98 Fun Facts About Los Angeles Lakers

Which big man did the Minneapolis Lakers select first in a 1947 dispersal draft, launching the first NBA dynasty?

George Mikan so dominated that in 1951 the NBA doubled the width of the lane, from six feet to twelve, to push him away from the basket; the Lakers won the next three titles anyway.

The Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960, two years after which team arrived in the city?

The Brooklyn Dodgers arrived in 1958; two years later the Lakers' owner took his struggling team out of Minneapolis, where attendance had fallen, and gave the NBA its first West Coast team.

Which Laker scored a then-record 71 points against the Knicks in November 1960?

Elgin Baylor had 71 points and 25 rebounds that night; a season later, called up by the Army, he could play only on weekend passes and still averaged 38 points a game.

Whose silhouette is generally understood to appear on the NBA's official logo?

Designer Alan Siegel based the 1969 NBA logo on a photo of Jerry West, who played all 14 of his seasons with the Lakers and later ran their front office.

What unique 1969 distinction does Jerry West hold?

Jerry West is the only Finals MVP from the losing team: he won the very first award in 1969 after a 42-point triple-double in a Game 7 defeat by Boston.

The Lakers acquired Wilt Chamberlain in July 1968 from which team?

The Philadelphia 76ers traded the league's reigning MVP for Darrall Imhoff, Archie Clark and Jerry Chambers; four years later Wilt anchored the Lakers' first title in Los Angeles.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar arrived in Los Angeles in 1975 in a trade with which team?

The Milwaukee Bucks traded Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at his own request: he had asked for a move to New York or Los Angeles, saying the Midwest did not fit his cultural needs.

How many regular-season MVP awards did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar win, an NBA record?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six MVP awards (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1980), one more than Bill Russell or Michael Jordan.

Jerry Buss bought the Lakers, the Kings and their arena for $67.5 million in 1979 from which owner?

Jack Kent Cooke sold up to pay a record divorce settlement; the judge who ordered it, Joseph Wapner, later became television's judge on The People's Court.

The Lakers took Magic Johnson first overall in the 1979 draft out of which college?

Magic Johnson led Michigan State past Larry Bird's Indiana State in the 1979 NCAA final before the Lakers took him first overall.

In Game 6 of the 1980 Finals, rookie Magic Johnson filled in for the injured Kareem at which position?

Center: with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out with a sprained ankle, the 20-year-old point guard jumped for the opening tip and scored 42 points to clinch the title in Philadelphia.

What nickname did the fast-breaking Lakers of the 1980s earn?

Showtime paired Magic Johnson's fast break with owner Jerry Buss's idea of a game as a night out: he swapped the organist for a live band, created the Laker Girls and drew Hollywood stars to courtside.

Which word did the Lakers' coach trademark in 1989?

Three-peat was registered as a trademark of the coach's company in August 1989, two months after Detroit swept his Lakers in the Finals and ended their bid for a third straight title.

The Lakers' eighth straight Finals loss to Boston came in 1984, when which Celtic was named Finals MVP?

Larry Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds as Boston won in seven games; a year later Magic Johnson's Lakers finally beat the Celtics in a Finals at the ninth attempt.

Which Laker won the NBA's regular-season MVP award in 2008?

Kobe Bryant won his only regular-season MVP in 2008, averaging 28.3 points as the Lakers went 57-25 and reached the Finals.

Which first-overall pick from North Carolina won Finals MVP with a Game 7 triple-double in 1988?

James Worthy had 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 7 against Detroit, the first triple-double of his career, living up to his nickname, Big Game James.

Retired with HIV, Magic Johnson returned for the 1992 All-Star Game and won what?

The game's MVP award went to Magic Johnson after he scored 25 points, handed out nine assists and sank the night's final shot, a long three-pointer.

The Lakers acquired 17-year-old Kobe Bryant in 1996 by trading which player to the team that drafted him?

Vlade Divac at first threatened to retire rather than leave Los Angeles; once he relented, the trade also helped clear the way for the Lakers to land that summer's biggest free agent.

Which team drafted Kobe Bryant, 13th overall, before trading him to Los Angeles?

The Charlotte Hornets made the pick on the Lakers' behalf: the trade was already arranged, after the Lakers' general manager watched the teenager work out and went looking for a pick to spend on him.

