Glory Days D id you ever stop and wonder how the Lakers got their d name The team’s story actually began in Minneapolis Minnesota The state is known as the land of 10,000 lakes and the cargo ships that work Lake Superior are sometimes called lakers h h d d h k The Lakers joined the National Basketball League NBL in 1947 They were led by coach John Kundla and forward Jim Pollard Two weeks into their first season the Lakers added George Mikan a hulking center known to every basketball fan in America Mikan wore thick glasses that made him look like Clark Kent But he played like Superman Mikan and Pollard led the Lakers to the NBL championship that spring For the 1948 49 season the Lakers moved to the Basketball Association of America BAA The BAA played in large cities and 6
was a rival of the NBL which had teams in smaller towns The Lakers promptly won the BAA championship The following season the NBL and BAA joined forces to become the NBA Once again the Lakers won the championship The Lakers put together an unbeatable lineup Kundla stressed unselfish play and Minneapolis became known for its teamwork on offense and defense Mikan and Pollard shared the front line with Vern Mikkelsen Slater Martin ran the offense from the backcourt From 1947 48 to 1953 54 the Lakers won a championship in every season but one Amazingly it would take almost 20 years for the Lakers to win another championship By then the team had moved west to Los Angeles The Lakers long drought was not for lack of talent During the 1960s they had two game-changing superstars Elgin Baylor and LEFT George Mikan towers over defenders on the cover of this 1948 Sport Magazine ABOVE Jim Pollard scores an easy basket against the New York Knicks 7
Jerry West Baylor used his quickness and leaping ability to put up dazzling scoring numbers West had a deadly long-range shot and the size and speed to drive straight through opposing defenses The Lakers reached the NBA Finals seven times in nine seasons but they fell short of a championship each time Finally in 1972 Los Angeles captured its first NBA crown West and center Wilt Chamberlain led a team that won an amazing 69 games during the regular season The Lakers then beat the New York Knicks for their first championship since their days in Minneapolis The Lakers returned to the top of the NBA in the 1980s with a team that featured Magic Johnson James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Johnson was a 6 9 guard with great passing skills Worthy was a strong agile forward Abdul-Jabbar was one of the greatest centers in history From 1979 80 to 1990 91 LEFT Kareem Abdul-Jabbar works his way into scoring position ABOVE Magic Johnson lit up the league in the 1980s 9
