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98-469: On December 5, 2018, Los Angeles was announced as one of eight cities that would join the newly reformed XFL, as well as Seattle , Houston , Los Angeles, New York , St. Louis , Tampa Bay , and Dallas . On May 7, 2019, Winston Moss was announced as the team's head coach. On August 21, 2019, the team revealed its name, logos, and identity as the Los Angeles Wildcats, alongside the rest of

196-423: A Laker, Chamberlain set a team record by averaging a league-leading 21.1 rpg. West, Baylor, and Chamberlain each averaged over 20 points, and Los Angeles won their division. 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. They won the first game behind Jerry West's 53 points, and had a 3–2 lead after five. Boston won

294-429: A book about the team's 2003–04 season, in which he heavily criticized Bryant and called him "uncoachable". The Lakers front office said that the book contained "several inaccuracies". The Lakers also traded Rick Fox and Gary Payton to Boston, for Chris Mihm , Marcus Banks , and Chucky Atkins before the 2004–05 season . Derek Fisher, frustrated with losing playing time, opted out of his contract and signed with

392-521: A buzzer-beater by Mike Bibby , the Lakers were faced with a must-win game six. In one of the most controversial playoff games in league history ( Tim Donaghy 's betting scandal ), the Lakers would win by four points. The Lakers went on to win game seven in overtime, with the Kings missing numerous potentially game-saving shots and free throws. The Lakers then achieved a three-peat by sweeping Jason Kidd and

490-605: A first-round loss to the Rockets , Johnson decided to retire for the final time after the season. During the 1996 off-season, the Lakers acquired 17-year-old Kobe Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets for Vlade Divac ; Bryant was drafted 13th overall out of Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania in that year's draft , by Charlotte. Los Angeles also signed free-agent Shaquille O'Neal . Trading for Bryant

588-594: A knee injury. O'Neal averaged 26.2 ppg and 12.5 rpg and finished third in the league in blocked shots (2.88 bpg) in 51 games. The Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs as O'Neal scored 46 points in Game ;1 against the Trail Blazers, marking the highest single-game playoff scoring output by a Laker since Jerry West scored 53 against

686-619: A league-low 19 games. They had hired Mikan, who had been the team's general manager for the previous two seasons, as head coach to replace Kundla. Mikan was fired in January when the team was 9–30, and Kundla was rehired. The Lakers earned the top pick in the 1958 NBA draft and used it to select Elgin Baylor . Baylor, who was named NBA Rookie of the Year and co-MVP of the 1959 NBA All-Star Game , averaged 24.9 ppg and 15.0 rpg helping

784-631: A part of the merger. Geographic concerns were a substantial factor in the Dragons being excluded, as the newly merged league had a reduced geographic footprint (concentrated mostly in the midwestern and southern United States) compared to the XFL in an effort to limit travel expenses. Qwynnterrio Cole 2023 Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles . The Lakers compete in

882-665: A potential game-winning 18 foot jump shot in regulation, a miss which he said in June 2010 still haunted him more than 40 years later. Los Angeles won 53 games in 1962–63 , behind Baylor's 34.0 ppg and West's 27.1 ppg but lost in the NBA Finals in six games to the Celtics. After falling to 42–38 and losing in the first round of the 1964 NBA playoffs to the Hawks, the team won 49 games in 1964–65. The Lakers surged past

980-437: A rebound. The team's starting power forward, Kermit Washington , who was averaging 11.5 points and 11.2 rebounds, entered the fight, and when Rudy Tomjanovich ran in from the bench to break up the action, Washington punched him in the face. Tomjanovich nearly died from the punch, suffering a fractured skull and other facial injuries, which prematurely ended his playing career. Washington, who stated that he assumed Tomjanovich

1078-520: A record for longest winning streak of any team in major American professional team sports. The Lakers won 69 games that season, which stood as the NBA record for 24 years until the Chicago Bulls won 72 games in 1995–96. Chamberlain averaged a low 14.8 points but led the league in rebounding at 19.2 a game. West's 9.7 assists per game (apg) led the league, he also averaged more than 25 points, and

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1176-594: A scramble left for a five-yard score. On February 23, 2020, the Wildcats earned their first win in franchise history, defeating the DC Defenders 39–9. On March 8, 2020, the Wildcats came from behind to win against the Tampa Bay Vipers 41–34 in what was the final game of the 2020 iteration of the XFL. On March 12, 2020, The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been cancelled due to

