this team has been called the greatest
NBA franchise of all time
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’ll
be continuing our series of the most
successful sports franchises with a look
at the LA Lakers
founded in 1946 the NBA’s Los Angeles
Lakers franchise originated in Detroit
Michigan however once been burger and
Morris schaffen paid fifteen thousand
dollars for the Detroit gems they moved
the team to Minneapolis in fact the
team’s official title comes from the
Minnesota state nickname land of 10,000
lakes these are the Minneapolis Lakers
champion basket in with an already
reliable lineup of players the club
brought on center George Mikan who
promptly became the game’s leading
player the Minneapolis Lakers went on to
win the first ever NBA championship in
1950 and then three peated from 1952 to
1954 make his big three of Michaelson
haunted add Mikan go on 73 points along
the Lakers return to the NBA Finals in
1959 only to lose to the Boston Celtics
this matchup sparked one of the greatest
rivalries in all of sports nonetheless
the club managed to win five
championships before owner Bob short
relocated the franchise to Los Angeles
in the 1960-61 season giving the NBA its
first West Coast team the team’s last
season in Minneapolis was a dismal one
however this bleak effort earned them
the second pick in the 1960 NBA Draft
the club chose Jerry West from West
Virginia University despite featuring a
roster of future hall-of-famers such as
Elgin Baylor and West the club’s first
five years in LA saw a dramatic drop in
crowd turnout losing to the Celtics in
the finals four years out of five didn’t
help of course but moving to a brand new
arena did the Lakers acquired Wilt
Chamberlain from the Philadelphia 76ers
on July 9th 1968 the club then went to
set a record during the 1971-72 season
by winning 69 games the Lakers finally
ended their championship drought that
season by defeating the New York Knicks
in five games giving the team their
first championship in Los Angeles the
team missed the playoffs during the
1974-75 season and subsequently acquired
star player Kareem abdul-jabbar this
move assured in the Showtime era which
lasted through the 1980s
this was even more evident once the team
had drafted Earvin Magic Johnson from
Michigan State a move that helped the
team defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in
the 1980 championships Johnson not only
led his squad to 60 wins in his rookie
season but he also earned MVP awards in
the finals after replacing the injured
abdul-jabbar with the Lakers Showtime
era in full swing the 1980s pitted the
physical play of the Celtics against the
more finesse based game of the Lakers
the Lakers took the honors in 1982 85 87
and 88 but then everything changed in
June 1989 Kareem abdul-jabbar announced
his retirement after an illustrious
20-year career and of course on November
7 1991
Magic Johnson announced he had tested
positive for HIV and that he would
retire immediately the Lakers didn’t win
an award in the 1990s but during the
1996 offseason the Club acquired
seventeen-year-old Kobe Bryant from the
Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Vlade
Divac
the Lakers also signed free agent
Shaquille O’Neal during the offseason
and drafted Derek Fisher
in 1999 Phil Jackson joined the Lakers
as head coach and the club moved into
the Staples Center assuring in a new era
of dominance the new century saw the
team three-peat in 2000 2001 and 2002
Kobe said a trophy at home and where it
belongs and we’re going to get another
one next year with so much talent and so
many personalities eventually the club
fell apart the team underwent another
rebuilding period from 2004 to 2007 with
Shaq leaving and Kobe remaining with the
club assembling another cast of players
around Kobe the Lakers won again in 2009
earning the team’s 15th title and their
first in seven years the club repeated
in 2010 this time beating their
archrival the Celtics for their 16th
championship with Kobe managing to pick
up the NBA Finals MVP in both years back
to the White House version incidentally
the Lakers boast only one fewer
championship title than the Celtics who
lead all NBA teams with 17 wins and with
a steady stream of star players ready to
play in the city there’s no doubt
they’ll continue to be winners for years
to come
NBA franchise of all time
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’ll
be continuing our series of the most
successful sports franchises with a look
at the LA Lakers
founded in 1946 the NBA’s Los Angeles
Lakers franchise originated in Detroit
Michigan however once been burger and
Morris schaffen paid fifteen thousand
dollars for the Detroit gems they moved
the team to Minneapolis in fact the
team’s official title comes from the
Minnesota state nickname land of 10,000
lakes these are the Minneapolis Lakers
champion basket in with an already
reliable lineup of players the club
brought on center George Mikan who
promptly became the game’s leading
player the Minneapolis Lakers went on to
win the first ever NBA championship in
1950 and then three peated from 1952 to
1954 make his big three of Michaelson
haunted add Mikan go on 73 points along
the Lakers return to the NBA Finals in
1959 only to lose to the Boston Celtics
this matchup sparked one of the greatest
rivalries in all of sports nonetheless
the club managed to win five
championships before owner Bob short
relocated the franchise to Los Angeles
in the 1960-61 season giving the NBA its
first West Coast team the team’s last
season in Minneapolis was a dismal one
however this bleak effort earned them
the second pick in the 1960 NBA Draft
the club chose Jerry West from West
Virginia University despite featuring a
roster of future hall-of-famers such as
Elgin Baylor and West the club’s first
five years in LA saw a dramatic drop in
crowd turnout losing to the Celtics in
the finals four years out of five didn’t
help of course but moving to a brand new
arena did the Lakers acquired Wilt
Chamberlain from the Philadelphia 76ers
on July 9th 1968 the club then went to
set a record during the 1971-72 season
by winning 69 games the Lakers finally
ended their championship drought that
season by defeating the New York Knicks
in five games giving the team their
first championship in Los Angeles the
team missed the playoffs during the
1974-75 season and subsequently acquired
star player Kareem abdul-jabbar this
move assured in the Showtime era which
lasted through the 1980s
this was even more evident once the team
had drafted Earvin Magic Johnson from
Michigan State a move that helped the
team defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in
the 1980 championships Johnson not only
led his squad to 60 wins in his rookie
season but he also earned MVP awards in
the finals after replacing the injured
abdul-jabbar with the Lakers Showtime
era in full swing the 1980s pitted the
physical play of the Celtics against the
more finesse based game of the Lakers
the Lakers took the honors in 1982 85 87
and 88 but then everything changed in
June 1989 Kareem abdul-jabbar announced
his retirement after an illustrious
20-year career and of course on November
7 1991
Magic Johnson announced he had tested
positive for HIV and that he would
retire immediately the Lakers didn’t win
an award in the 1990s but during the
1996 offseason the Club acquired
seventeen-year-old Kobe Bryant from the
Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Vlade
Divac
the Lakers also signed free agent
Shaquille O’Neal during the offseason
and drafted Derek Fisher
in 1999 Phil Jackson joined the Lakers
as head coach and the club moved into
the Staples Center assuring in a new era
of dominance the new century saw the
team three-peat in 2000 2001 and 2002
Kobe said a trophy at home and where it
belongs and we’re going to get another
one next year with so much talent and so
many personalities eventually the club
fell apart the team underwent another
rebuilding period from 2004 to 2007 with
Shaq leaving and Kobe remaining with the
club assembling another cast of players
around Kobe the Lakers won again in 2009
earning the team’s 15th title and their
first in seven years the club repeated
in 2010 this time beating their
archrival the Celtics for their 16th
championship with Kobe managing to pick
up the NBA Finals MVP in both years back
to the White House version incidentally
the Lakers boast only one fewer
championship title than the Celtics who
lead all NBA teams with 17 wins and with
a steady stream of star players ready to
play in the city there’s no doubt
they’ll continue to be winners for years
to come
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