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Los Angeles Lakers

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Template:NBA team The Los Angeles Lakers are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, which they share with fellow NBA team the Los Angeles Clippers, and their sister team the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, of those in the sport of basketball.[1]

The Lakers' franchise was founded in Detroit before moving to Minneapolis, where the team got its official title from the state's nickname (Land of 10,000 Lakes),[2] and won 5 league championships within the various leagues before locating to Los Angeles. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Lakers popularity soared, which helped them become one of the most successful franchises in the NBA with superstar players Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and coach Pat Riley winning five titles in that span, with 3 championship series against their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics. The Lakers are notable for having (at the end of the 2007–08 season) the most wins (2,905), the highest winning percentage (61.5%), the most finals appearances (29) of any NBA franchise, and the second most championships (14, behind the Boston Celtics' 17).[3] The Lakers are generally regarded as one of the NBA's most successful franchises. They hold the record for the longest consecutive win streak (33) in U.S. professional team sports (as well as the NBA's record) beginning on November 5th, 1971 and ending on January 7, 1972. The franchise has only missed the NBA playoffs 5 times.[4] According to Forbes magazine, the Lakers are the second most valuable basketball franchise in the United States, valued at approximately $568 million, surpassed only by the New York Knicks.[5] The Lakers lost the 2008 NBA Finals against the Celtics on June 17, 2008 four games to two.

Team history

Main article: History of the Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers began in 1944 when Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen bought the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League for $15,000. The team was relocated to Minneapolis for the 1947 season. As the Gems had by far the worst record in the NBL, the Lakers had the first pick in the 1947 dispersal draft of players from the Professional Basketball League of America, which they used to select George Mikan, later to become arguably the greatest center of his time. With Mikan, new coach John Kundla and an infusion of former University of Minnesota players, the Lakers won the NBL championship in that 1947-48 season and joined three other NBL teams in jumping to the Basketball Association of America, where they promptly won the 1948-49 BAA championship. The NBL and the BAA merged to become the NBA in 1949. [6] The Minneapolis Lakers were one of the dominant teams of the fledgling NBA. With Hall of Famers George Mikan, Vern Mikkelsen, Jim Pollard, Slater Martin, and Clyde Lovellette, they were the NBA's first "dynasty", winning five championships in six years (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954). [6]

After their move to Los Angeles in 1960, the team would go on to feature Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and Wilt Chamberlain. But despite the wealth of talent, they were repeatedly foiled by the Boston Celtics, losing the championship to them six times in eight years. It wasn't until 1972, when the Lakers strung together a record 33-game win streak under Coach of the Year Bill Sharman, that they were able to secure their first championship in Los Angeles. However, even with the addition of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers weren't able to win another championship until the arrival of Earvin "Magic" Johnson in 1979, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 championship series.(thanks to an MVP performance by the rookie Johnson, who, starting for the injured Abdul-Jabbar, had 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists to clinch the series). Under coach Pat Riley, a former Laker player, the Lakers then went on to dominate the 1980s, appearing in the finals eight times in the decade and being crowned champions five times (4 with Riley as coach after replacing Paul Westhead, under whom they won in 1980), including consecutive championships in 1987 and 1988, the first team to do so since Boston in 1969. [6]


Although they made another finals appearance in 1991, they spent most of the 1990s fielding teams that were not considered legitimate title contenders. However, during the 1996 off-season, the Lakers signed Shaquille O'Neal and acquired rookie Kobe Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets. Following the hiring of Phil Jackson as head coach in 1999, the team returned to championship form; led by O'Neal, Bryant, and a talented supporting cast, the Lakers won three consecutive NBA Finals from 2000-02. [6]

Most recently, the Lakers endured a series of off-the-court problems, largely the result of friction among O'Neal, Bryant, and Jackson. In 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat and Jackson temporarily retired. After the Lakers struggled in 2004-05, Jackson returned for the following season, and the Bryant-led team returned to the postseason, losing to the Phoenix Suns in the first round in both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. The team finished 42-40 in the 2006-07 NBA season, Jackson's worst record of his coaching career. On February 1, 2008 the Lakers traded Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron Mckie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol, and two first round draft picks to the Memphis Grizzlies for Pau Gasol and second round draft choice. [7] After the trade, the Lakers went on to clinch the no. 1 seed in the Western Conference.[8] They first defeated the Denver Nuggets in four games, and went on to beat the Utah Jazz and the defending champion, San Antonio Spurs, and five games, respectively.[9][10]They were able to enter the NBA Finals where they faced a familiar foe whom they hadn't met in the finals since 1987, the Boston Celtics.[11]They then lost in 6 games with the Lakers having one of the all around worst performances in NBA Finals history, losing by 39 points with a final score of 131-92.

