Los Angeles Lakers Information

Los Angeles Lakers tickets are available now for the 2007-2008 season! Head coach Phil Jackson wants to see the Lakers take it all the way this season, and with the Lakers past history, this is a likely event. The past 60 years the Lakers Franchise has seen a long list of Hall of Famers and a string of championships that tops the charts in the history of American sports.

In their history, the Los Angeles Lakers have held the championship 9 times, and have come second 12 times! When a basketball team appears in the championships this many times you know their games are going to be full of excitement.

Calling the 18,694 seat, Staples Center home, the Los Angeles Lakers regularly perform in front of sold out crowds. Order your Lakers tickets today and see what you are missing at this incredible venue.

A brief history of the Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers were originally from Minneapolis and the played in the NBL and BAA before those leagues merged into one and formed the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949. The Lakers had the biggest star in the league back then, center George Mikan, and they stormed to the very first NBA Finals Championship in the 1949 - 1950 season over the Syracuse Nationals.

The Lakers played their home games at the Minneapolis Auditorium, the Minneapolis Armory and the St. Paul Auditorium during their years in Minnesota. Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen owned the Lakers and John Kundla was their first head coach. With Mikan at center, the Lakers were the NBA's first dynasty winning 4 of the first 5 NBA Finals Championships. Bob Short bought the Lakers in 1958 and subsequently moved the Lakers to Los Angeles for the 1960-1961 season. The Lakers played at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena when they first arrived in Los Angeles. The Lakers were one of the dominant teams in the 1960s but they failed to win an NBA title. They lost the NBA Finals Championship 7 times during the decade including 6 times to the Boston Celtics.

The Los Angeles Lakers won the 1971-1972 NBA Finals Championship behind the dominant play of Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West. Bill Sherman was the new head coach and Lakers set a record for wins in a single season with 69 including a record 33 in a row. The Lakers beat the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 for their fifth NBA Finals Title but their first since the move to Los Angeles and their first without George Mikan.

The Los Angeles Lakers traded for superstar center Kareem Abdul Jabbar in 1974-1975. During the 1979 off-season, owner Jack Kent Cooke sold the Lakers to Jerry Buss. The Lakers then drafted Magic Johnson with the first pick of the 1979 NBA draft and hired Jack McKinney to be head coach. Paul Westhead replaced McKinney early in the season due to a serious bicycle injury sustained by McKinney. Westhead led the Lakers, along with Jabbar, Magic and Jamaal-Wilkes, to the 1979-1980 NBA Finals title by beating the Philadelphia 76ers. Pat Riley took over for Westhead after a disappointing 1980-1981 season. Riley led the Lakers to 4 more NBA Finals Championships during the 1980s.

The Los Angeles Lakers remained a powerful team during the decade of the 1990s but failed to capture an NBA Finals Title. In 1996 the Lakers signed Shaquille O'Neil as a free agent and drafted a high school player, Kobe Bryant. The Lakers had the nucleus for the next dynasty. In 1999 the Lakers hired new coach Phil Jackson. Jackson led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA Finals titles during the 1990s and was the final piece to the Lakers new dynasty. With Jackson at the helm, the Los Angeles Lakers won three NBA titles in a row from 2000 - 2002.