Quick recap: the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship the same year they were founded. The next year they joined the BAA and won the 1949 BAA championship during their first year of membership. The year after that, the Lakers won the very first NBA championship in 1950. In 1951, the Lakers lost to the Rochester Royals in the Western Division Finals however, they rebounded from that defeat and won titles for the next three consecutive years. This made the Laker's the NBA's first "dynasty" and initiated the winning culture and the expectations that we see today with the Lakers organization and their fan base. As of summer 2012, the Lakers hold the all-time records for wins (3,125), winning percentage (.620), and NBA Finals appearances (31). They are second in NBA championships (16) only to the Boston Celtics (17) ("History of the Los Angeles Lakers"). Their rosters have included some of the game's greatest players such as; George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant ("History of the Los Angeles Lakers"). This extensive list gives Laker fans an immense amount of pride and joy as well as ammunition to defend their Lakers. A team whom we proclaim to be the greatest organization the NBA has ever had.
The Laker's franchise changed ownership a couple times, but eventually found a permanent owner with Dr. Jerry Buss. Dr. Buss purchased the Lakers, along with the NHL Kings, for a cool $67.5 million in 1979. Dr. Buss purchased the team from Jack Kent Cooke, who had previously purchased the team from Robert Short. It was Robert Short who had the vision to move the Lakers organization to Los Angeles in 1961. Upon seeing the Brooklyn Dodgers become financially successful after moving to Los Angeles, Robert Short considered moving the Lakers to Chicago and San Francisco, but ultimately decided to move the franchise to Los Angeles as well (History of the Los Angeles Lakers).