Celebrity fans

Lakers fan Jack Nicholson

Given the team's proximity to Hollywood, the Lakers fan base has many famous actors and musicians who are regularly seen at home games. Jack Nicholson is the most prominent member of this group, having held season tickets since the 1970s.[12] Other celebrities known as long-standing ticket-holders include Lou Adler, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Dreyfuss, Pete Sampras, Andy Garcia, Penny Marshall, Ice Cube, Sylvester Stallone, Dyan Cannon, Tobey Maguire, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek, Mary Carey, The Game, Polow Da Don, Snoop Dogg, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Jackie Chan, Ashton Kutcher, Will Smith, Demi Moore, Ray Lewis, and Tyra Banks (who is a good friend of Kobe Bryant). The members of the Southern California-based Red Hot Chili Peppers are also known to be longtime Laker fans.[12] The songs "Salute to Kareem" and "Magic Johnson", a tribute to the "Showtime"-era Lakers, can be found on the band's album Mother's Milk.[12] As of the 2006-2007 season, Chili Peppers' bassist Flea, a self-proclaimed Lakers fanatic, writes a blog on the Lakers for NBA.com.[13] The musician Mike Patton of Faith No More, Mr. Bungle can often be seen in photos wearing a Laker jersey and Lil Wayne is also a self-proclaimed laker fan in his song "Best of Me Freestyle". And in the music video for " Everything" Lil Wayne is seen wearing a backwards Kobe Bryant Jersey

Logo and uniforms

Further information: Logos and uniforms of the Los Angeles Lakers


The Lakers are the only team in the NBA to wear home uniforms that are not primarily white. Since the 2002-03 season, however, the team has worn white jerseys on Sunday and holiday home games. The white jerseys were designed by Lakers owner Jerry Buss' daughter, Jeannie Buss, in tribute to Chick Hearn, who was regarded as the voice of the team for forty years until his death in August 2002.

In a rather unusual move, the team wore their home gold uniforms on the road in their December 23, 2007 game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden as opposed to their purple away uniforms, but both the Lakers and the Knicks were wearing throwback uniforms during the game, so the Lakers home gold uniforms were older versions. This was the game that Kobe Bryant surpassed Wilt Chamberlain as the youngest player to reach 20,000 points. Similarly, they wore the gold uniforms in a game against the Sixers two nights before with both teams again wearing throwback uniforms. However, during their January 31 game at Detroit, the Lakers wore their regular purple road jerseys despite the fact that it was a "Hardwood Classics Nights" game, with the Pistons wearing their 1958 home jerseys. [14]

In a home game vs. the Boston Celtics on December 30, 2007, the Lakers again wore their gold throwbacks, but wore short shorts from the 1980s in the first half and returned to the longer ones for the second half.

In a home game vs the Golden State Warriors on March 24, 2008, the Lakers wore their white jerseys with the Spanish word "los" on the top of the word Lakers which spelled "Los Lakers", like the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs had done in weeks prior. These uniforms, along with the Miami Heat's "El Heat" jerseys, were intended to pay tribute to the Hispanic roots of the representative cities.

The Laker colors in Minneapolis were white at home and light blue with yellow trim on the road. After moving to Los Angeles for the 1960-61 NBA season, the team colors were blue, light blue, and white. The team switched to purple and gold in the late 1960s.

Kobe Bryant in a Lakers uniform.

Season-by-season records

Further information: Los Angeles Lakers seasons

Franchise and NBA records

Further information: Los Angeles Lakers accomplishments and records

Home arenas

Players

For the complete list of Los Angeles Lakers players see: Los Angeles Lakers all-time roster.

Current roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
C 14 Castleton, Colin (TW) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 231 lb (105 kg) 2000-05-25 Florida
G 12 Christie, Max 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-02-10 Michigan State
F/C 3 Davis, Anthony 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1993-03-11 Kentucky
G 26 Dinwiddie, Spencer (FA) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1993-04-06 Colorado
F/C 20 Giles, Harry III (FA) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1998-04-22 Duke
F 28 Hachimura, Rui 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1998-02-08 Gonzaga
F/C 11 Hayes, Jaxson 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 2000-05-23 Texas
F 36 Hinson, Blake (TW) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1999-12-26 Pittsburgh
G 0 Hood-Schifino, Jalen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2003-06-19 Indiana
G 9 James, Bronny 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2004-10-06 USC
F 23 James, LeBron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1984-12-30 St. Vincent-St. Mary HS (OH)
G/F 4 Knecht, Dalton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 2001-04-19 Tennessee
F 21 Lewis, Maxwell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2002-07-27 Pepperdine
G — Mays, Skylar (FA) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-09-05 LSU
G 15 Reaves, Austin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1998-05-29 Oklahoma
G/F 5 Reddish, Cam 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1999-09-01 Duke
G 1 Russell, D'Angelo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1996-02-23 Ohio State
F 37 Traoré, Armel (TW) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2003-01-23 France
F 2 Vanderbilt, Jarred 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1999-04-03 Kentucky
G 7 Vincent, Gabe 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1996-07-14 UC Santa Barbara
F/C 35 Wood, Christian 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 223 lb (101 kg) 1995-09-27 UNLV
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • (L) On leave from the team
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: July 6, 2024

