Lakers: Can The Purple and Gold Return to Prominence?

The Lakers are on pace this season to have the fewest victories and the lowest winning percentage in the history of the franchise. Is it possible to return to the glory days?

The Lakers have had a magnificent history spanning the 68-year existence of the NBA. They they have won more games and have a higher winning percentage than any other team, and their 16 titles rank second only to the Boston Celtics’ 17.

In all major team sports, only baseball’s Yankees have done as well or better, as the Lakers franchise has enjoyed four distinct, separate championship eras:

Minneapolis Lakers

While playing in the Twin Cities, the Lakers were the league’s first dynasty, capturing five championships in six years from 1949-54 while featuring George Mikan, the NBA’s first superstar.

But the 1950’s decade ended badly as the team finished under .500 in each of its five final seasons in Minneapolis, compiling five of the 12 worst winning percentages in franchise history.

The New Los Angeles Lakers

Moving to LA in 1960 worked wonders for the team. Following a couple of losing years, the Elgin Baylor/Jerry West-led Lakers won the Western Conference title nine times in the next 12 seasons, losing in the NBA finals to the Celtics six times and the Knicks twice, and finally winning its first NBA title in LA in 1972.

That title team, which lost Baylor to injury-forced retirement early in the season but still featured West, Gail Goodrich and Wilt Chamberlain, had the longest-ever winning streak, 33 straight games, in the NBA and the best record in franchise history, 69-13.

But following the retirements of first Chamberlain and then West, the Lakers missed the playoffs two years in a row and for six years were generally an average or pretty good team, but weren’t strong enough to return to the Finals.

Showtime Era

In 1979 the team drafted Magic Johnson to join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes and Norm Nixon, and also added Michael Cooper and later James Worthy and Byron Scott, in what became the most successful period in team history. In 12 seasons, 1980 through 1991 (most coached by Pat Riley), the Lakers made it to the Finals nine times and captured five titles.

But all good things come to an end, and as those stars departed, the team faded into eight essentially mediocre seasons. They made the playoffs in seven of those years, but advanced as far as the conference finals just once.

Kobe, Shaq, Gasol… and Phil

A new championship era coincided with the move from the Forum to Staples Center for the 1999-2000 season. Under Phil Jackson’s guidance, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant formed an unstoppable duo, and the team won three consecutive titles in 2000-02. Later in the decade, after Shaq was traded, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum teamed with Kobe and Phil to produce two more titles in 2009-10.

Questions That Must Be Answered

Does Lakers history give us a clue to the future? Are fans comforted in knowing that three times before they rebounded from six or more poor or mediocre seasons to become champion contenders? Can they do it again?

The league has changed dramatically, and competition is stiffer than ever. Returning to prominence will depend on the answers to these four questions:

Most importantly, just how good will the young Lakers core of D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle (and perhaps Jordan Clarkson) become?
Will the team get lucky in the lottery and be able to add a top-3 pick?
How well will management fill out the roster over the next 2-3 years through free agency or trade- not necessarily with superstars, but with players who blend in well with their young stars-in-the-making?
Will the right coach be hired to lead the team forward?

Next: Lakers Draft Prospect: Ben Simmons Declares for the Draft

The right ingredients of a strong young nucleus could already be in place. And if all those questions are answered positively, history just might repeat itself and the Lakers could add a fifth championship-contending era to its already-impressive tradition.