They have only been back to the Finals once since then, during the 2001 campaign, led by Iverson, only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers, 4 – 1.

The Jazz were then eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers for the third year in a row, being swept 4 – 0 ( the first 4 game sweep in Jazz history ).

Johnson came out of retirement in the 1995 – 96 season to lead the then 24 – 18 Lakers to a 29 – 11 finish.

* Derrick Caracter ( born 1988 ), played power forward / center formerly for the Louisville Cardinals basketball team, then the University of Texas at El Paso ( UTEP ) Miners basketball team, current member of NBA's Los Angeles Lakers.

In the 2001 NBA Playoffs, the Spurs eliminated the Timberwolves 3 – 1, defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4 – 1, but then bowed out against the Lakers led by superstars Shaquille O ' Neal and Kobe Bryant, losing in four straight games.

He then retired permanently following the Lakers ' loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 Finals.

The company then went on to reap additional profits by again licensing the phrase to merchandisers when the Bulls again won three consecutive NBA championships from 1996 through 1998, as well as when the New York Yankees won three straight World Series championships from 1998 through 2000 and when the Lakers won three straight NBA championships from 2000 through 2002.

In fact, the Sixers went four-five-four, losing one game to the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference finals, then sweeping the Lakers to win the NBA title.

Davis played for the Lakers for one season, then for the Indiana Pacers for one season.

He next served as the head coach of the Lakers twice, first from 1999-2004, and then from 2005-2011.

The Bulls then defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, 4 games to 1.

He led DePaul University to the NIT title, then, after turning professional, won seven National Basketball League, Basketball Association of America and NBA Championships in his ten year career ( 1946 – 56 ), nine of them with the Minneapolis Lakers.

The Sparks made 2000 their last season in the venue and then followed the Lakers and Clippers to Staples Center.

The Magic then defeated the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers to advance to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Abdul-Jabbar is the only player to win the award for two different teams, first with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971, then with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985.

Newell was a retired pro and college coach who worked in a front office position with the Lakers, and had drafted Washington when he was then the team's GM.

Following his playing career, he served as Special Assistant to Lakers ' general manager Jerry West for three years before joining the Lakers ' coaching staff in March 1994 under Magic Johnson, then with Del Harris from 1994-97.

He is best known for scoring a then record 42 points in the 1965 NCAA championship game vs. Michigan, and his part in the Los Angeles Lakers ' 1971 – 72 season.

In the playoffs, the Jazz were pushed to the brink by the Houston Rockets before winning Game 5 in Utah, then overcame Rookie of the Year Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs 4 – 1 before sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.

Following the Tommies ' 1946-47 season, the infant Minneapolis Lakers would extend an offer to Kundla to coach the team, then playing in the National Basketball League.

Kundla then guided the George Mikan-led Lakers, which also included star Jim Pollard, to the 1948 NBL title.

He played for the Lakers for four years and then played briefly with the Portland Trail Blazers.

This tied the biggest margin in NBA playoff history The Nuggets beat the Mavericks in 5 games during the semifinals, then went on to lose to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in 6 games, losing Game 6 by 27.

The Forum achieved its greatest fame as the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, of the NBA and of the Los Angeles Kings, of the NHL from 1967 – 1999, when the teams moved to Staples Center.

The previous record was held by Earl Monroe with 56 points, achieved in 1968 which was also an overtime game against the Lakers.

The Clippers first did better than the Lakers during the 2005-06 season when they achieved a better record and made it to the Western Conference Semifinals while the Lakers were eliminated in the First Round.

During that time, he played a role in the Lakers ' " three-peat ", and was the third-leading scorer on the team behind Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O ' Neal.

The NBA's Minneapolis Lakers had re-located to Los Angeles in 1960 due to poor attendance which was believed to have been caused in part by the reluctance of fans in St. Paul to support the team.

During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships and established themselves as the league's first dynasty.

The Miami Heat, led by their star shooting guard, Dwyane Wade, and Shaquille O ' Neal, who had been traded from the Lakers during the 2004 summer, won the series over the Dallas Mavericks in 6 after losing the first two games.

The Lakers / Spurs dominance continued in 2007 with a four-game sweep by the Spurs over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were led by LeBron James.

According to an independent study by Ronald Beech of Game 6 of the NBA 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Kings, although the refs increased the Lakers ' chances of winning through foul calls during the game, there was no collusion to fix the game.

Abdul was discovered by The Jacksons, after a few of the band members had watched her while attending a Los Angeles Lakers game.

Hearn missed the Lakers ' game the previous night after having been stranded in Fayetteville, Arkansas by inclement weather after having announced a game between Arkansas and Texas Tech.

The team started out the season by losing its first 17 games, including a blowout 138 – 91, to Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers, at the time an NBA record.

Despite Nelson's return to the team for the Finals, the Lakers won the series and the championship by beating the Magic in five games.

In fact, Wright would only play four seasons in the NBA while Temple product Eddie Jones — drafted 4 slots below Wright in 1994 by the L. A. Lakers — had 16 productive seasons as an NBA player.

Their opponent would be the Los Angeles Lakers, who had run up an 11 – 0 record in the first three rounds of the playoffs, and were expected by many to make quick work of the 76ers.

The Lakers scored the first five points of the overtime period, but the 76ers went on a 13 – 2 run to end the game, winning by a 107 – 101 score.

In early December 2011, the Hornets agreed with the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets on a trade to send Paul to L. A. in a multi-player deal but it was vetoed by NBA commissioner David Stern before it could be made official.

The Bulls also posted the second-best home record in history ( 39 – 2 ), behind only the 1985 – 86 Celtics 40 – 1 home mark, and the second-best point differential in history, trailing the 1972 Lakers by 3 points over the course of an entire season.

The Pistons ' first trip to the Finals saw them face the Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

However, the Lakers won the game, 103 – 102, on a pair of last-minute free throws by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar following a controversial foul called on Bill Laimbeer, referred to by many Piston supporters, and Laimbeer himself, as a " phantom foul.

They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive time ( equaling their streak from 1987 – 1991 )— three short of the NBA record set by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s.

The front office was unable to convince him otherwise and on June 16, 1975, the Bucks pulled a mega-trade by sending Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers for Elmore Smith, Junior Bridgeman, Brian Winters and David Meyers.

According to a 2012 Forbes Magazine report, they are the fourth-most valuable basketball franchise in the United States, valued at approximately $ 497 million ; the franchise is surpassed in value only by the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Bulls.

The season was marked by major trades and acquisitions by many teams, most notably Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen being acquired by the Boston Celtics, Pau Gasol going to the Los Angeles Lakers, and Shaquille O ' Neal going to the Phoenix Suns.