The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Lakers compete in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the NBA. Founded in 1947 as the Minneapolis Lakers, the franchise found a lot of early NBA success. The Lakers won championships in 1949, 1950, and 1952-1954 before relocating to Los Angeles in 1960. The relocation did not slow down the success as the Lakers made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s but lost all six to the Boston Celtics. The Lakers finally won their first NBA championship in Los Angeles in 1972 and proceeded to win five in the 1980s and five between 2000 and 2010. In total, the team has 31 conference championships and 16 NBA championships. They have also won 23 division titles. The Lakers hold the record for the longest winning streak in NBA history with 33 consecutive games during the 1971-1972 season.

The Lakers play their home games at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Because of its location and the team’s history of success, the Staple Center is frequently filled with A-List celebrities every home game. The team has a long history of NBA Hall of Fame level talent playing for the organization. During the 1960s, Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Wilt Chamberlain helped the Lakers dominate the Western Conference. During the 1980s, the team became known as the “Showtime” Lakers because of their high-powered offense led by Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy. They were also coached by Hall of Famer Pat Riley during that time period. When they secured their “three-peat” of championships between 2000 and 2002, the team had future Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Bryant also won championships with the team in 2009 and 2010.