1274-461: A trade to either New York or Los Angeles. He was traded for Elmore Smith , Brian Winters , Junior Bridgeman , and Dave Meyers . Abdul-Jabbar had his fourth MVP season in 1975–76 , leading the league in rebounding, blocked shots, and minutes played. The Lakers struggled in January, going 3–10, and finished out of the playoffs at 40–42. West and Cooke settled their differences—and the former Laker's lawsuit—and Cooke hired him to replace Sharman as

1372-552: The 1972–73 season , and took another Pacific Division title. Wilt Chamberlain, playing in his final season, again led the league in rebounding and set the NBA record for field-goal percentage at 72.7% which stood for several decades. The team defeated the Chicago Bulls in seven games in the conference semifinals, then the Golden State Warriors in five in the Western Division Finals. They played

1470-528: The 1979 NBA draft . The combination of Johnson, a prodigy point guard , and dominant center in Abdul-Jabbar provided the Lakers with superstars to anchor their roster. The promotion of head coach Pat Riley in 1981 and addition of forward James Worthy through the 1982 draft established the Lakers as an NBA powerhouse throughout the 1980s. The franchise won five championships in a nine-year span, including two out of three marquee Finals matchups against

1568-476: The 1986–87 season , the Lakers moved A.C. Green into the starting lineup, and acquired Mychal Thompson from the Spurs. Johnson won his first career MVP Award while leading the Lakers to a 65–17 record, and Michael Cooper was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Before the season, Riley had made the decision to shift the focus of the offense to Johnson over the 40-year-old Abdul-Jabbar. The Lakers advanced to

1666-404: The 1993–94 season , Pfund was fired during the season that would result in the Lakers failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 1976. Magic Johnson, would coach the final 16 games of the season with former teammate Michael Cooper as his lead assistant. Johnson decided not to take the job permanently due to what he felt was a lack of commitment from certain players, and Los Angeles ended

1764-522: The Baltimore Bullets in the division finals, behind West's record-setting 46.3 ppg in the series. They lost again to the Celtics in the Finals however, this time in five games. Los Angeles lost in the finals to Boston in seven games again in 1966, this time by two points. Down by 16 entering the fourth quarter, and 10 with a minute and a half to go, the Lakers mounted a furious rally in

1862-497: The COVID-19 pandemic . The team finished with a 1–4 record. On April 10, 2020, the XFL suspended operations, with all of the league's employees, players and staff being terminated. On August 3, 2020, it was reported that a consortium led by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson , Dany Garcia , and Gerry Cardinale (through Cardinale's fund RedBird Capital Partners) purchased the XFL for $ 15 million just hours before an auction could take place;

1960-402: The COVID-19 pandemic . The team finished with a 2–3 record. On April 10, 2020, the XFL suspended operations, with all of the league's employees, players, and staff terminated. On July 24, 2022, the XFL announced its reactivation for the 2023 season , and confirmed that the Wildcats would not return for that season. On October 31, 2022, the league announced that the Wildcats' place in the league

2058-551: The DC Defenders in the North Division title game in the playoffs. In September 2023, Axios reported that the XFL was in advanced talks with the USFL to merge the two leagues prior to the start of their 2024 seasons. On September 28, 2023, the XFL and USFL announced their intent to merge with details surrounding the merger to be announced at a later date. The merger would also require regulatory approval. In October 2023

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2156-477: The Golden State Warriors later achieved this feat in 2022 . In the 1985–86 season , the Lakers started 24–3 and went on to win 62 games and their fifth straight division title. The Rockets , however, defeated the Lakers in five games in the Western Conference Finals . Houston won the series when Ralph Sampson hit a 20-foot jumper as time expired in game five at The Forum. Prior to

2254-540: The Great Western Forum . Before the 1999–2000 season , West was prepared to hire Rambis as the team's full-time coach before an outcry from fans and members of the organization caused him to seek out a bigger name. Los Angeles hired former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson , who had coached that team to six championships, and gave him a lucrative $ 6 million a year contract. He brought along assistant Tex Winter and they installed Winter's version of

2352-996: The LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC in MLS and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels in the MLB Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington . The Sea Dragons competed in the second incarnation of the XFL . The team was founded by Vince McMahon ’s Alpha Entertainment as the Seattle Dragons , and were owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson ’s Alpha Acquico. The Sea Dragons played their home games at Lumen Field . On December 5, 2018, Seattle

