On the road or at home in Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers will give you an evening to remember. Aside from all the records they hold, and record-breaking players performing with matchless skill, those Lakers are just downright interesting!

The history of the team goes all the way back to 1946, before the NBA came into existence. Then it was the National Basketball League, and the team started out as the Detroit Gems. They did not start shining, however, until they moved to Minneapolis and the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”, and became – guess what? The Lakers. The team proceeded to win the national championship in their first season of play as the soon-to-be very well known Lakers.

The 1950′s brought major triumphs and major disappointments. Players left or were traded for new ones, coaches came and went, and in general a lot of changes occurred, but out of six appearances in the Finals, the Lakers came away with the championship five times. They were definitely a team to be noticed!

In 1960 the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, but even without the lakes, they kept their name and they kept their fans on their feet, cheering them on. Even though the team lost to the Boston Celtics in the 1962 Finals, they kept coming on strong. The addition of the now legendary Wilt Chamberlain to the team was certainly a boon, but that’s a whole ?nother story.

The Lakers got to the Finals eight times during the 1960′s, and each time they fought a battle royal, but they lost, eight times. Did that faze them? Not so anyone would notice. They won 33 consecutive games in 1971, a record which still stands in every major professional sport. During the rest of the ?70′s, aside from the excitement the team never failed to bring to the games, a couple of events stand out. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and later Earvin “Magic” Johnson were added to the mix of players, and TV commentator Pat Riley was hired as assistant coach. Riley moved up, of course, to the head coach position, and what a marvelous job he did!

The Lakers met up with the team that has become their arch rival again in 1984. The Boston Celtics beat them in the Finals, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set an NBA record anyway. When the Lakers and Celtics met at the 1985 Finals at Boston Gardens, the then 37-year-old Kareem provided a mighty assist, and the Lakers finally beat their nemesis on the Celtics’ own turf. The victory celebration for players and fans was something to behold!

In 2000, the Los Angeles Lakers moved their home base from the Forum in Inglewood to the Staples Center in L.A., which seems to suit them. They also hired coach Phil Jackson who, as well as former coach Pat Riley, has set all-time records in the industry As the 2000′s rolled on, the Lakers incorporated some moves they call the “triangle offense”, and the excitement just kept happening. Shaquille O’Neal was awarded the Finals MVP for his third consecutive year, and coach Phil Jackson got his ninth Championship Head Coach award.

The year 2000 was another turning point for the Lakers, when they moved from Inglewood to the new Staples Center, and really became the Los Angeles Lakers. Then Phil Jackson came on the team as head coach, and the Lakers kept gaining momentum, and fans! Coach Jackson deservedly received the Championship Head Coach title for the ninth time, and Shaquille O’Neal kept winning the coveted MVP award (three times in a row!)

The Los Angeles Lakers have gone through some “glory days” and some fairly dark nights; key players have suffered injury or just dissatisfaction and gone elsewhere, but sometimes returned, and coaches have been both mediocre and superb. This team has a lot of history, and it’s all fascinating. The bottom line right now is: the Lakers just keep on winning!

Since 1948 they have only missed the NBA playoffs five times. They have had so many dramatic near misses and even more dramatic last-minute wins that they keep fans on the edge of their seats (if the fans can even get seats.) Actually, you do have to love those Lakers!