The Los Angeles Lakers Show! Do not miss it!
There may be no such thing as a lukewarm basketball fan, but if there is, it’s surely not a Los Angeles Lakers fan. If you’re a fan and have followed the Lakers for a while, you’ve witnessed some of the most amazing, edge-of-your-seat, on-foot performances in basketball history.
The team’s history dates back to 1946, before the NBA even existed. Then it was the National Basketball League, and the team started out as the Detroit Gems. However, they didn’t really start to shine until they moved to Minneapolis and the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”, and they became… guess what? The Lakers. The team proceeded to win the national championship in their first season of play as the soon to be well known Lakers.
The 1950s brought great triumphs and great disappointments. Players left or were traded for new ones, coaches came and went, and overall, a lot of changes happened, but out of six Finals appearances, the Lakers clinched the championship five times. They were definitely a team to be noticed!
It’s interesting that when the team moved to Los Angeles in 1960, the name stayed the same and they became the Los Angeles Lakers (despite the lack of lakes) and, by golly, have been ever since. They really started getting a lot of attention when Wilt Chamberlain became a part of the team, and they made it to the NBA Finals in 1962. Most fans will know the outcome of that: the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics, not for the first time. . !
The Lakers made it to the Finals eight times during the 1960s, and each time they fought a battle royale, but lost eight times. Did that puzzle you? Not so that no one would notice. They won 33 straight games in 1971, a record that still stands in all major professional sports. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, in addition to the excitement that the team never stopped bringing to the games, a couple of events stand out. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and later Earvin “Magic” Johnson were added to the player mix, and television commentator Pat Riley was hired as an assistant coach. Riley rose, of course, to the head coach position, and what a wonderful job he did!
The Lakers met the team that had become their archrival again in 1984. The Boston Celtics defeated them in the Finals, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set an NBA record nonetheless. When the Lakers and Celtics met in the 1985 Finals in Boston Gardens, Kareem, then 37, provided a great assist and the Lakers finally beat his nemesis on the Celtics’ home turf. The victory celebration for players and fans was something to behold!
In 2000, the Los Angeles Lakers moved their home base from the Forum in Inglewood to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which seems to suit them. They also hired trainer Phil Jackson who, like former trainer Pat Riley, has set all-time industry records. As the 2000s progressed, the Lakers incorporated some moves they call the “triangle offense,” and the excitement just kept happening. . Shaquille O’Neal was awarded Finals MVP for the third year in a row, and coach Phil Jackson earned his ninth Championship Head Coach award.
Throughout their history, life behind the scenes for the Lakers has been fraught with drama and often dissent. There are many stories that have never been (and probably never will) be told. However, what remains of greatest interest to their fans is the manner in which they bounce back from the disaster and snatch victory from near-certain defeat.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been through some “glory days” and some pretty dark nights; Key players suffered injuries or were simply dissatisfied and went elsewhere, but sometimes they did come back, and the coaches were both mediocre and excellent. This team has a lot of history, and it’s all fascinating. The bottom line right now is: the Lakers keep winning!
Get yourself some tickets to see the Lakers at home and join some stellar company. Maybe the proximity of the Hollywood Hills has something to do with it, but Lakers fans don’t seem to care too much where they sit at Staples Center. . They’re on their feet most of the time anyway, chanting along with thousands of other fans, “GO LAKERS!”