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Los Angeles Lakers NBA Basketball Betting Odds
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NBA Betting Online: The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most iconic and prolific franchises in the history of the National Basketball Association.
The Lakers currently compete in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The original team name comes from Minnesota's state nickname which is the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". Because of their Hollywood affiliation, the Lakers are often referred to as the Lake Show.
Los Angeles began play in 1947 and has captured 16 NBA championships, 32 conference titles and 22 division titles in its rich history. The franchise shows up in the NBA annals for the longest winning streak, which stands at 33 games. According to Forbes Magazine in 2011, the Lakers have an estimated value of $643 million.
The Lakers play home games at Staples Center, which they share with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL and the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.
The Lakers won five championships while located in Minneapolis from 1947 to 1960. Center George Mikan was the cornerstone of that dynasty.
Following Mikan's retirement, the Lakers relocated to Los Angeles in 1960, becoming the NBA's first West Coast team. Owner Bob Short selected Jerry West out of West Virginia with the second overall pick in the draft that year.
With future Hall of Famers West and Elgin Baylor, the Lakers would reach the NBA Finals six times during the next decade. But each time L.A. ran into the 1960s dynasty of the Boston Celtics.
But the acquisition of Wilt Chamberlain in 1968 provided L.A. with the centerpiece it needed to beat the Celtics. The Lakers won their sixth title, and first in California, in 1972 with head coach Bill Sharman at the helm.
After the retirement of West and Chamberlain, the team acquired another big-name center in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975. Abdul-Jabbar led the league in rebounding, blocked shots and minutes played that season but L.A. failed to qualify for the playoffs.
But the disappointing stretch would end after the Lakers took point guard Earvin "Magic" Johnson with the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft.
Johnson and the Lakers were nicknamed "Showtime" during the 1980s because of their flashy, fast-break offense. Over a nine-year stretch, L.A. won five NBA titles with a corps of players that included Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, as well as head coach Pat Riley. Two of those championships came against the archrival Celtics.
The Lakers-Celtics rivalry is renowned as one of the greatest in all of sports. The two historic franchises have met 12 times in the Finals. With 33 titles between them, the Lakers and Celtics have combined to win more than half of the NBA's 64 championships. From 1989 to 1999 the Lakers hit a bit of a lull. But after bringing in Phil Jackson, who had led the Chicago Bulls to six championships, L.A. was on the rise again by 2000. Jackson and longtime assistant Tex Winter installed the "Triangle Offense," which would essentially become Jackson's calling card.
With center Shaquille O'Neal and shooting guard Kobe Bryant, Jackson led L.A. to back-to-back-to-back NBA titles from 2000 to 2002. The Lakers set the league's best postseason record with their 2001 squad after finishing 15-1.
The 2003-04 season was tumultuous as Bryant was caught up in a sexual-assault case and O'Neal became disgruntled with his playing partner. L.A. brass brought in Karl Malone and Gary Payton to create a "Big Four" but injuries and drama prevented the team from repeating.
O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat the following year and Jackson left his position at season's end. But the head coach would return only one year later and take the Lakers back to the Finals in 2008. They were defeated by the Celtics that season but the roster was of championship caliber.
With Bryant as the leader, complementary players such as Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown and Ron Arest helped the Lakers win the 2009 and 2010 NBA Finals.
Following a four-game sweep by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Playoffs, Jackson officially retired from the game of basketball. Owner Jerry Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak hired former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown to replace Jackson in May of 2011.
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