Los Angeles Lakers are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team competes in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Lakers play in the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
The Lakers entered the NBA in 1948-1949 as the Minneapolis (Minnesota) Lakers. The team dominated the NBA during the early 1950’s, winning five championships its first six years in the league. Those teams were led by center George Mikan, the greatest star in the early history of the NBA. Other Lakers stars during the team’s championship seasons included forwards Vern Mikkelson and Jim Pollard and guard Slater Martin.
The Lakers moved to Los Angeles for the 1960-1961 season and remained one of the NBA’s strongest teams. Los Angeles reached the NBA playoff finals nine times in 12 seasons from 1962 through 1973. However, they won the NBA title only once during that time, for the 1971-1972 season. The Laker teams of the 1960’s and early 1970’s featured some of the greatest players in NBA history, including guards Jerry West and Gail Goodrich, center Wilt Chamberlain, and forwards Elgin Baylor and Jim McMillian.
The Lakers again dominated the NBA during the 1980’s, finishing first or second in the playoffs 9 of 12 seasons from 1979 through 1991. The stars of the Lakers during those seasons were center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, forwards Jamaal Wilkes and James Worthy, and guards Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper. The coach for nine of the seasons was Pat Riley. 
The Lakers declined during the early and middle 1990’s, but returned to championship form by winning consecutive titles in 1999-2000, 2000-2001, and 2001-2002. The team was led by center Shaquille O’Neal and guard Kobe Bryant. Phil Jackson was the coach. The Lakers won the 2003-2004 Western Conference title but lost in the playoff finals to the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers traded O’Neal to the Miami Heat in 2004. Los Angeles won the conference championship again in 2007-2008, losing to the Boston Celtics in the finals. The Lakers won the conference championship and the NBA title in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, led by Bryant and forward Pau Gasol. Star players LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the Lakers to the NBA title in 2019-2020.
