The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, formerly known as the Minneapolis Lakers from 1948 to 1960. [1] They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Lakers have played their home games at the Crypto.com Arena since 1999. [2] The franchise took its official name from Minnesota's nickname, the Land of 10,000 Lakes. At the time the name was revealed, the Lakers were in Minneapolis. [3] In their franchise history, the team has only missed the NBA playoffs 11 times. [4] According to Forbes magazine, the Lakers are the second most valuable basketball franchise in the NBA, valued at approximately US$4.4 billion, surpassed only by the New York Knicks. [5] The Lakers are majority-owned by Jerry Buss's family trust, while Rob Pelinka is the general manager. [6]
There have been 26 head coaches for the Lakers since joining the NBA. The franchise's first head coach while in the NBA was John Kundla, who coached for 11 seasons with the Lakers. [1] The Lakers won four additional NBA championships in the next five years under Kundla. [1] Phil Jackson is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (902), most playoff games coached (181), most regular-season game wins (610), and most playoff wins (118). The Lakers have won 17 championships; five with Kundla, five with Jackson, four with Riley, one with Bill Sharman, one with Paul Westhead, and one with Frank Vogel. [7] With the Lakers, Sharman, Riley, and Del Harris have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award, in 1972, 1990, and 1995 respectively. [8] Kundla, Sharman, Riley, and Jackson have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. [9] [10] [11] [12] George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Jerry West, Pat Riley, Magic Johnson, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, and Luke Walton have all played and coached for the Lakers.
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins |
L | Losses |
Win% | Winning percentage |
# | Number of coaches [a] |
* | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Lakers |
† | Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |
*† | Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach and spent entire coaching career with the Lakers |
Note: Statistics are correct through the 2023–24 season.
# | Name | Term [b] | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Achievements | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
Minneapolis Lakers | ||||||||||||
1 | John Kundla *† | 1948–1958 | 653 | 390 | 263 | .597 | 82 | 54 | 28 | .659 | 5 Championships (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954) [7] One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [13] | [9] |
2 | George Mikan * | 1958 | 39 | 9 | 30 | .231 | — | — | — | — | [14] | |
— | John Kundla *† | 1958–1959 | 72 | 33 | 39 | .458 | 13 | 6 | 7 | .462 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [13] | [9] |
3 | John Castellani * | 1959–1960 | 36 | 11 | 25 | .306 | — | — | — | — | [15] | |
4 | Jim Pollard | 1960 | 39 | 14 | 25 | .359 | 9 | 5 | 4 | .556 | [16] | |
Los Angeles Lakers | ||||||||||||
5 | Fred Schaus * | 1960–1967 | 560 | 315 | 245 | .563 | 71 | 33 | 38 | .465 | [17] | |
6 | Butch van Breda Kolff | 1967–1969 | 164 | 107 | 57 | .652 | 33 | 21 | 12 | .636 | [18] | |
7 | Joe Mullaney | 1969–1971 | 164 | 94 | 70 | .573 | 30 | 16 | 14 | .533 | [19] | |
8 | Bill Sharman † | 1971–1976 | 410 | 246 | 164 | .600 | 37 | 22 | 15 | .595 | 1971–72 NBA Coach of the Year [8] 1 Championship (1972) [7] | [10] |
9 | Jerry West * | 1976–1979 | 246 | 145 | 101 | .589 | 22 | 8 | 14 | .364 | [20] | |
10 | Jack McKinney | 1979 | 14 | 10 | 4 | .714 | — | — | — | — | [21] | |
11 | Paul Westhead | 1979–1981 | 161 | 111 | 50 | .689 | 19 | 13 | 6 | .684 | 1 Championship (1980) [7] | [22] |
12 | Pat Riley | 1981–1990 | 727 | 533 | 194 | .733 | 149 | 102 | 47 | .685 | 1989–90 NBA Coach of the Year [8] 4 Championships (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) [7] One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [13] | [11] |
13 | Mike Dunleavy | 1990–1992 | 164 | 101 | 63 | .616 | 23 | 13 | 10 | .565 | [23] | |
14 | Randy Pfund * | 1992–1994 | 146 | 66 | 80 | .452 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | [24] | |
15 | Bill Bertka * | 1994 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | — | — | — | [25] | |
16 | Magic Johnson * | 1994 | 16 | 5 | 11 | .313 | — | — | — | — | [26] | |
17 | Del Harris | 1994–1999 | 340 | 224 | 116 | .659 | 36 | 17 | 19 | .472 | 1994–95 NBA Coach of the Year [8] | [27] |
— | Bill Bertka * | 1999 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | [25] | |
18 | Kurt Rambis | 1999 | 37 | 24 | 13 | .649 | 8 | 3 | 5 | .375 | [28] | |
19 | Phil Jackson | 1999–2004 | 410 | 287 | 123 | .700 | 92 | 64 | 28 | .696 | 3 Championships (2000, 2001, 2002) [7] One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [13] | [12] |
20 | Rudy Tomjanovich | 2004–2005 | 43 | 24 | 19 | .558 | — | — | — | — | [29] | |
21 | Frank Hamblen | 2005 | 39 | 10 | 29 | .256 | — | — | — | — | [30] | |
— | Phil Jackson | 2005–2011 | 492 | 323 | 169 | .657 | 89 | 54 | 35 | .607 | 2 Championships (2009, 2010) [7] One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [13] | [12] |
22 | Mike Brown | 2011–2012 | 71 | 42 | 29 | .591 | 12 | 5 | 7 | .417 | [31] | |
23 | Bernie Bickerstaff | 2012 | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 | — | — | — | — | [32] | |
