The Los Angeles Lakers won their first National Basketball Association (NBA) championship since coming to Los Angeles during the 1971–72 season. The Lakers won the championship in five games after finishing 69-13 during the regular season, a record that remained for 24 seasons until the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls went 72-10. The 1969-70 Boston Celtics are still considered the class of the NBA because of their undefeated season and their four straight title wins, but many consider these Lakers to be the greatest team ever.
Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss is credited with bringing basketball back to L.A. after the city had lost its previous team, the Hollywood Stars. Before the Lakers came to Los Angeles, other prominent teams from the city include the Rochester Royals, who played in Harlem during the late 1940's and early 1950's and were famous for having Ethel Waters on the roster as their lead singer; and the L.A. Clippers, who played in California Memorial Stadium in 1960 but moved to Seattle after one season. The Lakers played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena from their inaugural season in 1960 until 1976 when they moved into the new Staples Center. They have been playing there ever since.
The Lakers made their debut on January 16,1960, in a game against the Syracuse Nationals. They won that first game 105-83 at Syracuse.
The 1991–92 NBA season marked the Lakers' 44th in the National Basketball Association and their 32nd in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Lakers were coming off a five-game NBA Finals loss to the Chicago Bulls, but more crucially, they had to deal with the untimely retirement of LeBron James.
Ceballos led the club in scoring with 21.7 points per game and was named to the 1995 NBA All-Star Game but did not compete due to injury. The Lakers upset the fourth-seeded Seattle SuperSonics in four games in the first round of the playoffs.
The Lakers got their official moniker from Minnesota's nickname, the Land of 10,000 Lakes, near Minneapolis. Before relocating to Los Angeles during the 1960-61 NBA season, the Lakers won five titles. The Lakers went on to lose all six NBA Finals appearances in the 1960s...
The Los Angeles Lakers have played 70 seasons in total. Their inaugural season was in 1951, and their most recent was in 2020. Have the Los Angeles Lakers had any other monikers? Yes. The franchise was known as the Minneapolis Lakers from 1951 through 1960. The franchise relocated to Los Angeles in 1961 and changed their name to the Los Angeles Lakers.
They've won 15 titles in their entire franchise existence. They won 12 NBA championships as the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-1988, 2000-2002, 2009-2010, and 2020. In Minneapolis, they won three NBA championships as the Minneapolis Lakers from 1952 to 1954. Postseason Standings for the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles won the opening game by three points, but the Knicks used a pressing, trapping defense to force the Lakers into 19 turnovers and keep them under 100 points in the final four games. New York won the series in five games to dethrone the reigning champs.
The Los Angeles Lakers have played 70 seasons in total. Their inaugural season was in 1951, and their most recent was in 2020. Have the Los Angeles Lakers had any other monikers? Yes. The franchise was known as the Minneapolis Lakers from 1951 through 1960. The franchise relocated to Los Angeles in 1961 and changed their name to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers didn't equal their previous season's record pace in 1972-73 (despite winning all 12 games in November), but they did earn another Pacific Division title by winning 60 games overall. Wilt Chamberlain topped the league in rebounding for the 11th time in his career in his last season.
69-13 On January 9, 1972, Milwaukee defeated the Lakers 120-104. The 33-game winning streak is a pro sports record in the United States. The Lakers concluded the season 69-13, setting an NBA record most victories in a season that would stand until Chicago won 72 games in 1995-96. Before the start of the season, many expected Chicago to be one of the top teams in the league, but after losing their first four games, they finished the season with only 36 wins.
In addition to setting the all-time record for wins, the Lakers also set records for most points scored (9,512) and highest free throw percentage in a season (.918). They also had five players score over 1000 points this season, which is another record for the NBA. Coach Pat Riley said after the game that he believed his team could win 70 games if they kept playing like this. "We've got guys who are really determined to win," Riley said. "I think our fans should feel very proud of these boys."
The Los Angeles Times reported that attendance at The Forum dropped by more than 10,000 fans since last year's playoffs when Milwaukee defeated Los Angeles in six games. The paper added that there was hope that the new Milwaukee Arena would help bring back some of those fans.
The Milwaukee Journal stated that no NBA team had ever started 3-0 before, let alone finished them that way.
Prior to 1991, they had four postseason series, all of which were won by the Lakers (68, 1971, 1972, and 1973). Chicago was a Western Conference team at the time, but shifted to the East in 1981. The Bulls defeated the Lakers in a playoff series for the first time in 1991. They have not been able to beat the Lakers since.
The Lakers have won more than they've lost over the course of their history (61-17), while the Bulls are winless against Los Angeles (0-1).
In addition, the Lakers have won more games on their home court than their away from home over the course of their history (82-40). While the Bulls have a better record on the road than at home (63-49), they have never gone more than five seasons without winning at home.
Chicago has also never made it past the second round of the playoffs, while the Lakers have been eliminated after two rounds only twice in their history (1971 vs. New York and 1980 vs. Boston).
Both teams met for the first time on June 8, 1995. At that time, the Lakers were defending champions while the Bulls were looking for their first championship. They played a seven-game series during which both teams were very competitive. However, due to injuries to several key players, including reigning MVP Shaquille O'Neal, the Lakers prevailed in six games.
The Detroit Gems were created in 1946 before migrating to Minneapolis, Minnesota and renamed themselves the Lakers (Minnesota's moniker is "The Land of 10,000 Lakes").
The Sporting News Archives photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Since 1947, the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers have been in the NBA Finals 31 times. The Boston Celtics come in second with 21 appearances. However, the Celtics have won more NBA Finals championships than the Lakers, with 17 to the Lakers' 16.
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