Los Angeles Lakers

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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 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 four of the next five NBA championships. 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. With Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, coach Pat Riley, and James Worthy, the Lakers won five championships in nine years, including two of three Finals matchups against the Celtics. In 1996, the Lakers traded for Kobe Bryant and signed Shaquille O'Neal; with coach Phil Jackson they won three consecutive championships between 2000 and 2002. After trading O'Neal, the Lakers returned to the Finals after trading for Pau Gasol, losing to the Celtics in 2008 but winning championships in 2009 and 2010. After Jackson retired in 2011, the Lakers endured their longest playoff drought. The team signed LeBron James in 2018 and traded for Anthony Davis in 2019; led by James, Davis, and coach Frank Vogel, they won their 17th championship in 2020. In February 2025, the team traded Davis to acquire Luka Dončić.

In Their Own Story

The season's most seismic moment arrived on February 2, 2025, when the Lakers executed a blockbuster three-team trade with the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz. In a move considered one of the most shocking in NBA history, they acquired superstar Luka Dončić alongside Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris. To facilitate this, Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick went to Dallas, while Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round picks were sent to Utah. This marked the first time ever that two reigning All-NBA players were traded for each other during the season. On the court, drama peaked on March 26, 2025, when LeBron James hit a game-winning buzzer-beating tip-in against the Indiana Pacers for his eighth career such shot. Yet, fate offered immediate reversal; the very next day, they lost to the Chicago Bulls on Josh Giddey's half-court buzzer-beater over LeBron, making them only the fifth team in history to win and lose on consecutive days via buzzer-beaters.

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.

Did You Know?

• The Lakers are one of only eight teams from the NBA's first decade that are still operating today.
• The franchise was originally named the Detroit Gems and played in the NBL.
• The Lakers' 33-game winning streak in 1971–72 is the longest in NBA history.
• The Lakers have won 17 championships, second only to the Boston Celtics.