los angeles lakers history
los angeles lakers history
When you buy Los Angeles Lakers tickets you get more than a basketball game. You get the chance to see egos collide. You get to see a team of virtual strangers get to know each other. And you get to see coach Phil Jackson watch over it all, with a Zen-like appreciation. Yes, Hollywood has nothing on the nightly dramas that unfold in Staples Center each night.
Will Kobe Bryant get along with Phil? Will Phil get along with the owners? Will Kobe get along with his teammates? Does Kobe realize he HAS teammates? Will those teammates turn into a team? Buy your Los Angeles Lakers tickets today, and watch “As Their World Turns.”
Not so long ago, the Lakers were putting the finishing touches on a three-peat, fueled by Kobe and Shaquille O’Neill. It was the latest in a series of great teams that have graced the Lakers home court through the years. But which great team was the greatest?
Was it the 5-time NBA champ Minneapolis Lakes of the 1950’s with George Mikan, Vern Mikkelsen, and Clyde Lovellette?
Was it the Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain led clubs of the 60’s and 70’s? That team only won one NBA Championship, but made legends of those three players. Were it not for the Boston Celtics of that era, they could have been the greatest team in history. Chamberlain is the only play in NBA history to score 100 points in a game. The NBA’s logo was designed after West’s image dribbling the ball.
The 1980’s brought a new collection of stars. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joined forces with point-guard sensation Magic Johnson to bring 5 more title to Laker fans. Magic and Kareem would go down as two of the greatest players ever, and the Lakers “Showtime” fast break came to define the era. With his unstoppable sky-hook, Jabbar went on to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Johnson set the NBA’ all-time assist mark before retiring after testing positive for HIV. Utah Jazz great John Stockton would break Magic’s assist mark.
The late nineties brought Kobe and Shaq to town, along with the Guru, Phil Jackson, who, with the help of Michael Jordan, guided the Chicago Bulls to six championships. Egos remained in check long enough to return the Lakers to the top of NBA mountain. But that team was a time bomb, and three championships later, Shaq was in Miami, and Phil was on vacation.
Now Phil is back, and Kobe never left. Los Angeles Lakers tickets may not be mean what they used to, but the team hopes to turn it around this year. After missing the NBA playoffs last year, owner Jerry Buss will not stand for anything less than a return to greatness. That’s just what Kobe and Phil intend to deliver, if they can get out of each other’s way in the process.
