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Los Angeles Lakers, 1948
The Lakers franchise was established in 1947 when Ben Berger and Morris Chaflen purchased the Detroit Gems in the NBL. A year later, they joined the BAA and won the title, starting a dynastic run into the NBA. With the formation of the NBA in 1949, the Lakers won 4 of the first 5 NBA championships. The team slumped in a few years, however, and Berger sold the team to Bob Short who oversaw the move to Los Angeles in 1960.
The early years of the LA era were bittersweet and involved another ownership change as Jack Cooke purchased the team in 1965. The Lakers lost a ridiculous 7 NBA Finals in 10 years, 6 of them to Boston. They finally won a title in 1972, only to lose in the Finals again in 73. The team entered a bit of a lull after that and Cooke sold the team to Jerry Buss in 1979, just before the return of the glory days. From 79 to 91, the Lakers reached 9 NBA Finals and won 5 of them. The 90s Lakers, however, underachieved but rebounded quickly winning 3 titles in a row from 2000-02. After losing NBA Finals in 04 and 08, they won back to back titles in 09 & 10.
That would be it in terms of success. It's all gone downhill since Buss passed away in 2013 and while the Lakers finally seem to be on track now, it'll be a few years before they reclaim past glories.
