Los Angeles Lakers

Lore & Background

The franchise began in 1946 as the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL), and are one of only eight teams from the NBA's first decade that are still operating today. 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, beginning their long and storied rivalry. In 1968, the Lakers acquired four-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Wilt Chamberlain, and won their sixth NBA title in 1972, led by coach Bill Sharman. After Chamberlain retired, the team traded for superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Two big changes came in 1979; first, Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers and pioneered a vision of basketball as entertainment as well as sport. Second, the Lakers drafted Magic Johnson first overall in the 1979 NBA draft. Johnson, a prodigy point guard, and dominant center Abdul-Jabbar became Lakers superstars. The promotion of head coach Pat Riley in 1981 and addition of forward James Worthy in the 1982 draft established the Lakers as an NBA powerhouse in the 1980s.

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. 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 superstar duo, along with Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, led the Lakers to three consecutive championships between 2000 and 2002, securing the franchise's second 'three-peat'. The 'Shaq-and-Kobe' era ended when the Lakers traded O'Neal after the team lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 Finals.

Reader's Guide

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.

Historical Milestone and Era Transition

The 2023–24 season was the 77th season of the franchise, its 76th season in the NBA, its 64th season in Los Angeles, and its 25th season playing home games at Crypto.com Arena. This was the Lakers' second and final season with Darvin Ham as head coach. Prior to the start of the season, LeBron James announced that he would switch his jersey number back to #23 after wearing #6 the previous two seasons. On August 24, 2023, the Lakers announced that a statue of Kobe Bryant would be unveiled in front of Crypto.com Arena on February 8, 2024.

The Lakers finished the season 47–35, moving up to the 8th seed in the Western Conference, which qualified them for the NBA Play-In Tournament for the second consecutive year. They defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 110–106 to go to the playoffs for a second consecutive year. The Lakers played the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs, a rematch of the previous year's Western Conference Finals. However, the Nuggets won the series 4–1, which included two Jamal Murray game-winning shots in Games 2 and 5, respectively.

This is the first time that the Lakers lost in the first round since 2021 when they lost to the eventual Conference champion Phoenix Suns in six games and the second time that James lost in the first round in his career, having also lost to the 2020–21 Suns. On May 3, 2024, the Lakers fired their entire coaching staff, which includes head coach Darvin Ham, after serving for two seasons, and assistant coach Phil Handy, who had been with the team since their 2020 championship season.

Draft Strategy and Asset Management

The Lakers held the 17th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, along with the 47th pick entering the draft. On draft day, in a four-team trade, they traded their 47th pick (which became NBA G League Ignite player Mojave King) and cash considerations to the Indiana Pacers for the 40th pick.

Competitive Structure and Tournament Play

During the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, the Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns 122–119. Later, the Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Utah Jazz, with each of those victories being won by at least 12 points. The team advanced into the knockout tournament rounds of the in-season tournament with the best point differential of the entire event with a +74 in the Western Conference. They then entered the proper tournament with a rematch against the Suns at home before going to Las Vegas, Nevada's T-Mobile Arena for a semifinals match against the New Orleans Pelicans and a championship match against the Indiana Pacers.

Overall, the team held a perfect 7–0 record in the tournament. On December 9, the team won the inaugural NBA Cup, defeating the Indiana Pacers. The Lakers improved to the 4th seed in the Western Conference after their In-Season Tournament run, having a 14–9 record. However, they struggled immediately after the run, eventually falling to 17–19 in January and the 9th seed. Despite this, the Lakers finished the season 47–35, having a record of 23-10 since February 1.