2450-685: The NBA Finals by sweeping the Nuggets , defeating the Warriors in five games, and sweeping the SuperSonics in the Western Conference Finals . The Lakers defeated Boston in the first two games of the Finals, and the teams split the next four games, giving Los Angeles their second championship in three seasons. The series was highlighted by Johnson's running "baby hook" shot to win game four at Boston Garden with two seconds remaining. Johnson

2548-564: The NBA Finals in 10 years, they once again faced the Detroit Pistons . Hampered by injuries to Byron Scott and Johnson, the Lakers were swept by Detroit. Following the 1989 Finals, on June 28, 1989, after 20 professional seasons, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar announced his retirement. The Lakers still cruised through the Pacific Division, winning their ninth consecutive division crown with a 63–19 record. However, after beating

2646-502: The NBA Finals . In the Finals, they would lose to Detroit in five games. During the 2004 off-season, the team entered a rebuilding phase when O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom , Brian Grant , Caron Butler , and a first-round draft pick. Bryant and O'Neal had clashed in the past , and the media credited their feud as one of the motivating factors for the trade. Jackson did not return as head coach, and wrote

2744-905: 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 , and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League . The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA with 17 championships,

2842-476: The New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals . O'Neal won each of the Finals series' MVP awards, making him the only player besides Michael Jordan to win three consecutive Finals MVPs. The Lakers would attempt a four-peat the following year, but started the 2002–03 season 11–19. However, they finished the season 39–13 to finish 50–32. They defeated Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs , but

2940-493: The Rockets in the first round, they lost four games to one in the second round of the playoffs to the Suns . Riley announced he was stepping down after the season citing burnout , and was replaced by Mike Dunleavy . Riley's departure received a mixed reaction from the players. They respected his contributions, but some, such as Worthy and Scott, had grown tired of his intense practices and felt he tried to take too much credit for

3038-591: The Spurs in the first round of the Western Conference Finals before pulling out a tough seven-game series win over the Utah Jazz led by youngsters Karl Malone and John Stockton . A seven-game Western Conference finals win over the Dallas Mavericks propelled the Lakers to the NBA Finals once again. In their seventh trip to the Finals in nine years, they met the Detroit Pistons . Los Angeles would take

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3136-627: The Western Conference playoffs . In the NBA Finals , the Celtics were again the Lakers' final hurdle. Los Angeles lost game one of the NBA Finals by a score of 148–114, in what is remembered as the "Memorial Day Massacre". The Lakers, behind 38-year-old Finals MVP Abdul-Jabbar, recovered to defeat the Celtics in six games. The team won the title in the Boston Garden and became the first visiting team to ever win an NBA championship in Boston, as

3234-569: The playoffs , they swept Portland and defeated San Antonio four games to one to advance to the Western Conference Finals to face Sacramento . The series would go on to be known as one of the greatest playoff matchups in NBA history. The series extended to all seven games and ended in a Lakers victory. In game one, Bryant scored 30 points as the Lakers won, 106–99. The series would then shift in Sacramento's favor, with

3332-536: The triangle offense . The Lakers signed veterans Brian Shaw , John Salley , Ron Harper , and A.C. Green , who was a Laker during the "Showtime" era. The team also moved to a new arena, the Staples Center. Led by league MVP O'Neal, the Lakers won 31 of their first 36 games. They finished 67–15, the highest win total since they won 65 in the 1986–87 season . Then eliminated Sacramento and Phoenix in

3430-565: The 1930s and 1940s. The Wildcats were in one of the most heavily crowded sports markets in the United States, competing for sports dollars against two NFL teams ( Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers ), two NHL teams ( Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks ), two NBA teams ( Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers ), multiple NCAA Division I college basketball and college football programs, and in March and April, both

3528-506: The 1949 BAA championship. Following 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 relocated 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,

3626-465: The Celtics in 1969. In the next round, the Lakers lost in five games to the Utah Jazz . In the 1997–98 season , O'Neal and the Lakers had the best start in franchise history, 11–0. O'Neal would miss 20 games on the season due to an abdominal injury. Los Angeles battled Seattle for the Pacific Division title most of the season. In the final two months, the Lakers won 22 of their final 25 games, finishing 61–21, but still finished second to Seattle in

