The players, coaches and eras that built the most decorated franchise in Los Angeles sport.
George Mikan's Lakers won five early titles and made basketball a big man's game before the franchise headed west.
Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain delivered the 33-game win streak and the 1972 championship.
Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Pat Riley turned the fast break into Hollywood entertainment and five rings.
A three-peat, the most dominant center alive, and a young Kobe Bryant becoming the face of the league.
Back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, and one of the greatest closing acts in sports history.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, banner 17, and a new era of star power in Los Angeles.
Center · 1948-1954, 1956
Basketball's first true superstar. Mikan's size and skill forced the league to widen the lane and later add the shot clock, and he carried the Minneapolis Lakers to five championships in six seasons.
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Forward · 1958-1971
The player who took the game into the air. Baylor's hanging, improvising style previewed everything modern basketball became, and his 61-point Finals night stood for decades.
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Guard · 1960-1974
Mr. Clutch. West made 14 All-Star teams, remains the only Finals MVP from a losing team, and finally won it all in 1972 alongside Wilt Chamberlain. His silhouette became the league's logo.
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Center · 1968-1973
The most physically overwhelming player who ever lived. In Los Angeles he anchored the 1971-72 team that won 33 straight games and the franchise's first title on the West Coast.
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Guard · 1965-1968, 1970-1976
Stumpy. The left-handed scoring guard led the record-setting 1971-72 champions in points and formed one of the era's best backcourts with Jerry West.
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Center · 1975-1989
The skyhook, and the most decorated career in league history. Kareem gave Showtime its spine, winning five titles in Los Angeles and playing at an elite level into his forties.
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Guard · 1979-1991, 1996
The engine of Showtime and the greatest passer the game has seen. Magic won a title as a rookie playing center in Game 6 of the Finals, then defined a decade of Los Angeles basketball.
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Forward · 1982-1994
Big Game James. The smoothest finisher in transition basketball, and the man who delivered a Finals triple-double in Game 7 against Detroit in 1988.
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Forward · 1977-1985
Silk. A quietly beautiful jump shot and a starter on three Lakers championship teams, including a 37-point night in the 1980 title clincher.
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Guard · 1978-1990
Showtime's defensive conscience and the finisher of the Coop-a-loop. Five rings, and the assignment on every great wing of the 1980s.
Watch highlightsGuard · 1983-1993, 1996-1997
A three-time champion in the Showtime backcourt and one of the era's most reliable shooters. Today he brings that Lakers perspective to fans through his podcast, Byron Scott's Fast Break.
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Head coach · 1981-1990 (coach), 1970-1976 (player)
The man who named it Showtime and coached it to four championships. Riley turned Los Angeles into a standard of professionalism, tempo and expectation.
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Center · 1996-2004
For three seasons the most unstoppable force basketball had ever seen. Shaq won three straight Finals MVPs and made the Lakers the last true dynasty of the pre-modern era.
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Guard · 1996-2016
Twenty years, one franchise, two retired numbers. Kobe's work ethic became a language of its own, and Los Angeles still measures every Laker against it.
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Guard · 1996-2004, 2007-2012
The steadiest hand of two Lakers dynasties, and author of the 0.4-second shot in San Antonio. Five rings, and every one of them earned in the biggest moments.
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Forward · 1996-2003
Big Shot Rob. Three of his seven championships came in Los Angeles, including the corner three against Sacramento that saved the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
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Forward · 2008-2014
The trade that restored the franchise. Gasol's skill and calm alongside Kobe produced back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010.
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Forward · 2004-2011
A 6-foot-10 point forward who made the second unit dangerous. Odom's versatility was central to the 2009 and 2010 championship teams.
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Forward · 2009-2013
Signed to win a title, and he did exactly that — the Game 7 three against Boston in 2010 is one of the loudest shots in franchise history.
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Forward · 2018-present
He came to Los Angeles and delivered banner 17, then became the league's all-time leading scorer in a Lakers uniform. Longevity as an art form.
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Forward/Center · 2019-2025
The two-way anchor of the 2020 championship, including the buzzer-beater against Denver in the bubble. Rim protection and scoring in one frame.
Watch highlightsLegend photography is used from Wikimedia Commons under its respective free licences. Highlight links open searches on YouTube so you always get the current, official reels rather than a broken embed.
