 The Los Angeles Lakers began their franchise history in Minneapolis, where they got their namesake. The early Lakers were immediately too much for the rest of the basketball world to handle. The first superstar, George Mikan led the team to the NBL, BAA (the predecessor to the NBA), and the NBA title in seven times. Eventually the Lakers lost Mikan to knee injuries, thanks to his incredible height (at 6 foot 10 he towered over the early players). The Lakers moved to Los Angeles and found new stars. Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Gail Goodrich were the new focus of the offense and the team began to top the Western Conference regularly after the regular season schedule was finished. This period, in the 1960s stared the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, as the Celtics met and beat the Lakers six times in eight seasons. It was not until Wilt Chamberlain was added to the Los Angeles squad that they could return home as champions. The 1972 season finished with the Lakers winning a then-record 69 games and easily winning the Finals. Big men seemed to be the key to the Los Angeles Lakers success. After Wilt Chamberlain left in 1973, the Lakers would have to wait until Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came to the Los Angeles in 1975. He would take the team close repeatedly, but would not win a championship with the Lakers until Magic Johnson was drafted in 1979. Magic Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, and Norm Nixon became the first version of the Showtime Lakers. The Los Angeles Lakers won two championships at the Staples Center before James Worthy, A.C. Green, Byron Scott, and Michael Cooper finished the 1980s as the most exciting floor show in basketball. After a trouble 1990s, the Lakers signed Shaq and traded for Kobe Bryant out of high school to create a deadly duo that would eventually win three straight championships from the 1999-00 season to the 2001-02 season with Phil Jackson as coach. Jackson was known for his ability to handle stars, but Shaq and Kobe's egos clashed repeatedly. In 2004 the Lakers front office decided that the future of Los Angeles was with Kobe and traded Shaq. The Los Angeles Lakers struggled, but a trade in the middle of the 2007-08 season brought Pau Gasol over. Bryant, Gasol, and Lamar Odom took the team to the NBA Finals in a series that rekindled the rivalry between the Celtics and the Lakers, though Los Angeles would lose.
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