Most Retired Jersey Numbers in NBA

Lore & Background

The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA with 17 championships, second to the Boston Celtics. The franchise began in 1946 as the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). After one season, the team moved to Minneapolis and was renamed the Minneapolis Lakers. The Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship and 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. 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 1972, they won their sixth NBA title. In the 1980s, the franchise won five championships in nine years. The Lakers won three consecutive championships between 2000 and 2002, and won championships in 2009 and 2010. In 2020, the team won its 17th championship, tying the Celtics for the most titles until 2024.

In Their Own Story

The air in the arena grew heavy with anticipation as the lights dimmed to a deep violet hue. Center court, beneath a single spotlight, lay a velvet-draped frame waiting for its unveiling. 'From Minneapolis to Los Angeles,' the announcer's voice resonated, echoing off the rafters where seventeen banners already swayed gently in the conditioned air. As the curtain fell away, the crowd gasped: #8 and #24 hung side by side, a dual monument to two decades of perfection. The first notes of 'Laker Girl' drifted through the silence, but no one cheered immediately; instead, a collective reverence held the room still as another legend ascended to join the pantheon above, adding yet another layer of weight to a history no other team could claim.

Reader's Guide

The Lakers play their home games at Crypto.com Arena, an arena they share with the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA and the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL. The Lakers hold the record for 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' 33-game winning streak in 1971–72 is the longest in NBA history.
• The Lakers have won 17 NBA championships, second only to the Boston Celtics.
• The franchise began as the Detroit Gems in 1946 before moving to Minneapolis and then Los Angeles.