Lakers won twenty-two of their final twenty-five games finishing sixty-one wins and twenty-one losses but still finished second to Seattle. The Lakers defeated Portland three games to one in the first round to advance to face Seattle. Although the Sonics won the first game the Lakers responded with four straight wins taking the series but were swept by the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals. During the 1998, 99 season All-Star guard Eddie Jones and center Elden Campbell were traded to the Charlotte Hornets. The team also acquired J.R. Reid B.J. Armstrong and Glen Rice. Head coach Del Harris was fired in February after a three-game losing streak and replaced on an interim basis by former Laker Kurt Rambis. The team finished thirty-one wins and nineteen losses in the strike-shortened season which was fourth in the Western Conference. Before the 1999, 2000 season West sought out a bigger name than Rambis for head coach. Los Angeles hired former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson who had coached that team to six championships giving him a lucrative six million dollar a year contract. He brought along assistant Tex Winter installing Winter's version of the triangle offense. The Lakers signed veterans Brian Shaw John Salley Ron Harper and A.C. Green. The team moved to a new arena called the Staples Center. Led by league MVP O'Neal the Lakers won thirty-one of their first thirty-six games finishing sixty-seven wins and fifteen losses. They eliminated Sacramento and Phoenix in the first two rounds of the playoffs. After taking a three games to one lead in the Western Conference Finals against Portland the Trail Blazers won the next two games forcing game seven. The Lakers trailed by fifteen points in the fourth quarter going on a nineteen-four run to tie the game and eventually win eighty-nine to eighty-four advancing to the NBA Finals. In their first trip to the Finals since 1991 the Lakers defeated Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers four games to two winning their first title since 1988.
The following season the Lakers won eleven fewer regular season games than the prior year but swept the first three rounds of the playoffs defeating Portland Sacramento and San Antonio. They met Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals. Although the Sixers took game one in overtime the Lakers won the next four games to win their second straight title. Their fifteen-win one-loss postseason record was the best in NBA history. The Lakers won fifty-eight games in 2001, 02. In the playoffs they swept Portland and defeated San Antonio four games to one to advance to the Western Conference Finals to face Sacramento. The series extended to all seven games ending in a Lakers victory. In game one Bryant scored thirty points as the Lakers won 106, 99. Facing a deficit in game four the Lakers had the ball with under twenty seconds to play. After misses by both Bryant and O'Neal Kings center Vlade Divac tapped the ball away from the rim. It went straight into Robert Horry's hands who drained a game-winning three with under three seconds to play. After the Kings won game five on a buzzer-beater by Mike Bibby the Lakers were faced with a must-win game six. In one of the most controversial playoff games in league history the Lakers would win by four points. The Lakers went on to win game seven in overtime achieving a three-peat by sweeping Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals. O'Neal won each of the Finals series MVP awards making him the only player besides Michael Jordan to win three consecutive Finals MVPs. During the 2003, 04 season the team was the subject of intense media coverage generated by the teaming of four stars and the sexual-assault case involving Kobe Bryant. Before the season the Lakers signed two-time MVP Karl Malone formerly of the Jazz and former Seattle Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton joining O'Neal and Bryant forming the first superteam of the 21st century. Three of the big four struggled with injuries: O'Neal suffered from a strained calf Malone an injured knee and Bryant an injured shoulder. The Lakers started eighteen wins and three losses finishing fifty-six wins and twenty-six losses entering the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. They defeated Houston San Antonio and Minnesota to advance to the NBA Finals. In the Finals they lost to Detroit in five games.