3724-435: The Celtics. The Lakers were defeated by their Boston archrivals in the 1984 Finals , but triumphed over them in 1985 and 1987 . After Riley departed and Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, and Worthy retired, the Lakers struggled in the early 1990s. It was not until 1996 when the team traded with the Charlotte Hornets for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant and signed center Shaquille O'Neal that the Lakers returned to dominance during

3822-506: The Finals in 12 years. The 1991 Finals represented a changing of the guard as the Lakers were defeated in five games by the Chicago Bulls , led by superstar Michael Jordan . On November 7, 1991, Magic Johnson announced he had tested positive for HIV and would retire immediately. In their first season without Johnson, the team won 43 games to earn the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs . The Lakers were defeated in

3920-565: The Fort Wayne Pistons in the semifinals. Although they had losing records the next two seasons, they made the playoffs each year. Mikan came back for the last half of the 1955–56 season , but struggled and retired for good after the season. Led by Lovellette's 20.6 points and 13.5 rebounds, they advanced to the Conference Finals in 1956–57. The Lakers had one of the worst seasons in team history in 1957–58 when they won

4018-405: The Kings winning the next two games. Facing a deficit in game 4, the Lakers had the ball with under 20 seconds to play. After misses by both Bryant and O'Neal, Kings center Vlade Divac tapped the ball away from the rim in an attempt to wind down the clock. It went straight into Robert Horry 's hands, who drained a game-winning three with under three seconds to play. After the Kings won game five on

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4116-449: 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 the retirement of Chamberlain, 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

4214-510: The Lakers defeated Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers four games to two win their first title since 1988 . West retired from his spot in the team's front office after the season after a power struggle between him and Jackson over control of the team's operations. After the season, starters Rice and Green left the team, and Los Angeles signed Horace Grant . The following season , the Lakers won 11 fewer regular season games than

4312-461: The Lakers had the first overall pick (the result of a trade with Cleveland midway through the 1979–80 season, when the Lakers had sent Don Ford and a 1980 first-round pick to the Cavaliers for Butch Lee and their 1982 selection) and selected James Worthy from North Carolina . The Lakers won the Pacific Division at 58–24, but Worthy suffered a leg injury in the last week of the season and missed

4410-485: The Lakers improve to second in their division despite a 33–39 record. After upsetting the Hawks in six games in the division finals, they returned to the NBA Finals, but were swept by the Celtics, beginning their long rivalry. In their last year in Minneapolis, the Lakers went 25–50. On January 18, 1960, the team was coming off a loss and traveling to St. Louis when their plane crash-landed. Snow storms had driven

4508-401: The Lakers improved to 54–26 in 1961–62 , and made the finals . In a game five victory, Baylor grabbed 22 rebounds and set the still-standing NBA record for points in a finals game with 61, despite fouling out of the game. The Lakers, however, lost to the Celtics by three points in overtime of game seven. Frank Selvy , after making two jumpers in the final 40 seconds to tie the game, missed

4606-471: The Lakers rallied to finish 47–35 and win the Pacific Division. They made the playoffs but managed just one win against Milwaukee in the conference semifinals. Following the season, West retired due to contract disagreements with Cooke, and filed a suit for unpaid back wages. After missing the playoffs in the 1974–75 season , the Lakers acquired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , who had won three league MVPs by that time. Abdul-Jabbar wanted out of Milwaukee, demanding

4704-464: The Lakers signed superstar LeBron James in 2018. In 2019, the team traded several of those prospects for star big man Anthony Davis . The Lakers—led by James, Davis, and coach Frank Vogel —won the team's 17th championship in 2020 , tying the Celtics for the most titles until 2024. 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

4802-420: The NBA Finals, losing to the Celtics in 2008 but winning championships in 2009 and 2010 . The 2010 Finals marked the latest matchup of the Lakers and Celtics, with Los Angeles winning its 16th title. Jackson retired in 2011, and the Lakers endured their longest playoff drought in franchise history. Gasol departed in 2014, and Bryant retired in 2016. After rebuilding seasons with young, highly rated prospects,

4900-620: The NBL Championship that season. In 1948, the Lakers moved from the NBL to the Basketball Association of America (BAA), and Mikan's 28.3 point per game (ppg) scoring average set a BAA record. In the 1949 BAA Finals they won the championship, beating the Washington Capitols four games to two. Following the season, the BAA and the NBL merged to form the National Basketball Association (NBA). In