Which coach, fresh from six championships in Chicago, led the Lakers to three straight titles from 2000 to 2002?

Phil Jackson brought Tex Winter's triangle offence from Chicago and won five Lakers titles in two stints: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010.

Who was named Finals MVP in all three of the Lakers' 2000-2002 championships?

Shaquille O'Neal, also the 2000 regular-season MVP, won all three Finals MVPs; his feud with Kobe Bryant ended with his trade to Miami in 2004.

Against which team did Kobe Bryant score 81 points on January 22, 2006?

Kobe Bryant's 81 against the Toronto Raptors rescued a game the Lakers trailed by 18 in the third quarter; he scored 55 of his points after halftime.

Kobe Bryant scored 60 in his 2016 farewell game, then ended his speech with which two words?

'Mamba out' closed a night on which Kobe Bryant outscored Utah by himself, 23-21, in the fourth quarter to turn a deficit into a win.

The trade for which Spanish big man sent the Lakers to the 2008 Finals and 2009–10 titles?

Pau Gasol came from Memphis in February 2008 in a trade that sent the Grizzlies the draft rights to his younger brother Marc, who became an All-Star there.

The Lakers' 2020 championship was won inside a pandemic "bubble" at which location?

Walt Disney World, Florida, became a sealed campus for 22 teams: anyone who left without approval had to quarantine, and week after week the league reported zero positive tests among players inside.

The 2020 title was the Lakers' 17th, tying them at the time with which franchise?

Boston moved back ahead with its 18th in 2024; the two clubs own 35 of the league's championships between them.

In February 2025 the Lakers made a stunning trade with Dallas that brought in which star?

Luka Doncic was 25 and eight months removed from leading Dallas to the NBA Finals as the league's top scorer when the Mavericks sent him to the Lakers for Anthony Davis.

Which former player was hired as Lakers head coach in June 2024?

JJ Redick had never coached above his son's youth team and was best known as a podcaster, co-hosting a show with the Lakers' own star, when he replaced the fired Darvin Ham.

In June 2025 the Buss family agreed to sell majority control of the Lakers to which Dodgers owner?

Mark Walter, a minority owner since 2021, agreed to buy control at a valuation of about $10 billion, then a record for a sports team, with Jeanie Buss staying on as the Lakers' governor.

What milestone did Jeanie Buss reach when the Lakers won in 2020?

Jeanie Buss became the first female controlling owner to win an NBA title; she had taken control after her father Jerry died in 2013.

The Lakers' home from 1967 to 1999 was which Inglewood arena?

The Forum was financed by the Lakers' own owner and designed by Charles Luckman as a round arena ringed by columns, meant to recall a Roman coliseum; the team left for downtown in 1999.

What new name did the Lakers' downtown arena, formerly Staples Center, take in December 2021?

Crypto.com Arena took over on Christmas Day 2021: the Singapore-based exchange agreed to pay a reported $700 million over 20 years, about six times what Staples paid for the building's first two decades.

Chick Hearn said a game was 'in the refrigerator' when what happened?

The result was safe: Hearn would add that the door was closed, the lights were out, the eggs were cooling and the Jell-O was jiggling; a heart operation in 2001 ended his run of 3,338 straight broadcasts.

Which of these basketball phrases is Chick Hearn credited with popularising?

Slam dunk is one of the phrases Chick Hearn is credited with bringing into basketball talk, along with 'air ball' and 'no harm, no foul'; a show-off who botched a fancy play had 'the mustard off the hot dog'.

The Lakers' 1991 Finals loss gave which team its first title?

The Chicago Bulls lost Game 1 at home, then won four straight for Michael Jordan's first championship; through 2025 the Lakers had reached a record 32 Finals.

Which coach oversaw the Lakers' worst season, 17-65 in 2015-16?

Byron Scott, a guard on three Lakers title teams in the 1980s, coached Kobe Bryant's farewell season to 17-65; eleven days after the final game the Lakers announced he would not return.

Which number was retired for the franchise's first superstar, the Minneapolis-era centre?

George Mikan's 99 was raised in October 2022; the Lakers have retired 14 numbers in all, plus Chick Hearn's microphone.

Which Laker, the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year, has his number 21 retired?

