Los Angeles Lakers: From the bad days to now
You don’t have to follow basketball to know who the Los Angeles Lakers are. The Lakers are one of the best known teams in the NBA. They have a number of records, but throughout their history, there have been a number of bad years. Through good team selection and coaching, the team has struggled to get to where it is today.
At the beginning, the Lakers faced a series of difficulties: they won some and lost others. There were no championship titles or records won by the team, not in the early days.
Originally founded in 1946, the Lakers were known as the Detroit Lakers as they were based in Detroit, Michigan. Soon after, they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. This move was good for them as this is where they won their first championship game, in fact they won five when they were the Minneapolis Lakers.
Finally, in 1960, the Lakers moved to their hometown of Los Angeles. The first decade was difficult for the team, as they couldn’t even make it to the NBA finals.
The next decade didn’t look much brighter for the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 1970s they won one title, which was definitely better than the previous 10 years, but that was about it.
In the 1980s, the team began to improve. This decade is when Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, two of the biggest names in the NBA, played for the Lakers. Additionally, Coach Pat Riley coached the team on teamwork and helped them overcome obstacles. During this time, the Los Angeles Lakers won an additional five championships and had their most wins in a given season.
Like any roller coaster, there was a downward slope ahead. The 1990s turned out to be an uneventful year for the Lakers. Not to say there’s nothing to talk about, but compared to the ’80s, nothing spectacular happened.
Finally, in the 21st century, things are really starting to look up for the Lakers. Now they have the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, along with coach Phil Jackson. Already, in just eight years, they have won five NBA Finals.
The turn of events over the last decade has captured the attention of many fans. Lakers fans are not your typical fans, but they are die-hard fans, having seen their team struggle and come out in bright colors.
At the end of their most recent season, the Lakers had one of the highest records in NBA history. One of which was awarded to them for having the most wins, over 2,900 wins.
They also hold records for the highest percentage (60%) of games won and appearing in the Finals 29 times. A party, for them personally, to beat is the number of championships won by their rivals: the Boston Celtics. The Lakers are just three championship wins away, but this would be a huge accomplishment for the team.
The amount of talent that has come through the Los Angeles Lakers is phenomenal. There have been 14 Hall of Fame players and 4 Hall of Fame coaches throughout its history. The combination of this talent and training has gotten the team to where it is today.
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