In part three, we finally get one of the LA clubs onto the list. But which one?
As we begin part three of our greatest Lakers title teams of all-time, we’ve rolled through the city of Minneapolis where the first Laker dynasty took place.
Already gone off the list at are the 1948-49, 1951-52, 1952-53, and the 1953-54 Minneapolis clubs.
With one lone Minny club left, we finally get to the Lakers we know and love in Southern California.
Here is part three!
12) 1949-50 Minneapolis Lakers
The 1949-50 Minneapolis outfit was the second of five titles won in the land of 10,000 lakes.
It was quite the path the Lakers took to win the championship.
The Lakers had a Central Division first place tiebreaker playoff game against the Rochester Royals (both finished 51-17).
The Lakers won the tiebreaker contest 78-76.
They went on to take on the Chicago Stags in the Central Division Semifinals and swept them 2-0.
In the Central Division Finals the Lakers proceeded to broom the Fort Wayne Pistons 2-0.
The Lakers took on the two seed from the Western Division, the Anderson Packers in the NBA Semifinals and bludgeoned them 2-0 with both wins coming by at least 19 points.
And after going unbeaten in the three previous playoff series, the Lakers capped their incredible title run in the NBA Finals, dusting off the Syracuse Nationals in six games.
George Mikan and Jim Pollard made the All-NBA First Team for the Lakers.
The Lakers were an incredible 30-1 at home en route to their second crown.
11) 2009-10 Los Angeles Lakers
Finally a Los Angeles team makes the list. The 2009-10 squad was the very last championship unit the franchise has to this day.
The Lakers were led by the trio of Kobe Bryant (left), Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. The Lakers also received heavy contributions from sixth man Lamar Odom and Ron Artest.
Their 16th NBA crown came as part of a back-t0-back as they won the previous year against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in five games.
The Lakers finished with the one seed in the Western Conference with a 57-25 record. The Lakers beat a young and hungry Oklahoma City Thunder squad 4-2 in the first round.
The Lakers had an easy Western Conference Semifinals as they swept the Utah Jazz 4-0. The Western Conference Finals was a bit more challenging as the Lakers took down a game Phoenix Suns club 4-2.
In game five, Suns guard Jason Richardson hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 101 with 3.5 second left, but Ron Artest (now Metta World Peace) made a game winning layup as the clock expired after grabbing an offensive rebound.
The NBA Finals was a rematch of the 2008 clash between and the Lakers and their bitter rival the Boston Celtics.
The Lakers were down 3-2 in the series heading back to Los Angeles, hoping to avoid yet another crushing blow in the greatest rivalry in pro basketball.
The Lakers won game six with ease as they crushed the Celtics 89-67, who ended up not having Kendrick Perkins for game seven, bettering LA’s chances to win the deciding game with how dominant Gasol played down the stretch.
Game seven, even without Perkins, the Celtics had one last push and made the Lakers sweat throughout the contest. It seemed as if Boston, who had a nine point lead late in third quarter, was going to once again thwart LA of another title.
With Bryant having one of the worst shooting performances he’s ever had in the playoffs (6-24 field goals) the Lakers didn’t appear to have much hope.
But Bryant bounced back a bit in the final quarter, scoring 10 points and 4 rebounds to help the Lakers climb back and win what was likely the most thrilling game seven the franchise has ever won and in tow, their 16th NBA Championship.
Bryant won the Finals MVP and got the revenge he wanted so bad against Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and the Celtics.
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