4998-551: The New York Knicks in the 1973 NBA Finals . Los Angeles took the first game by three points, but New York won the series in five games. During the 1973–74 season , the team was hampered by the loss of West, who played only 31 games before his legs gave out. Goodrich, averaging 25.3 points, helped the team to a late-season surge. Trailing the Golden State Warriors by three games with seven left to play,

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5096-593: The New York Knicks, who defeated them 4–3. The next season the Lakers were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks , led by future Laker Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ) in the Western Conference Finals. The 1971–72 season brought several changes. Owner Jack Kent Cooke brought in Bill Sharman as head coach, and Elgin Baylor announced his retirement early in the season after realizing that his legs were not healthy enough. Sharman increased

5194-497: The Warriors. The team hired Rudy Tomjanovich to replace Jackson. After sitting out the first half of the 2004–05 season , Malone announced his retirement on February 13, 2005. Tomjanovich coached the team to a 22–19 record before resigning due to health problems. Assistant Frank Hamblen was named interim head coach to replace Tomjanovich for the remainder of the season. Bryant (ankle) and Odom (shoulder) suffered injuries, and

5292-498: The Western Conference Finals. During the off-season, Los Angeles picked up Jamaal Wilkes from Golden State and signed first-round draft pick Norm Nixon . In the first two minutes of the first game of the 1977–78 season, Abdul-Jabbar punched Bucks center Kent Benson for an overly aggressive elbow and broke his hand. Two months later, a healthy Abdul-Jabbar got into an altercation with Houston Rockets center Kevin Kunnert after

5390-467: The XFL filed a trademark application for the name "United Football League" . On November 30, 2023, Garcia announced via her Instagram page that the leagues had received regulatory approval for the merger and were finalizing plans for a " combined season " to begin March 30, 2024. The merger was made official on December 31, 2023, and on January 1, 2024, it was announced the Sea Dragons would not be

5488-618: The XFL teams. A secondary logo was released August 24. On October 15, 2019, the Wildcats announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Birmingham Iron Quarterback Luis Perez , who was later traded to the New York Guardians . On February 8, 2020, the team played its first game losing to the Houston Roughnecks 37–17 in Houston. Chad Kanoff scored the first touchdown in franchise history with

5586-1146: The Xtreme, the city has hosted: the Los Angeles Avengers , LA KISS , Anaheim Piranhas and Los Angeles Cobras in the Arena Football League ; the Los Angeles Express in the USFL ; the Southern California Sun in the World Football League ; the Orange County Ramblers and short-lived Long Beach Admirals in the Continental Football League ; and numerous teams in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League in

5684-454: The Year Gary Payton to join O'Neal and Bryant, forming the first "superteam" of the 21st century. Three of the "big four", however, struggled with injuries: O'Neal suffered from a strained calf, Malone an injured knee, and Bryant an injured shoulder. The Lakers started 18–3 and finished 56–26 and won the Pacific Division title, entering the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. They defeated Houston , San Antonio , and Minnesota to advance to

5782-487: The closing moments, which fell just short. After dropping to 36 wins and losing in the first round of the 1967 NBA playoffs , they lost in the finals to the Celtics again in 1968. Los Angeles moved to a brand-new arena, The Forum , in 1967, after playing seven seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena . On July 9, 1968, the team acquired Wilt Chamberlain from the Philadelphia 76ers for Darrell Imhoff, Archie Clark , and Jerry Chambers . In his first season as

5880-436: The early 2000s. The 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 dynamic " Shaq-and-Kobe " era ended when the Lakers traded away O'Neal after the team lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 Finals . It was not until the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol that Bryant and Jackson returned to

5978-422: The first overall pick. It took Johnson's teammates time to acclimate themselves to his passing ability, as his "no-look" passes often caught them unaware. Once they adjusted, his passing became a key part of Los Angeles' offense. The Lakers won 60 games in Johnson's rookie year, and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the 1980 NBA Finals . Johnson won the Finals MVP award, after starting at center for

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6076-480: The first round by Portland . Following the season, head coach Mike Dunleavy was fired. The Lakers would lose 43 games in 1992–93 under Randy Pfund , their first losing season since 1976. The Lakers would still make the playoffs, and would become the first eighth seed to win the opening two games on the road against a number one seed when they took a 2–0 lead against Phoenix . They lost the next two games at home however, then game five in Phoenix in overtime. During

