63 Facts About The Los Angeles Lakers

1.

The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division.

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2.

The The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, and have won 17 NBA championships, tied with the Boston Celtics for the most in NBA history.

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3.

Second, the The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Magic Johnson first overall in the 1979 NBA draft.

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4.

The The Los Angeles Lakers were defeated by their Boston archrivals in the 1984 Finals, but triumphed over the Celtics in 1985 and 1987.

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5.

The 2010 Finals marked the latest matchup of the Lakers and Celtics, with Los Angeles winning its 16th title against its ancient rival in a seven-game series.

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6.

Jackson retired from coaching in 2011, and after a string of tumultuous playoff exits, the The Los Angeles Lakers endured their longest playoff drought in franchise history.

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7.

The The Los Angeles Lakers—led by James, Davis, and head coach Frank Vogel—won the team's 17th championship in 2020, tying the Celtics for the most titles in NBA history.

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8.

The Los Angeles Lakers' franchise began in 1947 when Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen of Minnesota purchased the recently disbanded Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League for $15,000 from Gems owner Maury Winston.

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9.

The Los Angeles Lakers had a solid roster, which featured forward Jim Pollard, playmaker Herm Schaefer, and center George Mikan, who became the most dominant player in the NBL.

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10.

In 1948, the The Los Angeles Lakers moved from the NBL to the Basketball Association of America, and Mikan's 28.

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11.

The Los Angeles Lakers earned the top pick in the 1958 NBA draft and used it to select Elgin Baylor.

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12.

The Lakers lost to the Celtics by three points in overtime of game seven.

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13.

The The Los Angeles Lakers surged past the Baltimore Bullets in the division finals, behind West's record-setting 46.

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14.

Los Angeles lost in the finals to Boston in seven games again in 1966, this time by two points.

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15.

Down by 16 entering the fourth quarter, and 10 with a minute and a half to go, the Lakers mounted a furious rally in the closing moments, which fell just short.

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16.

The Lakers and Celtics again met in the finals, and Los Angeles had home court advantage against Boston for the first time in their rivalry.

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17.

The next season the The Los Angeles Lakers were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks, led by future Laker Lew Alcindor in the Western Conference Finals.

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18.

The Los Angeles Lakers introduced the concept of the shootaround, where players would arrive at the arena early in the morning before a game to practice shots.

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19.

The Lakers went on to reach the finals against the New York Knicks where they would avenge their 1970 finals loss by defeating them 4 games to 1.

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20.

Los Angeles took the first game by three points, but New York won the series in five games.

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21.

The Los Angeles Lakers was traded for Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Junior Bridgeman, and Dave Meyers.

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22.

The The Los Angeles Lakers won 60 games in Johnson's rookie year, and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the 1980 NBA Finals.

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23.

Los Angeles stretched its postseason winning streak to nine games by taking the first contest of the NBA Finals from the 76ers.

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24.

On draft night in 1982, the The Los Angeles Lakers had the first overall pick and selected James Worthy from North Carolina.

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25.

Los Angeles would take the series in seven games, and James Worthy's game seven triple-double earned him a Finals MVP award.

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26.

The 1991 Finals represented a changing of the guard as the The Los Angeles Lakers were defeated in five games by the Chicago Bulls, led by superstar Michael Jordan.

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27.

Under new coach Del Harris, Los Angeles made the playoffs each of the next two seasons but was eliminated in the second and first rounds respectively.

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28.

Los Angeles battled Seattle for the Pacific Division title most of the season.

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29.

The The Los Angeles Lakers defeated Portland three games to one in the first round to advance to face Seattle.

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30.

The The Los Angeles Lakers defeated Houston in the first round of the playoffs, but were swept by San Antonio in the next round.

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31.

The Los Angeles Lakers brought along assistant Tex Winter and they installed Winter's version of the triangle offense.

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32.

