Los Angeles Lakers

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The Los Angeles Lakers. are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, which they share with the Los Angeles Clippers, their sister team the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League and the NBA Development League's Los Angeles D-Fenders.

The Laker franchise was founded in Detroit before moving to Minneapolis, where the team got its official title from the state's nickname, and won 5 league championships within the various leagues before locating to Los Angeles. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Lakers popularity soared, with superstar players Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and coach Pat Riley winning five titles in the that span, with 3 championship series against their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics.

In the 2000s, the trio of coach Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal brought three straight championships before falling apart, culminating in O'Neal being traded to the Miami Heat. Only Bryant, Jackson, and Derek Fisher, after brief stops with the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz, remain from the champion years. Most recently, the team finished 42-40 in the 2006-07 NBA season, Jackson's second worst record of his coaching career.

The Lakers are notable for having (at the end of the 2005–06 season) the most wins (2,806), the highest winning percentage (61.5%), the most finals appearances (28) of any NBA franchise, and the second most championships (14, behind the Boston Celtics' 16).[1] They hold the record for the longest consecutive win streak (33) in U.S. professional team sports. The franchise has only missed the NBA playoffs 5 times.[2] According to Forbes Magazine, the Lakers are the second most valuable basketball franchise in the United States, valued at approximately $568 million, surpassed only by the New York Knicks.[3]

Team history

Main article: History of the Los Angeles Lakers
File:Lakers 1966-1991.png
Lakers logo 1966-1991.

The Lakers began in 1946 when Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen bought the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League for $15,000 and relocated it to Minneapolis. As the Gems had by far the worst record in the NBL, the Lakers had the first pick in the 1947 dispersal draft of players from the Professional Basketball League of America, which they used to select George Mikan, later to become arguably the greatest center of his time. With Mikan, new coach John Kundla and an infusion of former University of Minnesota players, the Lakers won the NBL championship in that 1947-48 season and joined three other NBL teams in jumping to the Basketball Association of America, where they promptly won the 1948-49 BAA championship. The NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA in 1949.

Bryant in a Lakers uniform.

The Minneapolis Lakers were one of the dominant teams of the fledgling NBA. With Hall of Famers George Mikan, Vern Mikkelsen, Jim Pollard, Slater Martin, and Clyde Lovellette, they were the NBA's first "dynasty", winning five championships in six years (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954).

The Laker Girls performing during halftime.

After their move to Los Angeles in 1960, the team would go on to feature Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and Wilt Chamberlain. But despite the wealth of talent, they were repeatedly foiled by the Boston Celtics, losing the championship to them six times in eight years. It wasn't until 1972, when the Lakers strung together a record 33-game win streak under Coach of the Year Bill Sharman, that they were able to secure their first championship in Los Angeles.

However, even with the addition of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers weren't able to win another championship until the arrival of Earvin "Magic" Johnson in 1979, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers thanks to an MVP performance by the rookie Johnson, who, starting for the injured Abdul-Jabbar, had 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists to clinch the series. Under coach Pat Riley, a former Laker player, the Lakers then went on to dominate the 1980s, appearing in the finals eight times in the decade and being crowned champions five times, including consecutive championships in 1987 and 1988, the first team to do so since Boston in 1969.

Although they made another finals appearance in 1991, they spent most of the 1990s fielding teams that were not considered legitimate title contenders. However, during the 1996 offseason, the Lakers signed Shaquille O'Neal and acquired rookie Kobe Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets. Following the hiring of Phil Jackson as head coach in 1999, the team returned to championship form; led by O'Neal, Bryant, and a talented supporting cast, the Lakers won three consecutive NBA Finals from 2000-02.

Most recently, the Lakers endured a series of off-the-court problems, largely the result of friction among O'Neal, Bryant, and Jackson. In 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat and Jackson temporarily retired. After the Lakers struggled in 2004-05, Jackson returned for the following season, and the Bryant-led team returned to the postseason, losing to the Phoenix Suns in the first round in both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. They start the offseason hoping to gain a stronger lineup.

