Los Angeles Lakers Tickets
The Los Angeles Lakers are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association. The team is located in Los Angeles, California and play their home games in the Staples Center. The Staples Center has a capacity of 18,997 and opened in 1999. The team plays in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference and is currently coached by Mike Brown. The team was founded in 1947 as the Minneapolis Lakers before moving to Los Angeles for the start of the 1960 season when they became the Los Angeles Lakers.
Through their illustrious history, the Lakers have won 23 division titles, 32 conference titles, and a league record 17 championships, most recently in 2009 and 2010. The team has featured three Coaches of the Year award winners: Bill Sharman in 1972, Pat Riley in 1990, and Del Harris in 1995. Four different Lakers have won MVP awards a total of eight different times with Kobe Bryan winning once, Shaquille O’Neal winning once, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson each winning three times. Seven different Lakers have been named NBA Finals MVP: Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Seven former Lakers have had their numbers retired: Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and Jerry West. Eighteen former Lakers players have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
The Lakers have three major division rivals: the Los Angeles Clippers, the Phoenix Suns, and the Sacramento Kings. The first of which is the rivalry between the Clippers and the Lakers. The so-called “Hallway Series” pits the two teams that share the Staples Center off against one another. The Lakers have had a long-successful history while the Clippers since the franchise’s move from Buffalo have been categorically awful with the Lakers making the playoffs in all but two years while the Clippers have made the playoffs only four times since their move to Los Angeles. The Lakers also have a strong rivalry with the Boston Celtics. The rivalry involves the two most decorated franchises in league history with the two teams accounting for more than half of the total NBA championships awarded. The teams have faced off in 12 different NBA Finals with the Celtics winning nine of those series to the Lakers’ three.
