The Lakers basketball team started in 1946 when Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen purchased the Detroit Gems for $15K. The Gems were from a league referred to as the "National Basketball League" (NBL). Berger & Morris proceeded to relocate the team to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Lakers used their first ever number one draft choice to make a choice George Mikan, who turned out to be one of the biggest center of all time. Lead by means of instruct John Kundla and Mikan, the Lakers gained the NBL championship within the 1947-48 season and switched over to to the Basketball Association of America (BAA), where they won the 1948-49 BAA championship. The NBA as we all know as of late is the results of the merger between the NBL and BAA 1949.

Lead by future Hall of Famers George Mikan, Vern Mikkelsen, Jim Pollard, Slater Martin, and Clyde Lovellette, the Lakers franchised strung together NBA's first dynasty with five championships (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, & 1954) in 6 years.

After their transfer to Los Angeles in 1960, the basketball team featured Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and Wilt Chamberlain, but regardless of the wealth of talent, they had been repeatedly foiled by way of the Boston Celtics, losing the championship to them six occasions in eight years. It wasn't until 1972 once they strung together a record 33-game win streak underneath Coach of the Year Bill Sharman that they have been in a position to secure their first championship in Los Angeles.

However, despite the addition of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, they weren't in a position to win some other championship until the arriving of Earvin "Magic" Johnson in 1979, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers thanks to an MVP performance through the rookie Johnson, who, starting for the injured Abdul-Jabbar, had forty two points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists to clinch the series. Under coach Pat Riley, a former Laker player, the Lakers then went directly to dominate the 1980s, appearing within the finals eight occasions within the decade and being crowned champions 5 times, together with consecutive championships in 1987 and 1988, the first staff to do so due to the fact Boston in 1969.

Although they made another finals look in 1991, they spent most of the Nineteen Nineties fielding groups that were not considered professional championship contenders. During the 1996-1997 offseason, the Lakers obtained Shaquille O'Neal from the Orlando Magic and Kobe Bryant, the first items to the championship puzzle. In 1999, the team brought in Phil Jackson as the new head coach and the outcome was once a run of three instantly NBA championships.

The courting among O'Neal and Bryant used to be often a contentious one, as was the connection between Bryant and Jackson. The battles came to a head after the 2004 season, with the Lakers having failed to assert the championship for a 2d consecutive year. O'Neal was traded and Jackson retired, leaving Bryant because the team's unquestioned focal point.

A rough season ensued for the team, resulting of their lacking the playoffs and prompting the go back of Jackson to train within the 2005-2006 season. The Lakers confirmed remarkable development and all visual indicators of past problems between Bryant and Jackson have been gone. The Lakers reclaimed a place in the Western Conference playoffs, losing in the first spherical to the Phoenix Suns. It used to be a disappointing finish for the team, as they became most effective the eighth NBA team ever to squander a 3-1 playoff lead and lose the series. Nevertheless, the team's development over the previous season has restored fans' optimism in regards to the Lakers' future.

The rumors of Kobe in need of to leave as soon as the Lakers made the blockbuster trade on February 1, 2008 for Pau Gasol. That and the rejuvenated play of Lamar Odom has spurred the staff into profitable Western Conference for the 2007-2008 season. Despite dropping the NBA Championship to the Boston Celtics, the Lakers are poised to make any other title run for the 2008-2009 season with the core team players intact.

In the 2008–09 NBA season, the Lakers reclaimed the NBA championship. The Lakers finished with a 65–17 record and entered the playoffs as the number one seed in the Western Conference. After defeating the Utah Jazz four games to 1, the Lakers battled the Rockets in a 7 games teams series and won. Then they took out the Denver Nuggets in 6 games, and defeated the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals in 5. This was the Lakers' fifteenth championship of their history. Kobe Bryant used to be named the Finals MVP for his steller play in the series.

During the 2009 off season, the Lakers signed Ron Artest in lieu of Trevor Ariza, and resigned Lamar Odom to a 4 year contract. With their championship team intact, the Lakers look to copy and claim the NBA title in 2009-2010. Cheap LA Lakers tickets are now available for all basketball games at Staples Center in addition to tickets for road games.