Hall of Famers

(#) - denotes retired Lakers numbers

Head coaches

Term Coach Reg. Season Playoffs Championships
1948-57 John Kundla 380-240 54-28 5
1957-58 George Mikan 9-30 - -
John Kundla 10-23 - -
1958-59 John Kundla 33-39 6-7 -
1959-60 John Castellani 11-25 - -
Jim Pollard 14-25 5-4 -
1960-67 Fred Schaus 315-245 33-38 -
1967-69 Bill Van Breda Kolff 107-57 21-12 -
1969-71 Joe Mullaney 94-70 16-14 -
1971-76 Bill Sharman 246-164 22-15 1
1976-79 Jerry West 145-101 8-14 -
1979-80 Jack McKinney 9-4 - -
Paul Westhead 51-18 12-4 1
1980-82 Paul Westhead 61-32 1-2 -
1981-82 Pat Riley 50-21 12-2 1
1982-90 Pat Riley 483-173 90-47 4
1990-92 Mike Dunleavy 101- 63 13-10 -
1992-94 Randy Pfund 66-80 2-3 -
1993-94 Bill Bertka 1-1 - -
Magic Johnson 5-11 - -
1994-99 Del Harris 224-116 17-19 -
1998-99 Bill Bertka 1- 0 - -
Kurt Rambis 24-13 3-5 -
1999-04 Phil Jackson 287-123 64-28 3
2004-05 Rudy Tomjanovich 24-19 - -
Frank Hamblen 10-29 - -
2005-present Phil Jackson 144-102 17-14 -

Radio and television

Main article: List of Los Angeles Lakers broadcasters

As noted above, Chick Hearn was the team's broadcaster for 41 years until his death in 2002. After Hearn's death, the Lakers decided to continue simulcasts of games that had begun when he was the voice. Paul Sunderland, who had filled in for a couple of games while Hearn recuperated in 2001-02, was named the permanent play-by-play announcer effective with the season after Hearn's death. Stu Lantz was retained as the color commentator.

In 2003, the Lakers decided to end the simulcasts. Sunderland's voice would be heard only on the telecasts, while Mychal Thompson, the latter a member of the 1987-88 Lakers championship team, was named as the announcer on radio broadcasts.

Sunderland's contract expired in the summer of 2005, and the team chose not to renew it. Meyers moved in alongside Lantz as the TV announcer, while Spero Dedes was named to call play-by-play on radio. The current teams are Dedes and Thompson (radio) and Meyers and Lantz (TV).

As of 2006-07, Lakers radio broadcasts are heard on KLAC in English and KWKW in Spanish. KLAC has had the team's broadcast rights since the 1976-77 season. Telecasts are split between KCAL-TV (road games) and Fox Sports Net West (home games), unless they are chosen for national broadcasts on ABC or TNT. KCAL has been the Lakers' over-the-air television broadcaster since 1977, dating back to when the station was the RKO General-owned KHJ-TV. This is longer than any other station currently airing NBA games. Prior to KHJ, Laker games were televised on KTLA.

While all games are broadcast live on local radio, selected road telecasts from East Coast cities are shown with a tape delay, usually 60 to 90 minutes after the actual starting time. The explanation given is to increase the TV ratings by showing the game at a more convenient time to Southern California fans, who live three time zones away from the site of the game. During the simulcast years, these games were also delayed on the radio.

References

  1. ^ Staples Center :: About :: About STAPLES Center
  2. ^ Tracey Reavis. "The Nicknames". The Official NBA Encyclopedia (3rd Edition). New York: Doubleday, 2000. pg. 95.
  3. ^ Team Index - Basketball-Reference.com
  4. ^ Los Angeles Lakers - Basketball-Reference.com
  5. ^ Forbes: NBA Team Valuations
  6. ^ a b c d "LAKERS: Los Angeles Lakers Hisotry". NBA.com. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  7. ^ Lakers Acquire Gasol From Grizzlies
  8. ^ [http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/080415_gameday_kings.html
  9. ^ KCAL9.com
  10. ^ Bryant’s 39 points lead Lakers past Spurs 100-92
  11. ^ Lakers and Celtics hold finals reunion
  12. ^ a b c "TOP 10 CELEBRITY LAKERS FANS". NBA.com. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  13. ^ "NBA.com Blog: Flea". NBA.com. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  14. ^ ESPN - Los Angeles vs. New York - Recap - December 23, 2007

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Los Angeles Lakers.
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