6174-439: The first three games. However, Kevin McHale 's hard clothesline foul of Lakers forward Kurt Rambis on a fast break is credited as a turning point of the series. Boston won three of the next four to win the title and send Los Angeles's record to 0–8 in Finals series against the Celtics. Using the past year's Finals defeat as motivation, the team won the Pacific Division for the fourth straight year and lost just two games in

6272-409: The first two rounds of the playoffs . After the Lakers took a three games to one lead in the Western Conference Finals against Portland , the Trail Blazers won the next two games to force a game seven. The Lakers, who trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter, would go on 19–4 run to tie the game and eventually win 89–84 to advance to the NBA Finals . In their first trip to the Finals since 1991 ,

6370-408: The four-peat attempt ended as they were eliminated by San Antonio in six games in the second round. During the 2003–04 season , the team was the subject of intense media coverage generated by the teaming of four stars and the sexual-assault case involving Kobe Bryant . Before the season, the Lakers signed two-time MVP Karl Malone formerly of the Jazz , and former Seattle Defensive Player of

6468-401: The injured Abdul-Jabbar in game six, and tallying 42 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists. The team fell off in the 1980–81 season , though, as the Lakers lost Johnson for most of the season to a knee injury. The team turned in a 54–28 record and finished second behind the Phoenix Suns in the Pacific Division. The Rockets , led by Moses Malone , defeated Los Angeles in the first round of

6566-419: The league's only season. (A third broader megalopolis, Central Florida , has also hosted teams in both the 2001 and 2020 incarnations of the league.) As television networks have traditionally required alternative leagues to field teams in New York and Los Angeles to secure television coverage without brokering the airtime , Southern California has a long history of alternative professional teams. In addition to

6664-402: The newly formed league, the Lakers improved to 51–17 record and won their third straight professional championship. In the 1950–51 season, Mikan won his third straight scoring title at 28.4 ppg and the Lakers went 44–24 to win their second straight division title. One of those games, a 19–18 loss against the Fort Wayne Pistons , became infamous as the lowest scoring game in NBA history. In

6762-410: The offensive coordinator to run the Run and Shoot offense. On October 31, 2022, the XFL officially announced that the Dragons would be changing their name to "Sea Dragons", as well as unveiling a brand new logo. The newly rechristened Sea Dragons' 2023 season saw the team earn their first playoff berth and clinch second place in the North Division with a 7–3 record. The Sea Dragons would be eliminated by

6860-447: The pilot 150 miles off course when he was forced to land in a cornfield. No one was hurt. Their record earned them the number two pick in the 1960 NBA draft . The team selected Jerry West from West Virginia University . During the 1960 off-season, the Lakers became the NBA's first West Coast team when owner Bob Short decided to move the team to Los Angeles. Led by Baylor's 34.8 ppg and 19.8 rpg, Los Angeles won 11 more than

6958-531: The playoffs . Early in the 1981–82 season , Johnson complained to the media about head coach Paul Westhead and demanded a trade. Westhead was fired shortly after Johnson's criticisms, and although Lakers' owner Jerry Buss stated that Johnson's comments did not factor into the decision, Johnson was vilified by the national media and booed both on the road and at home. Buss promoted assistant coach Pat Riley to "co-head coach" with Jerry West (although West considered himself Riley's assistant) on November 19 and

7056-611: The playoffs, they defeated the Indianapolis Olympians in three games but lost to the Rochester Royals in the next round. During the 1951–52 season , the Lakers won 40 games, finishing second in their division. They faced the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals , which they won in seven games. In the 1952–53 season, Mikan led the NBA in rebounding, averaging 14.4 rebounds per game (rpg), and

7154-592: The prior year, but swept the first three rounds of the playoffs , defeating the Portland , Sacramento , and San Antonio . They met Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals . Although the Sixers took game one in overtime, the Lakers won the next four games to win their second straight title. Their 15–1 postseason record was the best in NBA history. The Lakers won 58 games in 2001–02 . In

7252-540: The purchase received court approval on August 7, 2020. The XFL hired Jim Haslett as a Head Coach on April 13, 2022, with the expectation that he would be coaching the Seattle team. On July 24, 2022, the return of the Seattle XFL franchise was confirmed, as well as the hiring of Jim Haslett. Haslett brought on June Jones , who had been head coach of the undefeated Houston Roughnecks the previous XFL season, in as

