1980 NBA Finals Game 6: Lakers vs Sixers
17-time NBA champions, tied for most titles until 2024.
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, second to the Boston Celtics.
Quick Facts
- Date
- May 16, 1980
- Venue
- The Spectrum, Philadelphia
- Series result
- Lakers win 4-2
- Key performance
- Magic Johnson: 42 points
- 15 rebounds
- 7 assists
- Critical absence
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Game 6)
- Significance
- First Championship for the 'Showtime' era
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 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 Lakers drafted Magic Johnson first overall in the 1979 NBA draft. The franchise won five championships in nine years, including two of three Finals matchups against the Celtics. The Lakers were defeated by their Boston archrivals in the 1984 Finals, but triumphed over them in 1985 and 1987.
Reader's Guide
The Lakers struggled in the early 1990s after Riley left and Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, and Worthy retired. In 1996, the Lakers traded with the Charlotte Hornets for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant and signed center Shaquille O'Neal. This duo, along with coach Phil Jackson, led the Lakers to three consecutive championships between 2000 and 2002. The 'Shaq-and-Kobe' era ended when the Lakers traded O'Neal after the team lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 Finals.
The Lakers returned to the NBA 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 in franchise history. Gasol left in 2014, and Bryant retired in 2016. The Lakers signed LeBron James in 2018.
In 2019, the team traded several prospects for Anthony Davis. Led by James, Davis, and coach Frank Vogel, the team won its 17th championship in 2020, tying the Celtics for the most titles until 2024. In February 2025, the team traded Davis to acquire Luka Dončić.
Did You Know?
- 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.
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