Major honours
Founded in 1947 in Minneapolis, the Lakers built the league's first dynasty around George Mikan before relocating to Los Angeles in 1960, where the franchise fused basketball with the entertainment industry. Its 32 Finals appearances are the most of any franchise, and its 17 titles trail only the Celtics. The 33-game winning streak of the 1971-72 season remains unbroken across all of American professional sports. Three distinct eras define the club: the five titles of the 1980s "Showtime" teams led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; the three straight titles from 2000 to 2002 won by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant under Phil Jackson; and Kobe's back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. In 2020, LeBron James and Anthony Davis delivered a seventeenth championship inside the Orlando bubble. Built through a strategy of buying and collecting stars, the franchise is also the leading example of how free agency and trades can reshape the league.
Record comparison
Bars are scaled to the strongest team in this list.
Club legends
Rivalry
The twelve Finals meetings with the Boston Celtics have shaped this franchise's identity; in the 1960s the two teams met six times and the Lakers lost all six. The 1980s were the first time that trend reversed, with LA taking two of three.