You do not have to follow basketball to know who the Los Angeles Lakers are. The Lakers are one of the most well known teams on the NBA. They do hold a number of records, but throughout their history, there have been a number of bad years. Through good team selection and coaches, the team has fought to get themselves to where they are today.
In the beginning, the Lakers faced a number of difficulties – they won some and they lost some. There were no championship titles or records won by the team – not in the early days.
Originally founded in 1946, the Lakers were known as the Detroit Lakers, as they were based out of Detroit, Michigan. Shortly later, they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. This move was a good one for them, as this is where they won their first championship game – as a matter-of-fact – they won five when they were the Minneapolis Lakers.
Finally, in 1960, the Lakers moved to their home town of Los Angeles. The first decade was a tough ride for the team, as they could not even get into the NBA finals.
The next decade did not look much brighter for the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 1970’s they won a title, which was definitely better than the previous 10 years, but that was it.
In the 1980’s the team started to make a turn for the better. During this decade is when Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – two of the biggest names in the NBA – played for the Lakers. Additionally, Coach Pat Riley coached the team on team-work and helped them jump over their hurdles. During this time, the Los Angeles Lakers won five additional championships, and had their highest number of wins in one given season.
Like any roller coaster, there was a down-slope coming. The 1990’s proved to be an uneventful year for the Lakers. Not to say there was nothing to talk about, but compared to the 80’s, nothing spectacular happened.
Finally, in the 21st century, things are really beginning to look up for the Lakers. They now have players like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, along with Coach Phil Jackson. Already, in just eight years, they have won five NBA finals.
The turn-around, of events, over the past decade, has captured the attention of many fans. The Lakers fans are not your typical fan, but are die-hard fans as they have watched their team struggle and come out of it with shining colors.
At the end of their most recent season, the Lakers held one of the highest number of records in NBA history. One of which was given to them for having the highest number of wins, ever, at over 2,900 wins.
They also hold records for the highest percentage (60%) of won games and appearing in the Finals 29 times. One fete, for them personally, to beat is the number of championship wins held by their rivals – the Boston Celtics. The Lakers are only three championship wins away, but this would be a grand accomplishment for the team.
The amount of talent that has passed through the Los Angeles Lakers is phenomenal. There have been 14 Hall of Fame players, and 4 Hall of Fame coaches, throughout their history. The combination of this talent and coaching has brought the team to where they are today.