7350-473: The rest of the season. Nevertheless, they advanced to play Philadelphia in the 1983 NBA Finals after defeating Portland and San Antonio . The Sixers, however, won the series and the championship in four games. After the season West replaced Sharman as the team's GM. In the 1983–84 season , Los Angeles went 54–28, and played Boston in the Finals for the first time since 1969 . The Lakers won two of

7448-487: The season with a 10-game losing streak to finish 33–49. 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. The team was led by young guards Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones . Johnson came out of retirement to return as a player in the 1995–96 season to lead the then 24–18 Lakers to a 29–11 finish. After some run-ins with Van Exel, displeasure with Harris's strategies, and

7546-680: The second most in the league behind the Boston Celtics . The franchise began in 1946 as the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). After one season, a new ownership relocated the team to Minneapolis , Minnesota , and renamed the team as the Minneapolis Lakers . The Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America , where they won

7644-402: The series in seven games however, and earned their 11th NBA Championship in 13 seasons. West was named the first-ever Finals MVP ; this remains the only time that a member of the losing team has won the award. In 1970 , West won his first scoring title at 31.2 ppg, the team returned to the finals , and for the first time in 16 years, they did not have to face the Celtics; instead playing

7742-411: The series in seven games, and James Worthy's game seven triple-double earned him a Finals MVP award. The win marked their fifth title in nine years, but would also mark their last title until 2000 . In the 1988–89 season , Los Angeles won 57 games and their eighth consecutive Pacific Division crown. They swept through the playoffs defeating Portland , Seattle , and Phoenix . In an eighth trip to

7840-678: The standings. The Lakers defeated Portland three games to one in the first round to advance to face Seattle. Although the Sonics won the first game, the Lakers responded with four straight wins, taking the series, but were swept by the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals . During the 1998–99 season , All-Star guard Eddie Jones and center Elden Campbell were traded to the Charlotte Hornets. The team also acquired J. R. Reid , B. J. Armstrong , and Glen Rice . Head coach Del Harris

7938-448: The team to Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen of Minnesota for $ 15,000 Minneapolis sportswriter Sid Hartman played a key behind-the-scenes role in helping put together the deal and later the team. Inspired by Minnesota's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes", the team rechristened themselves the Lakers. Hartman helped them hire John Kundla from College of St. Thomas , to be their first head coach, by meeting with him and selling him on

8036-441: The team won 17 of its next 20 games. Nicknamed " Showtime " due to the team's new Johnson-led fast break-offense, the Lakers won the Pacific Division title and swept both the Suns and Spurs in the 1982 playoffs . Los Angeles stretched its postseason winning streak to nine games by taking the first contest of the NBA Finals from the 76ers . The team won the Finals 4–2 to finish a 12–2 playoff run. On draft night in 1982 ,

8134-450: The team's coach. West became upset, however, when Cooke refused to spend the money necessary to acquire forward Julius Erving , who the Nets were selling. Behind another MVP season from Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles won the Pacific Division, finishing the 1976–77 season a league-best 53–29. They defeated the Warriors in a seven-game series to open the postseason before being swept by Portland in

8232-615: The team's discipline. He introduced the concept of the shootaround , where players would arrive at the arena early in the morning before a game to practice shots. They won 14 straight games in November and all 16 games played in December. They won three straight to open the year of 1972 but on January 9, the Milwaukee Bucks ended their winning streak by defeating the Lakers, 120–104. By winning 33 straight games, Los Angeles set

8330-483: The team's successes. Following the season, 1987 Defensive Player of the Year winner Michael Cooper decided to play in Europe and was waived at his request. The 1990–91 Lakers failed to win the Pacific Division for the first time in 10 years, but still finished with a 58–24 record. After cruising through the Western Conference playoffs , the Lakers found themselves in the NBA Finals once again, their ninth trip to

8428-479: The team's uniforms on December 3, 2019. On October 15, 2019, The Dragons announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Memphis Express Quarterback Brandon Silvers . The Dragons won their first game in team history on February 16, 2020, defeating the Tampa Bay Vipers 17-9. On March 12, 2020, The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been cancelled due to

