@Johnx 12 June 2020

Lakers history

The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the **Minneapolis Lakers**.[10] Initially a member of the NBL, the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America, where they would win five of the next six championships, led by star George Mikan.[11] After struggling financially in the late 1950s following Mikan's retirement, they relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_League_(United_States) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneapolis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers#cite_note-The_Nicknames-10 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_Association_of_America https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mikan https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers#cite_note-Mike-11 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relocation_of_professional_sports_teams https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960%E2%80%9361_NBA_season Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, Los Angeles made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s, but lost each series to the Celtics, beginning their long and storied rivalry. In 1968, the Lakers acquired four-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Wilt Chamberlain, and won their sixth NBA title—and first in Los Angeles—in 1972, led by new head coach Bill Sharman. After the retirement of West and Chamberlain, the team acquired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who also won multiple MVP awards, but was unable to make the Finals in the late 1970s. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naismith_Memorial_Basketball_Hall_of_Fame https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_Baylor https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_West https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Finals https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtics%E2%80%93Lakers_rivalry https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Most_Valuable_Player_Award https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971%E2%80%9372_NBA_season https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Sharman https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_Abdul-Jabbar The 1980s Lakers were nicknamed "Showtime" due to their fast break-offense led by Magic Johnson. The team won five championships in a nine-year span, and contained Hall of Famers Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy, and was led by Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley. After Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson retired, the team struggled in the early 1990s, before acquiring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 1996. With the duo, who were led by another Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, the team won three consecutive titles between 2000 to 2002, securing the franchise its second "three-peat". The Lakers won two more championships in 2009 and 2010, but failed to regain their former glory in the following decade. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showtime_(basketball) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Johnson https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Worthy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Riley https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaquille_O%27Neal https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Bryant https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Jackson https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_NBA_Finals https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_NBA_Finals https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-peat https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_NBA_Finals https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_NBA_Finals The Lakers hold the record for NBA's longest winning streak, 33 straight games, set during the 1971–72 season.[12] Twenty-six Hall of Famers have played for Los Angeles, while four have coached the team. Four Lakers—Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, O'Neal, and Bryant—have won the NBA MVP Award for a total of eight awards.[13] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Basketball_Association_longest_winning_streaks https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers#cite_note-12 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers#cite_note-13