Michael Cooper never averaged 12 points a game, yet his soaring finish of Magic Johnson's lob passes became famous as the Coop-a-loop; the Lakers retired his 21 in 2025.

Which coach won four titles with the Lakers in the 1980s?

Pat Riley had been the Lakers' broadcaster and then an assistant before taking over 11 games into 1981-82; he won four titles and promised the 1988 repeat at the 1987 victory parade.

Which Laker hit the 0.4-second game-winner at San Antonio in the 2004 playoffs?

Derek Fisher's turnaround jumper answered Tim Duncan, whose off-balance 18-footer had put San Antonio ahead 73-72 with 0.4 seconds left; the Lakers won 74-73.

The 1971-72 Lakers' head coach was which former Celtics guard?

Bill Sharman introduced the morning shootaround and drove the 1971-72 Lakers to 69 wins and a 33-game winning streak, shouting so much that he permanently damaged his vocal cords.

Which coach led the Minneapolis Lakers to titles in three different leagues?

John Kundla was only 31 when he took the job; his Lakers won the 1948 NBL title, the 1949 BAA title and then four NBA championships as the leagues merged around them.

The Lakers franchise began in 1946 in the National Basketball League under what name?

The Detroit Gems won just 4 of 44 games in 1946-47 before Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen bought them for $15,000 and moved them to Minneapolis.

Who owned the Lakers when they moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960?

Bob Short's group had bought the Lakers in 1957, pledging to keep them in Minnesota, yet he moved them to Los Angeles in 1960.

Which Lakers coach was fired early in 1981-82 shortly after Magic Johnson publicly demanded a trade?

Paul Westhead was fired the day after Magic Johnson asked to be traded; Jerry Buss said he had already planned the change, but Lakers fans booed Magic at the next home game.

The Lakers won their first championship in Los Angeles in 1972 by beating which team in the Finals?

The New York Knicks, who beat the Lakers in the Finals of 1970 and 1973, lost this one 4-1 to a team that had won 69 games, 33 of them in a row.

Which two-time MVP point guard did the Lakers get from Phoenix in 2012 for four draft picks?

Steve Nash, then 38, fractured his left leg in his second game as a Laker and played only 65 games over two seasons before back and nerve trouble ended his career.

Which father and son made NBA history by playing together for the Lakers in October 2024?

LeBron and Bronny James shared the court against Minnesota just 15 months after Bronny survived a cardiac arrest during a college practice; the Lakers had drafted him 55th that June.

Lakers great Wilt Chamberlain turned to which sport after basketball, later leading its short-lived pro league?

Volleyball had been his hobby during his Lakers days. He is enshrined in the sport's hall of fame and sponsored his own professional team.

Which future pop star joined the Laker Girls at 18 and rose to become the squad's head choreographer?

Paula Abdul was chosen from a pool of 700 candidates, and a famous pop family hired her as a choreographer after watching her routines at a Lakers game.

Which actor became a Lakers season ticket holder in 1970 and sat courtside beside the visiting team's bench?

Jack Nicholson was almost ejected from a 2003 playoff game for yelling at a referee. Directors reportedly planned shooting schedules around Lakers home games.

Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trained under which martial arts star, then appeared in his film Game of Death?

Bruce Lee taught him in Los Angeles, and Abdul-Jabbar later credited that training for 20 NBA seasons with very few injuries.

Which Lakers forward, a hero of Game 7 in the 2010 Finals, legally changed his name to Metta World Peace?

Ron Artest made the change in September 2011, saying it was meant to inspire youth around the world and bring them together.

Under which name did Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar lead a New York high school to 71 straight wins?

Lew Alcindor converted to Islam in 1968 and took his new name privately, but did not begin using it in public until 1971.

Which HBO drama about the 1980s Lakers starred John C. Reilly as team owner Jerry Buss?

Winning Time was adapted from a Jeff Pearlman book, and several former players criticised the series for what they called factual inaccuracies.

Which Lakers forward, the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year in 2011, married reality star Khloé Kardashian?

Lamar Odom married her in 2009 after a month of dating, and the couple went on to star in a reality series of their own.

What name is given to the one-handed shot that became Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's trademark?