The The Los Angeles Lakers went on to win game seven in overtime, with the Kings missing numerous potentially game-saving shots and free throws.

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33.

The The Los Angeles Lakers then achieved a three-peat by sweeping Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals.

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34.

The The Los Angeles Lakers clinched a playoff berth on the final game of the season and finished seventh in the Western Conference after beating the Houston Rockets on April 16,2013.

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35.

The The Los Angeles Lakers battled injuries all season, the most prominent of which is the Achilles tendon rupture to Kobe Bryant that ended his season after 78 games.

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36.

The absence of Bryant was sorely felt as the The Los Angeles Lakers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs.

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37.

On March 25,2014, the The Los Angeles Lakers scored 51 points in the third quarter against the New York Knicks, the most points scored in a quarter in the history of the franchise.

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38.

The The Los Angeles Lakers went on to miss the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2005, for just the second time in the last two decades and for just the sixth time in franchise history.

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39.

The Lakers began their season losing 10 of their first 16 games.

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40.

The The Los Angeles Lakers earned the second overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, and selected Brandon Ingram from Duke University.

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41.

On February 21,2017, the The Los Angeles Lakers fired general manager Mitch Kupchak, while Magic Johnson was named as the president of basketball operations.

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42.

On March 7,2017, the The Los Angeles Lakers hired Rob Pelinka as the general manager, signing him to a five-year deal.

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43.

The The Los Angeles Lakers again earned the second overall pick, this time, in the 2017 NBA draft, and selected Lonzo Ball from UCLA.

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44.

The The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Kyle Kuzma from the University of Utah with the 27th overall pick from a draft-day trade, along with Brook Lopez in exchange for D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov.

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45.

The The Los Angeles Lakers traded their 28th overall pick, Tony Bradley, in exchange for the 30th overall pick, Josh Hart, from Villanova University and the 42nd overall pick, Thomas Bryant, from Indiana University.

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46.

The The Los Angeles Lakers received the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft lottery.

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47.

On July 6, the The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans for Ball, Ingram, Hart, and three first-round picks, including the number four overall in the 2019 draft.

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48.

Alex Caruso left the The Los Angeles Lakers and signed with the Chicago Bulls, and veteran locker-room voice Jared Dudley retired.

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49.

Rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the The Los Angeles Lakers involves the two most storied basketball franchises in National Basketball Association history.

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50.

San Antonio Spurs and the The Los Angeles Lakers, developed what some would classify as a rivalry in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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51.

The The Los Angeles Lakers were sold to a group of investors led by Bob Short, however.

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52.

The Los Angeles Lakers personally financed construction of the Forum in 1967 at a cost of $16.

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53.

The Los Angeles Lakers's controlling ownership of the team passed to his six children via a trust, with each child receiving an equal vote.

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54.

In 2008, the team sold out every home game, and in 2010, the The Los Angeles Lakers had the most popular team merchandise among all NBA teams, and Bryant the most popular jersey.

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55.

The Lakers logo consists of the team name, "Los Angeles Lakers" written in purple on top of a gold basketball.

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56.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won 17 NBA titles and have appeared in the NBA Finals 15 other times.

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57.

The Los Angeles Lakers hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA.

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58.

The Los Angeles Lakers have had three first overall picks in their history: Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson and James Worthy.

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59.

The The Los Angeles Lakers have had six lottery picks in their history: Eddie Jones, Andrew Bynum, Julius Randle, D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball.

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60.

The Los Angeles Lakers have 38 Hall of Famers who contributed to the organization.

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61.

The Los Angeles Lakers have retired eleven jersey numbers and an honorary microphone in honor of their players and broadcaster:.

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62.

The Los Angeles Lakers was a part of the team's "inner sanctum" when Cooke was owner, and was consulted on basketball decisions.

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63.

The The Los Angeles Lakers had been on Fox Sports West since 1985, dating to when it was the original Prime Ticket and owned by Buss.

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