Los Angeles Lakers

17-time NBA champions, tied for the most in league history.

via Wikipedia: Celtics–Lakers rivalry · see source

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Lakers play their home games at Crypto.com Arena, an arena they share with the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA with 17 championships, tied with the Boston Celtics.

Quick Facts

Total nba finals meetings

First finals meeting

1959

Most recent finals meeting

2010

Primary eras of conflict

1960s
1980s
2000s-2010

Lore & Background

The franchise began in 1946 as the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). After one season, a new owner moved the team to Minneapolis and renamed it the Minneapolis Lakers. The Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America, where they won the 1949 BAA championship. After the merger of the NBL and the BAA into the NBA in 1949, the Lakers won five NBA championships in the early NBA era (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954).

After struggling financially in the late 1950s, they moved to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season. The Lakers made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s, but lost every series to the Celtics. In 1968, the Lakers acquired Wilt Chamberlain, and won their sixth NBA title in 1972. After Chamberlain retired, the team traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

In 1979, Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers and the team drafted Magic Johnson. The franchise won five championships in nine years in the 1980s, including two of three Finals matchups against the Celtics. In 1996, the Lakers traded for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant and signed Shaquille O'Neal, leading to three consecutive championships between 2000 and 2002. After trading for Pau Gasol, the Lakers won championships in 2009 and 2010.

The team won its 17th championship in 2020, tying the Celtics for the most titles until 2024. In February 2025, the team traded Anthony Davis to acquire Luka Dončić.

Reader's Guide

The Lakers hold the record for the NBA's longest winning streak, 33 straight games, set in 1971–72. 26 Hall of Famers have played for Los Angeles, while four have coached the team. Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, O'Neal, and Bryant won a combined eight NBA MVP awards with the Lakers.