The skyhook carried him past Wilt Chamberlain's career scoring record in 1984, with the record basket lofted over a 7-foot-4 defender.

Which four-time champion with Golden State is the son of a big man who won two titles with the Lakers?

Klay Thompson's father Mychal, the first foreign-born player taken first in an NBA draft, joined Los Angeles in a 1987 trade.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson, nicknamed at 15 after a high school triple-double, has which real first name?

Earvin Johnson Jr. was named after his father, a General Motors assembly worker, while his mother worked as a school janitor.

Magic Johnson's last NBA Finals with the Lakers was also the first for which opposing star, who won it?

Michael Jordan averaged 31.2 points and 11.4 assists in the series, the first of six championships he would win during the 1990s.

Which team shared the Lakers' downtown arena from 1999 until moving to its own Inglewood home in 2024?

The Clippers lost their first game in the building in 1999 and left 25 years later for the newly built Intuit Dome.

Which team, led by Jimmy Butler, did the Lakers beat to win the 2020 NBA championship?

The Miami Heat were the first fifth-seeded team to reach the NBA Finals, and Butler played on after twisting an ankle in the series.

Which big man did the Lakers get from the Pelicans in 2019 for three players and three first-round picks?

Anthony Davis had told the Pelicans he would not sign an extension and asked to be traded, then won a title in his first Los Angeles season.

Which big man came from Orlando in a 2012 trade, left after one season, then won a 2020 ring as a Laker?

Dwight Howard served three separate one-year stints with the team, and the second brought the only NBA championship of his career.

Which point guard, drafted second overall by the Lakers in 2017, wore shoes from his father LaVar's own brand?

Lonzo Ball was drafted by his hometown team and owned 51 percent of the family company, more than three times his father's share.

Which power forward nicknamed the Mailman joined the Lakers in 2003 after 18 seasons with one team?

Karl Malone arrived alongside Gary Payton, another veteran chasing a first championship, and reached his third Finals in 2004.

Which rebounding champion, fresh from three titles in Chicago, lasted only 23 games with the 1999 Lakers?

Dennis Rodman started 11 of those games, averaging 11 rebounds and just two points, before the team let him go.

Which star point guard did the Lakers agree to trade for in 2011, only for the NBA to void the deal?

Chris Paul's move was blocked by the league office, which temporarily owned his team at the time, a decision that caused lasting controversy.

Which Lakers forward hit a buzzer-beating three to win Game 4 of the 2002 conference finals against Sacramento?

Robert Horry pounced when a defender knocked a rebound away from the basket, and his shot completed a comeback from 24 points down.

Which 1980s song, also played after Dodgers wins, rings out in the Lakers' arena after home victories?

I Love L.A. is by Randy Newman, who once performed it live at a Lakers home opener as a championship banner was unveiled.

The Lakers won the first edition of which NBA competition, later renamed the NBA Cup, in December 2023?

The In-Season Tournament saw the Lakers go unbeaten, winning all four of their group games and then three knockout rounds.

Which Los Angeles-born guard, who joined the Lakers in 2013, went by the nickname Swaggy P?

Nick Young explained the nickname as a mock-biblical reference to a prophet of swag, and he stayed with his hometown team for four seasons.

Which team, led by point guard Jason Kidd, did the Lakers sweep in the 2002 NBA Finals?

The New Jersey Nets had acquired Kidd from Phoenix only the previous summer, in a swap for Stephon Marbury.

Which hustling Lakers forward of the 1980s wore thick black glasses that inspired a courtside fan club?

Kurt Rambis was nicknamed Superman by announcer Chick Hearn, a nod to the glasses worn by the hero's alter ego, Clark Kent.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the NBA's career scoring leader as a Laker in 1984 at a game staged in which city?

Las Vegas hosted 11 of Utah's home games that season, which is why the record basket fell so far from Salt Lake City.

Which Lakers forward, a champion in 1987, 1988 and 2000, holds the NBA record for consecutive games played?

A.C. Green played 1,192 games in a row, earning the nickname Iron Man, and the streak nearly ended when an opponent elbowed him in the face.

Which Lakers reserve, stepped over by Allen Iverson in the 2001 Finals, later coached Cleveland to a title?

Tyronn Lue came off the bench to guard Iverson in Game 1 and won two championships in his first three NBA seasons.

