7 Quirky Facts About The Lakers

Lakers trivia image credit: Adrián Cerón, WikiCommons

Basketball is one of the biggest sports in the world. And they’ve got some of the most iconic teams on the planet to top it all off. The Lakers are one of them. However much you know, or think you know, about the Lakers, we’re sure we’re going to be able to surprise you with some of this amazing Lakers trivia.

1. Introducing the Minneapolis Lakers

That’s right, even though they are hands down always associated with Los Angeles today, that wasn’t always the fact. Back in 1947 when the team were founded, they were based in the Midwest and called the Minneapolis Lakers. It wasn’t until 1960 that they made the move to the City of Angels.

2. The Lakers share their home

Basketball fans will all know that downtown Los Angeles is the home of the Lakers. More specifically, it’s the Staples Center on Figueroa Street. But you might be surprised to know that they’re not the only team who call Staples home.

Another NBA team, the Los Angeles Clippers, are also based here, as well as the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. And there’s even an NHL team here too, the Los Angeles Kings. So the Lakers will never get lonely on Figueroa Street.

3. Rivals over six decades

You might know that the Lakers big rivals are the Boston Celtics. But you might not be aware that they’ve been going toe-to-toe since the early 1960s. During the sixties, they met six times in the NBA finals. Each and every time, the Celtics bested them. That bitter taste has still not left their mouth and to this day, Lakers v Celtics games are often the ones with the biggest fireworks.

4. A record breaking 1971-72 season

In the early 1970s, the Lakers were on fire. And their stats prove that in spades. To this day, they are still the record holders as the team who won the most games in a row ever in the NBA. The number? No fewer than 33 wins in a row. Impressive, right?

5. The Lakers have 26 Hall of Famers

The Lakers are certainly one of the most successful NBA teams and their record in the Hall of Fame stands up to that. At the time of writing, they’ve had no fewer than 26 different players inducted into the Hall of Fame. They include household names like Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James.

6. One of the Lakers’ Hall of Famers initially turned them down

Elgin Baylor is a name that is firmly in the history books of the Lakers, as one of their greatest ever players. He’s a Hall of Fame star and a legend. However, the Lakers were somewhat snubbed in their first meeting.

They drafted him in 1956 in the 14th round. However, Baylor turned them down in favour of staying in school a little longer. That’s why it wasn’t until 1958 when the Lakers drafted him again, this time in the first round, that he joined the team.

7. You can bet on the Lakers 24/7

If all this Lakers chat has geared you up for the next game, you can make a bet on the Lakers success, failure or otherwise any time you want via bet365. Plus if you’re new to the fantastic online sportsbook, you can also take advantage of this epic bet365 bonus code.