Celebrity fans

Laker fan Jack Nicholson

Given the team's proximity to Hollywood, the Lakers fan base includes many famous actors and musicians who are regularly seen at home games. Jack Nicholson is the most prominent member of this group, having held season tickets since 1967.[4] Other celebrities known as long-standing ticket-holders include Denzel Washington, Dustin Hoffman, Pete Sampras, Andy Garcia, Penny Marshall, Ice Cube, Sylvester Stallone, Dyan Cannon, Tobey Maguire, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek, The Game, Snoop Dogg, and Ashton Kutcher.[4]

The members of the Southern California-based Red Hot Chili Peppers are also known to be longtime Laker fans.[4] The songs "Salute to Kareem" and "Magic Johnson", a tribute to the "Showtime"-era Lakers, can be found on the band's album Mother's Milk.[4] As of the 2006-2007 season, Chili Pepper's bassist Flea, a self-proclaimed Lakers fanatic, writes a blog on the Lakers for NBA.com.[5]

Season-by-season records

Main article: Los Angeles Lakers seasons

Home arenas

Logo and uniforms

The Lakers' home uniforms are unique in the fact that they are the only team in the NBA not to wear white normally at home. However, since the 2002-03 season the team has worn white jerseys on Sunday and holiday home games. The white jerseys were designed by Lakers owner Jerry Buss' daughter Jeannie Buss, in tribute to Chick Hearn, who was regarded as the voice of the team for forty years until his death in August 2002.

Players of note

In 1997, the NBA announced a list of the 50 best players in its history, and of them, eight played all or significant portions of their careers with the Lakers: centers George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O'Neal; guards Jerry West and Magic Johnson; and forwards Elgin Baylor and James Worthy . [6]

Basketball Hall of Famers

Retired numbers

Honored Minneapolis Lakers: Next to their retired numbers, the Lakers have hung a banner with the names of six Hall-of-Famers who were instrumental to the franchise's success during its days in Minneapolis:

Current roster

Current depth chart

Pos. Starter Bench Reserve Inactive
C Andrew Bynum Chris Mihm Kwame Brown (INJ)
PF Lamar Odom Ronny Turiaf Brian Cook Elton Brown
SF Luke Walton Vladimir Radmanovic Coby Karl
SG Kobe Bryant Maurice Evans Sasha Vujacic
PG Derek Fisher Jordan Farmar Javaris Crittenton

Notable former players

For the complete list of Los Angeles Lakers players see: Los Angeles Lakers all-time roster.

Notable Head Coaches

  • John Kundla -- First Head Coach, 1948-58 and 1959; 1949 BAA Champions; 1950 and 1952-54 NBA Champions; 1951 and 1957 NBA Western Division Champions. Win-Loss record: 423-302 in regular season, 60-35 in playoffs
  • Fred Schaus -- 1960-67; 1962-63 and 1965-66 NBA Western Division Champions. Win-Loss record: 315-245 in regular season, 33-38 in playoffs
  • Butch Van Breda Kolff -- 1967-69; 1969 NBA Western Division Champions. Win-Loss record: 107-57 in regular season, 21-12 in playoffs.
  • Joe Mullaney -- 1969-71; 1971 NBA Pacific Division Champions. Win-Loss record: 94-70 in regular season, 16-14 in playoffs
  • Bill Sharman -- 1971-76; 1972 NBA Champions, 1973 Western Conference Champions and 1974 NBA Pacific Division Champions. Win-Loss record: 246-164 in regular season, 22-15 in playoffs.
  • Paul Westhead -- 1979-81; 1980 NBA Champions. Win-Loss record: 111-50 in regular season, 13-6 in playoffs.
  • Pat Riley Head Coach 1981-90; 1982, 1985 and 1987-88 NBA Champions; 1983-84 and 1989 Western Conference Champions; 1986 and 1990 NBA Pacific Division Champions. Win-Loss record: 613-194 in regular season, 102-47 in playoffs.
  • Mike Dunleavy -- 1990-92; Win-Loss record: 101-63 in regular season, 13-10 in playoffs.
  • Randy Pfund -- 1992-94; Win-Loss record: 66-80 in regular season, 2-3 in playoffs.
  • Magic Johnson -- 1994 Win-Loss record 5-11.
  • Del Harris -- 1994–99; 1998 NBA Pacific Division Champions. Win-Loss record: 224-116 in regular season, 17-19 in playoffs.
  • Rudy Tomjanovich -- 2004-05; Win-Loss record: 24-19.
  • Phil Jackson -- 1999-2004 and 2005-present; 2000-02 NBA Champions and 2004 Western Conference Champions. Win-Loss record: 332-160 in regular season, 64-28 in playoffs.