Which Lakers big man, drafted out of high school in 2005, remains the youngest player to appear in an NBA game?

Andrew Bynum made his debut six days after his 18th birthday and went on to win two championships with the team.

Which left-handed guard nicknamed Stumpy led the 1971-72 champion Lakers in scoring?

Gail Goodrich got the nickname from a teammate because of his height and short legs, and he was the team's top scorer four seasons running.

Which smooth-shooting forward nicknamed Silk won three titles with the Lakers, who retired his number 52?

Jamaal Wilkes picked up the nickname from college teammates, and broadcaster Dick Enberg made it stick by using it on air.

Which forward on the Lakers' 2000-02 title teams also built an acting career with roles in Oz and Ugly Betty?

Rick Fox, a Bahamian-Canadian, played a bodyguard in Ugly Betty opposite his former wife, the singer and actress Vanessa Williams.

The Lakers' headquarters and practice facility sit in which city bordering Los Angeles International Airport?

El Segundo also hosted the team's G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, who played in the practice building from 2017 to 2026.

Jerry Buss, who bought the Lakers in 1979, earned a PhD from USC in which subject at the age of 24?

Chemistry was his first career: Buss worked for the Bureau of Mines and taught at USC before real estate made his fortune.

Former Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke later won three Super Bowls as the owner of which NFL team?

The Washington Redskins won all three under head coach Joe Gibbs, the franchise's first championships since the 1940s.

Which venue south of downtown was the Lakers' first regular home in Los Angeles, for seven seasons?

The Memorial Sports Arena housed the team from its arrival from Minneapolis until a purpose-built home opened in Inglewood.

What did Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke hang from the rafters before his team lost Game 7 of the 1969 Finals?

Balloons printed with a world champions message never came down, and flyers on every seat had promised a marching band to go with them.

In which state did the Minneapolis Lakers' plane land in a cornfield after electrical problems?

Iowa farmland near the town of Carroll took the DC-3, which had been flying the team home from St. Louis through a snowstorm.

Which point guard, drafted 37th overall out of Cincinnati, became a Lakers All-Star in 1998?

Nick Van Exel had led his college team to an NCAA regional final before 36 other players were chosen ahead of him in the draft.

The top draft pick the Lakers used on Magic Johnson in 1979 had originally belonged to which team?

The New Orleans Jazz gave up the pick as compensation for signing a Lakers free agent in 1976, and it became first overall on a coin flip.

Which former MVP and three-time scoring champion came off the bench for the Lakers' 1982 and 1985 title teams?

Bob McAdoo was quietly frustrated behind lesser names but gave up a starting role to play alongside championship-calibre teammates.

Which All-Star point guard did the Lakers trade away in 1983 for the draft rights to Byron Scott?

Norm Nixon went to San Diego just before the 1983-84 season, in a deal that also brought a backup big man to Los Angeles.

Which Lakers guard, who once scored 100 in a college game, missed a title-winning buzzer shot in 1962?

Frank Selvy had scored two baskets in 20 seconds to tie Game 7, but his open baseline jumper missed and the Lakers lost in overtime.

Which six-time All-Star guard won his only championship ring as a little-used reserve on the 2002 Lakers?

Mitch Richmond dribbled out the clock to seal the title, seconds after scoring the last basket of his career.

Which Lakers big man set a single-game NBA record by blocking 17 shots against Portland in 1973?

Elmore Smith did it in the first season the NBA officially recorded blocked shots, and he led the league with 4.9 a game.

The NBA award named in 2021 for Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar honours players' work in which field?

Social justice was the natural choice, since his own involvement with social issues dates back to the civil rights movement.

Lakers great Wilt Chamberlain played a warrior who fights Arnold Schwarzenegger and Grace Jones in which film?

Conan the Destroyer remained his only credited film role, though he had formed his own production company in 1976.

Which Lakers lottery pick broke his leg just 14 minutes into his first regular-season NBA game in 2014?

Julius Randle fractured his right tibia in the season opener, had surgery the next day and missed the rest of his rookie year.

Which forward, the 27th pick in 2017, made the All-Rookie First Team as a Laker and won a ring in 2020?

Kyle Kuzma played his college basketball at Utah, where he was named first-team all-conference as a junior.