Los Angeles Lakers and their Fight to Fame

By Matt Ryan

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most infamous basketball team in the history of the NBA. The Lakers hold one of the largest number of records in the entire league. Many famous names, in the NBA, have – at one time – played for the Los Angeles Lakers. Fame did not come with the name. It was a long road, for players and staff, to reach their goal of greatness.

In the beginning, the Lakers faced a number of difficulties – they won some and they lost some. 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 out of Detroit, Michigan. Shortly later, they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. This move was a good one for them, as this is where they won their first championship game – as a matter-of-fact – they won five when they were the Minneapolis Lakers.

Finally, in 1960, the Lakers moved to their home town of Los Angeles. The first decade was a tough ride for the team, as they could not even get into the NBA finals.

The next decade did not look much brighter for the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 1970′s they won a title, which was definitely better than the previous 10 years, but that was it.

Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar began playing, for the Lakers, in the 1980′s. Coached by Pat Riley, the Los Angeles Lakers won five championships. Additionally, they had a record high number of wins, in one given season, during this time.

Unfortunately, this term of fame did not last through the next decade. The 1990′s, although not as bad as earlier years, were much slower for the Lakers. The overall number of wins, and championships, were nothing to speak of in comparison to what they accomplished in the 80′s.

The 21st century brought fame to the Los Angeles Lakers. Not only did they have phenomenal players like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, but they also had an exceptional coach by the name of Phil Jackson. The combination of coach and team proved to be a winning combination as they have already won five NBA Finals this century.

The turn-around, of events, over the past decade, has captured the attention of many fans. The Lakers fans are not your typical fan, but are die-hard fans as they have watched their team struggle and come out of it with shining colors.

At the end of their most recent season, the Lakers held one of the highest number of records in NBA history. One of which was given to them for having the highest number of wins, ever, at over 2,900 wins.

Additionally they hold records for the highest percentage (60%) of won games, along with a record for appearing in 29 NBA Final games. The Lakers are quickly catching up to their rivals, the Boston Celtics. The Celtics hold 17 championship titles, while the Lakers only hold 14. With the right coaching and playtime, it will be no time before they surpass the record.

Talent has been the #1 success story behind the Lakers. Fourteen Hall of Fame members have – at some point in time – played on the LA Lakers. Additionally four Hall of Fame coaches have coached them through many victories.

By Matt Ryan, article sponsored by StubPass.com. StubPass sells Los Angeles Lakers Tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets, NBA Tickets and many more tickets to your favorite events around your area.

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