During the 2004 off-season the team entered a rebuilding phase when O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom Brian Grant Caron Butler and a first-round draft pick. Jackson did not return as head coach writing a book about the team's 2003, 04 season heavily criticizing Bryant. The Lakers front office said that the book contained several inaccuracies. The team also traded Rick Fox and Gary Payton to Boston for Chris Mihm Marcus Banks and Chucky Atkins before the 2004, 05 season. Derek Fisher opted out of his contract signing with the Warriors. The team hired Rudy Tomjanovich to replace Jackson. After sitting out the first half of the 2004, 05 season Malone announced his retirement on the 13th of February 2005. Tomjanovich coached the team to a twenty-two win nineteen loss record before resigning due to health problems. Assistant Frank Hamblen was named interim head coach. Bryant and Odom suffered injuries finishing thirty-four wins and forty-eight losses missing the playoffs for only the fifth time in franchise history. With the tenth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft the Lakers selected Andrew Bynum from St. Joseph High School in Metuchen New Jersey. On the 22nd of January 2006 Bryant scored eighty-one points against Toronto the second-highest total in NBA history. Ending the season forty-five wins and thirty-seven losses the team made the playoffs after a one-season absence. In the following season they won twenty-six of their first thirty-nine games but lost twenty-seven of their last forty-three including seven in a row at one point finishing forty-two wins and forty losses. They were eliminated in the first round by Phoenix again. Frustrated by the team's inability to advance in the playoffs Bryant demanded to be traded in the off-season. Buss initially agreed to seek a trade but also worked to try to change Bryant's mind. After re-acquiring Derek Fisher the Lakers started the 2007, 08 season with a twenty-five win eleven loss record. In what would become a crucial transfer for the franchise's return to championship form they acquired six-time all-star power forward Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in early February going twenty-two wins and five losses to finish the season. The Lakers' fifty-seven wins and twenty-five losses earned them the first seed in the Western Conference. Bryant was awarded the league's MVP award becoming the first Laker to win the award since O'Neal in 2000. In the playoffs they defeated the Nuggets in four games the Jazz in six and the defending champion Spurs in five but lost to the Celtics in six games in the NBA Finals.
In the 2008, 09 season the Lakers finished sixty-five wins and seventeen losses the best record in the Western Conference. They defeated the Jazz in five games the Rockets in seven and the Nuggets in six winning the Western Conference title. They then won their fifteenth NBA championship by defeating the Orlando Magic in five games in the NBA finals. Bryant was named the NBA Finals MVP for the first time in his career. The Lakers added Ron Artest Metta World Peace replacing Trevor Ariza finishing the 2009, 10 season with the best record in the Western Conference for the third straight time. On the 13th of January 2010 the Lakers became the first team in NBA history to win three thousand regular-season games by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 100, 95. They defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference playoffs. In the finals the Lakers played the Boston Celtics for the twelfth time rallying back from a three-two disadvantage erasing a thirteen-point deficit in the fourth quarter of game seven to defeat them. This series win gave them their sixteenth NBA title overall and eleventh since moving to Los Angeles. Bryant was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row despite a six-twenty-four shooting performance in game seven. After much speculation head coach Phil Jackson returned for the 2010, 11 season but their opportunity for a three-peat was denied by the Dallas Mavericks in a four-game sweep of the second round. Jackson announced he would not be returning after the season. Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown was hired as head coach on the 25th of May 2011. Before the start of the shortened 2011, 12 season the Lakers traded Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks. On the 4th of July 2012 Steve Nash agreed to a sign-and-trade deal sending him to the Lakers. On the 10th of August 2012 in a four-team trade the Lakers traded Andrew Bynum acquiring Dwight Howard. The combination led media outlets to refer to them as a superteam comparable to the 2003-04 Lakers. On the 9th of November 2012 Mike Brown was relieved of coaching duties after a one-win four-loss start. Assistant Coach Bernie Bickerstaff took over leading the team to five wins and five losses. On the 12th of November 2012 the Lakers hired Mike D'Antoni as head coach. On the 18th of February 2013 Lakers owner Jerry Buss died from cancer at age eighty. D'Antoni coached the Lakers to a forty-win thirty-two loss record finishing forty-five wins and thirty-seven losses their worst since 2007. The Lakers clinched a playoff berth on the 16th of April 2013 beating the Houston Rockets. Bryant passed Wilt Chamberlain to become fourth all-time leading scorer in NBA history on the 30th of March 2013 against the Sacramento Kings. On the 8th of December 2013 Bryant played his first game back but suffered a broken bone in his knee on December 17 not returning for the remainder of the season. On the 25th of March 2014 the Lakers scored fifty-one points in the third quarter against the New York Knicks the most points scored in a quarter in franchise history.
