Lakers owner Bob Short, a shrewd young businessman who had owned the franchise for two years, packed up the club and moved it from Minneapolis to Los Angeles before the 1960-61 season.
The Lakers are one of the most successful and popular professional franchises in all American sports. The franchise has won a combined 16 Basketball Association of America (BAA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) titles, second in league history to their rival the Boston Celtics.
The franchise that would become the Lakers was founded in 1946 as the Detroit Gems and played in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1947, and its name was changed to the Lakers to reflect the Minnesota state nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes.”
The Lakers joined the BAA (the official precursor of the NBA) for the 1948–49 season and won the final BAA championship. The NBA was formed in 1949, and Mikan and the Lakers—which also featured future Hall of Famers Jim Pollard, Slater Martin, Vern Mikkelsen, and (from 1953) Clyde Lovellette—won four of the first five league titles, establishing professional basketball’s first dynasty.
Read more of the history of Los Angeles Lakers at Britannica.com.
Check out the Best 50 Teams in NBA History at LandOfBasketball.com.