I have lived in Southern California all my life and the Los Angeles Lakers are as much a part of growing up in Los Angeles as polluted air and endless disruption from unruly traffic. They are technically one of the best teams in the history of professional sports and certainly one of the best in the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers have the longest winning streak of any NBA team, capturing thirty-three games in a row in their 1972 season; ironically, a streak that began the following game after NBA Hall of Fame forward Elgin Baylor officially retired from the game.
As a child growing up in the eighties, I used to sit glued to the wonderful television as the Lakers won five NBA championships in a span of nine years. Powered by three Hall of Fame players; Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, I grew up watching Pat Riley become the Los Angeles Lakers’ all-time number one coach, earning the most wins of any coach in both regular seasons and playoff games. . I even remember the night Bush Sr. won the 1988 presidential election in second place to the fury of the Los Angeles Lakers on the court.
The Lakers have always remained at the forefront of the best in the NBA. Today they have the highest payroll of any team in the NBA; a feat that requires the loyalty and support of his devoted fans and patrons alike. The Lakers also currently hold the record for the most wins of any team in the National Basketball Association, making a total of 2,970 wins at the close of the season in 2009. Along with the record for most wins comes the record for highest winning percentage. of wins, reaching a winning percentage of 61.7%.
Even if you’re not from Los Angeles, any respectable basketball fan can appreciate the elite records of the Los Angeles Lakers. They have been to the NBA Finals thirty times; another record that no other team has touched. And, in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise, there have only been five seasons in which the team did not make the playoffs, resulting in 15 NBA Championship wins. They come second to the Boston Celtics, who have won seventeen NBA Championship titles; the most recent of which we all witnessed as they battled hard against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers remain only one of three teams that have never lost sixty games in a season. So, as one of the greatest teams in sports history faces another season, I can’t help but wonder if the Los Angeles Lakers, as usual armed with the best in the NBA regardless of the decade, will hand off their 16th championship title. of the NBA in 2009. .