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Los Angeles Lakers From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For current information on this topic, see 2009–10 Los Angeles Lakers season. Los Angeles Lakers Conference Western Conference Division Pacific Division Founded 1946 (Joined NBA in 1948) History Detroit Gems 1946–1947 Minneapolis Lakers 1947–1960 Los Angeles Lakers 1960–present Arena Staples Center City Los Angeles, California Team colors Purple, Gold and White Owner(s) Jerry Buss General manager Mitch Kupchak Head coach Phil Jackson D-League affiliate Los Angeles D-Fenders Championships 16 NBL: 1 (1948) BAA/NBA: 15 (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009) Conference titles 30 (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009) Division titles 31 NBL: 1 (1948) NBA: 30 (1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2009) Retired numbers 7 (13, 22, 25, 32, 33, 42, 44, MIC) Official website lakers.com

Home Away 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 their fellow NBA rival, the Los Angeles Clippers, and their sister team, the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.[1] The Lakers are the current NBA champions after defeating the Orlando Magic in the Finals 4 games to 1. Basketball expert John Hollinger of ESPN ranked the Lakers as the greatest NBA franchise of all time.[2]

The Lakers' franchise was founded in 1946 in Detroit, Michigan before moving to Minneapolis, where the team got its official title from the state's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes."[3] The Lakers won five championships before relocating to Los Angeles in the 1960–61 season. The Lakers lost all of their eight appearances in the NBA Finals in the 1960s, despite having help from Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. In 1972, the Lakers won their sixth title, first in Los Angeles, under coach Bill Sharman. The Lakers' popularity soared in the 1980s when they won five additional championships during a nine-year span with the leadership of Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and coach Pat Riley, the franchise's all-time leader in regular season game wins and playoff games coached and wins. Two of those championships during that span were against their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics. From 2000 to 2002, the Lakers won three titles consecutively with the help of Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson. After losing both the 2004 and 2008 NBA Finals, the Lakers captured the championship for the 15th time in 2009, defeating the Orlando Magic four games to one.

The Lakers hold records for having (into the 2009–10 season) the most wins (3,000), the highest winning percentage (61.8%), the most NBA Finals appearances (30), the second fewest non-playoff seasons with five (San Antonio Spurs have four), and the second-most NBA championships with 15, behind the Boston Celtics' 17.[4][5] They also hold the record for compiling the longest consecutive win streak (33) in U.S. professional team sports (also an NBA record) in the 1971–72 season.[6] 14 Hall of Famers have played for the Lakers, while four Hall of Famers (John Kundla, Bill Sharman, Pat Riley and Phil Jackson) have coached the team. Four Lakers (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant) have won the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award[7] for a total of 8 MVP awards.

Contents [hide] 1 Team history 1.1 1946–1959: Beginnings and Minneapolis dynasty 1.2 1959–1974: Move to Los Angeles and Celtics rivalry 1.3 1974–1979: Building "Showtime" 1.4 1979–1989: "Showtime" 1.5 1989–1999: Post-"Showtime" dry spell 1.6 1999–2004: Bryant, O'Neal, and Jackson 1.7 2004–2007: Rebuilding 1.8 2007–present: Return to championship form 2 Lakers-Celtics Rivalry 3 Fanbase 4 Name, logo and uniforms 5 Season-by-season records 6 Franchise and NBA records 7 Home arenas 8 Players 8.1 Current roster 8.2 Hall of Famers 8.3 NBA Draft 9 Head coaches 10 Media 11 References 12 External links