Los Angeles Lakers are following history’s footprints

As all Los Angeles Lakers fans know, the team has gotten off to a red-hot start this season. But the goal, as always, is winning an NBA title. What does Lakers history tell us about their chances?

The Los Angeles Lakers posted one of their best all-time starts by winning 21 of their first 24 games. The favorable October-November schedule certainly helped as they had 15 games against teams with losing records. But they’re also playing well so far in December even though they’re facing a tougher schedule with nine of their first 14 games against teams above .500.

Titles, of course, are won in June, not in December. But if we look at the history of the franchise, it might give us a clue about how likely it is that the team will hang another championship banner in Staples Center in 2020.

This season, everyone knows that the Lakers are led by two future Hall of Famers, Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Together they have already formed one of the most dynamic duos that not just the team but that the NBA has ever experienced. And because of what has happened in the past, that could well be an excellent omen for Lakers fans.

In franchise history, the team has featured at least two superstars in four (or five, depending on how you count) previous eras. And those pairings helped lead the Lakers to their most successful seasons:

• 24 of their 25 first place regular season finishes (one more than Boston)
• 31 trips to the Finals (10 more than Boston)
• 16 titles (second only to the Celtics’ 17).

Let’s take a closer look at why those teams were so successful.

Era 1: Minneapolis

The first Lakers era began in Minneapolis, where they won five titles in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Their star player was center George Mikan, who was the league’s first dominant big man. But Mikan was also surrounded by three other future Hall-of-Famers, forwards Jim Pollard and Vern Mikkelsen and point guard Slater Martin.

The team made one other Finals appearance in their next-to-last season in Minneapolis. Only Mikkelsen remained of their big four, but he was joined by superstar rookie Elgin Baylor.

The scorecard for Minneapolis: four division titles, six Finals and five championships in an 11-year span.