High Points

Franchise leaders

Individual awards

NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year

NBA Finals MVP

NBA Defensive Player of the Year

NBA Rookie of the Year

NBA Coach of the Year

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

All-NBA Third Team

NBA All-Defensive First Team

NBA All-Defensive Second Team

NBA All-Star MVP

Miscellaneous information

Los Angeles Lakers Wordmark
  • As the Minneapolis Lakers, the team holds the record for the lowest-scoring NBA game ever played along with the Fort Wayne Pistons. On November 22, 1950, the Lakers were leading until the fourth quarter, when the Pistons pulled ahead to win 19 to 18. This took place in a time before efforts were made to speed up gameplay, such as the addition of the shot clock.
  • Poker Legend Doyle Brunson claims in his book Super/System that the (then) Minneapolis Lakers had been making offers to sign him while he was playing college Basketball, until he broke his leg hauling sheet rock.
  • Los Angeles is the only city to have two NBA teams (the other team being the Los Angeles Clippers).
  • The Lakers and Miami Heat have a tradition of playing each other on Christmas Day. There has been a meeting between the Lakers and Heat on this day every year since 2004, when center Shaquille O'Neal was traded to Miami during the summer of 2004. However, this season will not have a Lakers-Heat match on Christmas Day, though, they will still appear on that day facing the Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers respectively.
  • Former owner Jack Kent Cooke liked the color purple but disliked the term purple. As a result, during the era of his ownership, the colors he had chosen for his team were referred to as "Forum blue" and gold, rather than purple and gold. Even after Cooke sold the team, announcer Chick Hearn still sometimes used the description when describing the uniforms.
  • The Los Angeles Lakers were the first team to own a NBDL team, the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
  • Kobe Bryant's 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006 was the second highest point total in league history next to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point performance against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962.
  • In the videogame NBA Ballers there is an unlockable video titled "How to Stop the Lakers" in reference to their championship runs in the early 2000s.
  • In 1969, Jerry West became the only player on the losing team ever to win the NBA Finals MVP award.

Radio and television

As noted above, Chick Hearn was the team's broadcaster for 42 years until his death in 2002. After Hearn's death, the Lakers decided to continue simulcasts of games that had begun when he was the voice. Paul Sunderland, who had filled in for a few games while Hearn recuperated in 2001-02, was named the permanent play-by-play announcer effective with the season after Hearn's death. Stu Lantz was retained as color commentator.

In 2003, the Lakers decided to end the simulcasts. Sunderland's voice would be heard only on the telecasts, while Joel Meyers and Mychal Thompson, the latter a member of the 1987-88 Lakers championship team, was named as the team on radio broadcasts.

Sunderland's contract expired in the summer of 2005, and the team chose not to renew it. Meyers moved in alongside Lantz as the TV announcer, while Spero Dedes was named to call play-by-play on radio. The current teams are Dedes and Thompson (radio) and Meyers and Lantz (TV).

As of 2006-07, Lakers radio broadcasts are heard on KLAC in English and KWKW in Spanish. KLAC has had the team's broadcast rights since the 1976-77 season. Telecasts are split between KCAL (road games) and Fox Sports Net West (home games), unless they are chosen for national broadcasts on ABC or TNT.

While all games are broadcast live on local radio, select road telecasts from East Coast cities are shown on tape delay, usually 60 to 90 minutes after the actual starting time. The explanation given is to increase TV ratings by showing the game at a more convenient time to local fans, who live three time zones away from the site of the game. During the simulcast years, these games were also delayed on radio.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/
  2. ^ http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/
  3. ^ Forbes: NBA Team Valuations
  4. ^ a b c d "TOP 10 CELEBRITY LAKERS FANS". NBA.com. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  5. ^ "NBA.com Blog: Flea". NBA.com. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  6. ^ http://www.nba.com/history/players/50greatest.html

External links

Preceded by NBL Champions
Minneapolis Lakers
1948 		Succeeded by
Preceded by BAA/NBA Champions
Minneapolis Lakers
1949 and 1950 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NBA Champions
Minneapolis Lakers
1952, 1953, and 1954 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NBA Champions
Los Angeles Lakers
1972 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NBA Champions
Los Angeles Lakers
1980 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NBA Champions
Los Angeles Lakers
1982 		Succeeded by
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Los Angeles Lakers
1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NBA Champions
Los Angeles Lakers
1987 and 1988 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NBA Champions
Los Angeles Lakers
2000, 2001, 2002 		Succeeded by
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