24 | Mike D'Antoni | 2012–2014 | 154 | 67 | 87 | .435 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | [33] | |
25 | Byron Scott | 2014–2016 | 164 | 38 | 126 | .227 | — | — | — | — | [34] | |
26 | Luke Walton | 2016–2019 | 246 | 98 | 148 | .398 | — | — | — | — | [35] | |
27 | Frank Vogel | 2019–2022 | 225 | 127 | 98 | .564 | 27 | 18 | 9 | .667 | 1 Championship (2020) [7] | [36] |
28 | Darvin Ham | 2022–2024 | 164 | 90 | 74 | .549 | 16 | 9 | 12 | .429 | [37] | |
29 | JJ Redick | 2024–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | [38] |
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Lakers play their home games at Crypto.com Arena, an arena shared with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA with 17 championships, the second most in the league behind the Boston Celtics.
Patrick James Riley is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also served as the team's head coach from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2005 to 2008. Often referred to as "The Godfather", Riley is regarded as one of the greatest NBA figures of all time both as a coach and executive. He has won five NBA championships as a head coach, four with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era in the 1980s and one with the Heat in 2006. Riley is a nine-time NBA champion across his tenures as a player (1972), assistant coach (1980), head coach, and executive. Since the start of his NBA career through 2023, Riley appeared in 25 percent of all NBA Finals as a player, coach, or executive.
Philip Douglas Jackson is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973. Regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time, Jackson was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 to 1998, leading them to six NBA championships. He then coached the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2004 and again from 2005 to 2011; the team won five league titles under his leadership. Jackson's 11 NBA titles as a coach surpassed the previous record of nine set by Red Auerbach. He holds numerous other records as a coach, such as most postseason wins (229), and most NBA Conference titles (13).
The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships from 1956 to 1966. The winner is selected at the end of the regular season by a panel of sportswriters from the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The person with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.
The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team in the league. Fifty players were selected through a vote by a panel of media members, former players and coaches, and current and former general managers. In addition, the top ten head coaches and top ten single-season teams in NBA history were selected by media members as part of the celebration. The 50 players had to have played at least a portion of their careers in the NBA and were selected irrespective of position played.
John Albert Kundla was an American college and professional basketball coach. He was the first head coach for the Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its predecessors, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL), serving 12 seasons, from 1947 to 1959. His teams won six league championships, one in the NBL, one in the BAA, and four in the NBA. Kundla was the head basketball coach at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul for one season in 1946–47, and at the University of Minnesota for ten seasons, from 1959 to 1968. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The 1970 NBA expansion draft was the fifth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 11, 1970, so that the newly founded Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers could acquire players for the 1970–71 season. Buffalo, Cleveland, and Portland were awarded the expansion teams on February 6, 1970. Houston was also awarded a franchise, but the group backing the team was unable to come up with the US$750,000 down payment on the US$3.7 million entrance fee that was required before the 1970 NBA draft. The Braves later underwent two relocations, moving to San Diego in 1978 and changing their name from the Braves to the Clippers, and then relocating to Los Angeles in 1984. They are currently known as the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 1988–89 Charlotte Hornets season was Charlotte's inaugural season in the National Basketball Association. The "Charlotte Hornets", along with the Miami Heat, began play as expansion teams during the 1988–89 season; the team was originally going to be named the "Spirit", but later on changed it to the "Hornets". The team revealed a new primary logo of a hornet bouncing a basketball, and got new pinstripe uniforms, adding teal and purple to their color scheme.
The 2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers season was the franchise's 61st season, 60th in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 49th in Los Angeles. Coming off an appearance in the 2008 NBA Finals, the Lakers won their division for the 31st time and appeared in the NBA Finals for the 30th time. With 65 wins, they tied the 1986–87 team for the third most wins in franchise history, the most since 1999–2000, and improved on their 2007–08 record by eight wins. The Lakers sold out all 41 home games for the season, led the NBA in money earned from overall ticket sales, and had the 5th highest increase in gate receipts from the previous season. The Lakers had the third best team offensive rating in the NBA.