Era 2: Early LA
The next era started a few years later, shortly after the team moved to Los Angeles. The Lakers already had the incomparable Baylor on the team.
Fans today usually fail to understand just how good he was. Although his career was diminished and prematurely ended by injuries, he still averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds a game for his career and was one of the premier players in the league in the 1960’s.
Elgin was joined in LA by the team’s top draft pick, Jerry West. The two combined to form one of the best pair of teammates in NBA history. Their games meshed seamlessly, and together they formed an unstoppable scoring machine.
The Lakers made the Finals six times in the ’60s, but unfortunately each time they faced the Celtics, led by Bill Russell along with multiple other future Hall of Famers including Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn, Sam Jones and John Havlicek.
LA lost all six matchups, three times in seven games and twice in six. They even added superstar Wilt Chamberlain for the last of those matchups, but by then Baylor’s injuries had started to limit his effectiveness.
In the first four years of the 1970s, they faced the “find-the-open-man” New York Knicks (featuring Willis Reed and Walt Frazier) three times in the Finals. The Lakers finally managed to win its first LA title in 1972, but they lost the other two Finals.
The results: in 12 years, the Lakers finished in first place six times, made the Finals nine times and won one NBA title.