8526-417: The team. As the franchise had the worst record in the NBL the previous season, it got the first pick in the 1947 Professional Basketball League of America dispersal draft, which they used to select George Mikan . Led by Mikan, the Lakers had a solid roster, which also featured forward Jim Pollard and playmaker Herm Schaefer . In their first season, they led the league with a 43–17 record, later winning

8624-487: The team. Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, O'Neal, and Bryant won a combined eight NBA MVP awards with the Lakers. The franchise was founded in 1946 as the Detroit Gems and played in the National Basketball League (NBL) during the 1946–47 season where it finished last in the league with only 4 wins in 44 games. Though the team was scheduled to continue in the NBL the following season, its ownership, faced with high losses due to low attendance and lack of homecourt, decided on selling

8722-558: The year before in West's first season. On November 15 that season, Baylor set a new NBA scoring record when he scored 71 points in a victory against the New York Knicks while grabbing 25 rebounds. In doing so, Baylor broke his own NBA record of 64 points. Despite a losing record, the Lakers made the playoffs . They came within two points of the NBA Finals when they lost in game seven of their second round series against St. Louis. Led by Baylor and West at 38.3 and 30.8 ppg respectively,

8820-412: Was West's idea, and he was influential in the team's signing of the all-star center. "Jerry West is the reason I came to the Lakers", O'Neal later said. They used their 24th pick in the draft to select Derek Fisher . During the season , the team traded Cedric Ceballos to Phoenix for Robert Horry . O'Neal led the team to a 56–26 record, their best effort since 1990–91, despite missing 31 games due to

8918-627: Was a combatant, was suspended for two months by the NBA, and released by the Lakers. The team won 45 games despite being down a starter in Washington and not having Abdul-Jabbar for nearly two months, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to Seattle. During the 1978–79 season, the team posted a 47–35 record but lost to the SuperSonics in the semifinal round of the playoffs. In the 1979 NBA draft , Los Angeles selected 6-foot, 9-inch point guard Magic Johnson from Michigan State with

9016-455: Was announced as one of eight cities that would join the newly reformed XFL, as well as St. Louis , Houston , Los Angeles , New York , DC , Tampa Bay , and Dallas . Former Seahawks quarterback Jim Zorn , who was the first quarterback to start for the Seahawks, was named the team's first head coach on February 25, 2019. The team name and logo were revealed on August 21, 2019, as well as

9114-622: Was drafted in 1952 , helped the team win the Western Division. The team won its third straight championship in the 1950s and fifth in six seasons when it defeated the Syracuse Nationals in seven games. Following Mikan's retirement in the 1954 off-season, the Lakers struggled but still managed to win 40 games. Although they defeated the Rochester Royals in the first round of the playoffs, they were defeated by

9212-524: Was fired in February after a three-game losing streak and replaced on an interim basis by former Laker Kurt Rambis . The team finished 31–19 in the strike-shortened season, which was fourth in the Western Conference. The Lakers defeated Houston in the first round of the playoffs, but were swept by San Antonio in the next round. Game four of the series would be the last game ever played at

9310-545: Was named MVP of the 1953 NBA All-Star Game . After a 48–22 regular season, the Lakers defeated the Fort Wayne Pistons in the Western playoffs to advance to the NBA Finals . They then defeated the New York Knicks to win their second straight championship. Though Lakers star George Mikan suffered from knee problems throughout the 1953–54 season, he was still able to average 18 ppg. Clyde Lovellette , who

9408-568: Was named MVP of the 1972 NBA All-Star Game . The team failed to score 100 points just once all year, and at the end of the season, Bill Sharman was named Coach of the Year . 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. Chamberlain tallied 24 points and 29 rebounds in game five and won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award . The Lakers won 60 games in

9506-546: Was named the NBA Finals MVP, in addition to regular season MVP. At the Lakers' championship celebration in Los Angeles, coach Riley brashly declared that Los Angeles would repeat as NBA champions, which no team had done since the 1968–69 Boston Celtics . Looking to make good on Riley's promise in the 1987–88 season , the Lakers took their seventh consecutive Pacific Division title with a 62–20 record. They swept

9604-548: Was taken by the San Antonio Brahmas . Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends Defensive linemen Defensive backs Special teams 57 active, 10 inactive Jack Tocho 2 Interceptions 2020 Los Angeles is one of two cities to have also hosted a team in the original XFL , the other being New York/New Jersey ; the Los Angeles Xtreme was the champion of the earlier XFL in

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