On the 9th of July 2018 the Lakers signed LeBron James to a four-year one hundred fifty-four million dollar contract. By Christmas Day the Lakers were six games over .500 before James sustained a groin injury. Ball and Ingram also ended their seasons early due to injuries. On the 7th of February 2019 Zubac was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with Michael Beasley in exchange for Mike Muscala. On the 9th of April 2019 Magic Johnson stepped down as president of basketball operations and two days later the team parted ways with head coach Walton after failing to reach playoffs for sixth straight year. On May 13 Frank Vogel was named head coach. The Lakers received fourth overall pick in 2019 draft lottery. On July 6 they acquired Anthony Davis from New Orleans Pelicans for Ball Ingram Hart and three first-round picks including number four overall. This trade officially ended the young core era leaving only Kuzma. On the 25th of January 2020 LeBron James passed Kobe Bryant for third place on NBA's all-time scoring list during road loss to Philadelphia 76ers. The next day tragedy struck when Bryant killed in Calabasas helicopter accident alongside his thirteen-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. The team postponed January 28 meeting with crosstown rival Los Angeles Clippers marking first time an NBA game was postponed since nearly seven years earlier. Following suspension of 2019, 20 season March 11 the Lakers were one of twenty-two teams invited to NBA Bubble. They finished regular season fifty-two wins and nineteen losses entering playoffs as top seed for first time since 2010. They defeated Miami Heat four games to two winning 2020 NBA Finals James named Finals MVP fourth time. Championship dedicated to Bryant gave Los Angeles seventeenth championship tying Celtics for most all-time until 2024. Primary owner Jeanie Buss became first female controlling owner of NBA team to win Finals. During 2021 off-season Lakers picked up many veterans notably Russell Westbrook acquired in blockbuster trade with Washington Wizards. Kyle Kuzma last player left from young core traded away. Other veterans included Carmelo Anthony DeAndre Jordan Wayne Ellington Trevor Ariza Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo. Alex Caruso left signing with Chicago Bulls Jared Dudley retired. On the 9th of December 2023 Lakers won inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament defeating Indiana Pacers in championship game. James named inaugural tournament MVP. They finished 2023, 24 season forty-seven wins and thirty-five losses beating New Orleans Pelicans in Play-In making playoffs as seventh seed. On the 20th of June 2024 JJ Redick hired head coach. On the 27th of June 2024 selected Bronny James son of LeBron at fifty-fifth overall forming first father-son duo in NBA history. On the 23rd of October 2024 team made NBA history having father and son play together beating Minnesota Timberwolves on season opening game. On the 1st of February 2025 Lakers traded Anthony Davis Max Christie and first-round pick in 2029 for Luka Dončić Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris.
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Common questions
When did the Detroit Gems become the Lakers?
The Detroit Gems became the Lakers in 1947 after Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen purchased the franchise for fifteen thousand dollars and moved it to Minnesota. They renamed the team the Lakers inspired by the state nickname Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Who was the first superstar selected by the Lakers in 1947?
George Mikan became their first superstar after being selected with the first pick in the 1947 Professional Basketball League of America dispersal draft. He averaged twenty-eight point three points per game setting a BAA record when the team moved leagues in 1948.
What happened to the Lakers on January 18 1960?
On the 18th of January 1960 the team plane crash-landed in a cornfield due to snow storms driving the pilot off course. No one was hurt but the incident contributed to the decision to move the team to Los Angeles later that year.
How many consecutive games did the Lakers win during the 1971, 72 season?
By winning thirty-three straight games Los Angeles set a record for longest winning streak of any team in major American professional team sports. The streak ended on the 9th of January 1972 when the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Lakers 120, 104.
When did Kobe Bryant score eighty-one points against Toronto?
On the 22nd of January 2006 Bryant scored eighty-one points against Toronto which remains the second-highest total in NBA history. This performance occurred during a season where the team finished forty-five wins and thirty-seven losses making the playoffs after a one-season absence.
Who won the 2020 NBA Finals for the Lakers?
LeBron James led the Lakers to defeat the Miami Heat four games to two winning the 2020 NBA Finals. James was named Finals MVP for the fourth time and the championship was dedicated to Kobe Bryant following his death in a helicopter accident on the 26th of January 2020.