Greatest Lakers Teams of All Time

2000-01 Lakers

Went 15-1 through the playoffs, the most dominant postseason run in NBA history, steamrolling Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio and Philadelphia. Shaq was an unstoppable force in his prime while a 22-year-old Kobe announced himself as a true co-star. The lone loss only made the s

Season: 2000-01Regular Season Record: 56-26NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): Shaquille O'Neal & Kobe BryantLegacy Rating: 9.5/10

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1971-72 Lakers

Set the NBA record for wins with a 69-13 mark and included a 33-game winning streak that still stands as the longest in North American pro sports history. Wilt Chamberlain, playing a selfless center role, and an aging Jerry West finally delivered LA's first title since the move f

Season: 1971-72Regular Season Record: 69-13NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): Wilt Chamberlain & Jerry WestLegacy Rating: 9.5/10

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1986-87 Lakers

The peak of "Showtime," built on fast-break basketball and Magic Johnson's MVP season, capped by his running junior-junior skyhook over the Celtics in Game 4 of the Finals. Kareem was still elite, James Worthy and Byron Scott filled every lane, and Pat Riley's team looked like it

Season: 1986-87Regular Season Record: 65-17NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): Magic JohnsonLegacy Rating: 9.3/10

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1999-2000 Lakers

Shaq won his only MVP and the Finals MVP in the same year, and his alley-oop dunk over Portland to close Game 7 of the West Finals became the signature moment of the season. Phil Jackson's arrival unlocked the Shaq-Kobe partnership for the first time, launching a dynasty that wou

Season: 1999-2000Regular Season Record: 67-15NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): Shaquille O'Neal & Kobe BryantLegacy Rating: 9/10

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2019-20 Lakers

Won the title inside the Orlando bubble months after Kobe Bryant's death, dedicating the run to his memory with a championship that felt like emotional closure for the franchise. LeBron won Finals MVP at 35, proving he could still lead a title team a full decade after his first r

Season: 2019-20Regular Season Record: 52-19NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): LeBron James & Anthony DavisLegacy Rating: 8.9/10

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2001-02 Lakers

Completed the three-peat, surviving a controversial Game 4 comeback over Sacramento in the West Finals that Kings fans still argue about today. Shaq and Kobe's chemistry was fraying behind the scenes even as their on-court dominance never wavered, sweeping New Jersey in the Final

Season: 2001-02Regular Season Record: 58-24NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): Shaquille O'Neal & Kobe BryantLegacy Rating: 8.8/10

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2008-09 Lakers

Kobe Bryant's first title without Shaq, silencing critics who said he couldn't win alone by beating Dwight Howard's Magic in five Finals games. Pau Gasol's arrival the year before had transformed the Lakers into a genuine contender, and this squad closed the deal with poise.

Season: 2008-09Regular Season Record: 65-17NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): Kobe Bryant & Pau GasolLegacy Rating: 8.6/10

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2009-10 Lakers

Beat the hated Celtics in a bruising seven-game Finals, avenging the 2008 loss and giving Kobe his fifth ring, tying him with Magic Johnson. Ron Artest's stifling defense on Paul Pierce and a gutsy Game 7 grind made this the toughest, most hard-fought title of the Kobe era.

Season: 2009-10Regular Season Record: 57-25NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): Kobe Bryant & Pau GasolLegacy Rating: 8.5/10

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1984-85 Lakers

Avenged the infamous 1984 Finals collapse to Boston by winning at the Boston Garden for the first time ever in a Finals-clinching Game 6, breaking a psychological curse. A 38-year-old Kareem won Finals MVP, proving he still had elite gas left in the tank.

Season: 1984-85Regular Season Record: 62-20NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): Magic Johnson & Kareem Abdul-JabbarLegacy Rating: 8.4/10

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1979-80 Lakers

Magic Johnson's rookie season ended with him jumping center for an injured Kareem in Game 6 of the Finals and dropping 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists to close out Philadelphia — one of the greatest individual Finals performances ever. It launched the entire Showtime era on

Season: 1979-80Regular Season Record: 60-22NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): Magic JohnsonLegacy Rating: 8.2/10

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1981-82 Lakers

Won the title just a year after coach Paul Westhead was fired mid-season amid tension with Magic Johnson, and Pat Riley's retooled roster beat Philadelphia in six games in the Finals. It proved Showtime's foundation was bigger than any single coach.

Season: 1981-82Regular Season Record: 57-25NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): Magic Johnson & Kareem Abdul-JabbarLegacy Rating: 8/10

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1953-54 Minneapolis Lakers

George Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers claimed their fifth title in six years, the original Lakers dynasty before the franchise ever moved to Los Angeles. Mikan, the league's first true dominant big man, forced the NBA to widen the lane, permanently reshaping the sport.

Season: 1953-54Regular Season Record: 46-26NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): George MikanLegacy Rating: 7.5/10

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1949-50 Minneapolis Lakers

Won the first championship of the merged NBA, establishing the Lakers as the league's first dynasty before a shot was ever taken in Los Angeles. George Mikan averaged over 27 points a game at a time when that was basketball heresy, bulldozing the league statistically and physical

Season: 1949-50Regular Season Record: 51-17NBA Champion: ✓Signature Star(s): George MikanLegacy Rating: 7/10

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1972-73 Lakers

Followed the record-setting 69-win season with another 60-win campaign, but fell in five games to the Knicks in the Finals, denying this aging core a second straight title. It's the "what could have been" coda to 1971-72's perfection, right before Wilt and West rode off into reti

Season: 1972-73Regular Season Record: 60-22NBA Champion: —Signature Star(s): Wilt Chamberlain & Jerry WestLegacy Rating: 6.8/10

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1982-83 Lakers

Rolled into the Finals as heavy favorites but got swept by Julius Erving's 76ers, a stunning reversal after beating Philly in the Finals the year before. Injuries to Norm Nixon and James Worthy gutted the roster right when it mattered most.

Season: 1982-83Regular Season Record: 58-24NBA Champion: —Signature Star(s): Magic Johnson & Kareem Abdul-JabbarLegacy Rating: 6.5/10

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1969-70 Lakers

Lost a heartbreaking Game 7 to the Knicks after Willis Reed's legendary limping return, despite Jerry West dropping 28 points and 17 assists in the loss. West still won Finals MVP that year, the only player ever to win it on the losing team.

Season: 1969-70Regular Season Record: 46-36NBA Champion: —Signature Star(s): Jerry West & Wilt ChamberlainLegacy Rating: 6.3/10

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1962-63 Lakers

Lost to Bill Russell's Celtics in the Finals yet again, part of the brutal stretch where Baylor-and-West Lakers teams ran into an all-time Celtics buzzsaw over and over. Elgin Baylor's spectacular scoring made the near-misses sting even more, setting up the eventual satisfaction

Season: 1962-63Regular Season Record: 53-27NBA Champion: —Signature Star(s): Elgin Baylor & Jerry WestLegacy Rating: 5.8/10

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1959-60 Minneapolis Lakers

A losing team by record, but historically vital as the season of Elgin Baylor's electrifying breakout, including a then-record 64-point single game. It was also the franchise's final season in Minneapolis before the move to Los Angeles, making it the bridge between two eras of La

Season: 1959-60Regular Season Record: 25-50NBA Champion: —Signature Star(s): Elgin BaylorLegacy Rating: 4.5/10

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