Los Angeles Lakers
Teams of Note
1958-1959 and 1959-1960 Minneapolis Lakers
Records: 33-39 (1958-1959); 25-50 (1959-1960)Overall rankings: 703rd, 1.435 points below average (1958-1959); 897th, 3.955 points below average (1959-1960)
The Lakers’ disastrous 1957-1958 season did produce one positive: Minneapolis got to draft star forward Elgin Baylor with the first overall pick in the 1958 NBA Draft.
The Lakers managed just a 58-89 overall record during Baylor’s first two seasons. But Baylor did help Minneapolis achieve postseason distinctions after both campaigns.
The 1958-1959 Minneapolis squad finished with a 33-39 record, good enough to return to the playoffs. The Lakers stunned the West Division champion St. Louis Hawks in six games in the West finals – winning the last two games by a total of three points – to reach the NBA Finals. The POST formula ranks the 1957-1958 Minneapolis Lakers as the least-dominant team to reach the Finals.
The 1959-1960 Lakers fared even worse during the regular season, checking in with a 25-50 mark. Minneapolis did make the playoffs, though. The Lakers finished ahead of a horrid Cincinnati Royals team for the final playoff spot in the West Division.
Once in the postseason, the Lakers swept an equally unimposing Detroit Pistons team (30-45 record) a best-of-three first round series. The POST formula designates the final Minneapolis Lakers team – the franchise relocated to Los Angeles after the 1959-1960 season -- as the least-dominant team to win a playoff series.
The 1960 Detroit-Minneapolis playoff matchup ranks as perhaps the worst postseason matchup in NBA history. The teams combined for a 55-95 regular season record. They compiled nearly identical POST ratings. Had the Pistons defeated the Lakers in the 1960 West semifinals, they would hold the distinction as the least-dominant team to win a playoff series.
Los Angeles Lakers From Top to Bottom
| All-time Ranking | W-L | Playoffs | ||
| 3 | 1971-72 | Los Angeles Lakers | 69-13 | NBA champion |
| 13 | 1986-87 | Los Angeles Lakers | 65-17 | NBA champion |
| 16 | 1999-00 | Los Angeles Lakers | 67-15 | NBA champion |
| 18 | 1972-73 | Los Angeles Lakers | 60-22 | NBA finalist |
| 21 | 1949-50 | Minneapolis Lakers | 51-17 | NBA champion |
| 47 | 2001-02 | Los Angeles Lakers | 58-24 | NBA champion |
| 50 | 1997-98 | Los Angeles Lakers | 61-21 | West finals |
| 56 | 1985-86 | Los Angeles Lakers | 62-20 | West finals |
| 59 | 1948-49 | Minneapolis Lakers | 44-16 | BAA champion |
| 60 | 1990-91 | Los Angeles Lakers | 58-24 | NBA finalist |
| 63 | 1989-90 | Los Angeles Lakers | 63-19 | West semifinals |
| 64 | 1984-85 | Los Angeles Lakers | 62-20 | NBA champion |
| 67 | 1988-89 | Los Angeles Lakers | 57-25 | NBA finalist |
| 117 | 1979-80 | Los Angeles Lakers | 60-22 | NBA champion |
| 131 | 1951-52 | Minneapolis Lakers | 40-26 | NBA champion |
| 134 | 1982-83 | Los Angeles Lakers | 58-24 | NBA finalist |
| 138 | 1987-88 | Los Angeles Lakers | 62-20 | NBA champion |
| 139 | 1952-53 | Minneapolis Lakers | 48-22 | NBA champion |
| 148 | 1967-68 | Los Angeles Lakers | 52-30 | NBA finalist |
| 158 | 1950-51 | Minneapolis Lakers | 44-24 | West finals |
| 165 | 1981-82 | Los Angeles Lakers | 57-25 | NBA champion |
| 180 | 1995-96 | Los Angeles Lakers | 53-29 | West first round |
| 182 | 2003-04 | Los Angeles Lakers | 56-26 | NBA finalist |
| 199 | 1968-69 | Los Angeles Lakers | 55-27 | NBA finalist |
| 208 | 1996-97 | Los Angeles Lakers | 56-26 | West semifinals |
| 225 | 2000-01 | Los Angeles Lakers | 56-26 | NBA champion |
| 237 | 1980-81 | Los Angeles Lakers | 54-28 | West first round |
| 244 | 1983-84 | Los Angeles Lakers | 54-28 | NBA finalist |
| 258 | 1970-71 | Los Angeles Lakers | 48-34 | West finals |
| 275 | 1998-99 | Los Angeles Lakers | 31-19 | West semifinals |
| 281 | 1978-79 | Los Angeles Lakers | 47-35 | West semifinals |
| 284 | 1953-54 | Minneapolis Lakers | 46-26 | NBA champion |
| 305 | 1965-66 | Los Angeles Lakers | 45-35 | NBA finalist |
| 311 | 1976-77 | Los Angeles Lakers | 53-29 | West finals |
| 314 | 1962-63 | Los Angeles Lakers | 53-27 | NBA finalist |
| 319 | 1977-78 | Los Angeles Lakers | 45-37 | West first round |
| 321 | 2002-03 | Los Angeles Lakers | 50-32 | West semifinals |
| 332 | 2005-06 | Los Angeles Lakers | 45-37 | West first round |
| 403 | 1961-62 | Los Angeles Lakers | 54-26 | NBA finalist |
| 411 | 1969-70 | Los Angeles Lakers | 46-36 | NBA finalist |
| 419 | 1964-65 | Los Angeles Lakers | 49-31 | NBA finalist |
| 494 | 1954-55 | Minneapolis Lakers | 40-32 | West finals |
| 498 | 1963-64 | Los Angeles Lakers | 42-38 | West semifinals |
| 511 | 1973-74 | Los Angeles Lakers | 47-35 | West semifinals |
| 562 | 1966-67 | Los Angeles Lakers | 36-45 | West semifinals |
| 577 | 1975-76 | Los Angeles Lakers | 40-42 | |
| 581 | 2006-07 | Los Angeles Lakers | 42-40 | West first round |
| 597 | 1994-95 | Los Angeles Lakers | 48-34 | West semifinals |
| 603 | 1960-61 | Los Angeles Lakers | 36-43 | West finals |
| 683 | 1956-57 | Minneapolis Lakers | 34-38 | West finals |
| 685 | 1991-92 | Los Angeles Lakers | 43-39 | West first round |
| 687 | 1955-56 | Minneapolis Lakers | 33-39 | West semifinals |
| 711 | 1992-93 | Los Angeles Lakers | 39-43 | West first round |
| 741 | 1958-59 | Minneapolis Lakers | 33-39 | NBA finalist |
| 837 | 2004-05 | Los Angeles Lakers | 34-48 | |
| 948 | 1974-75 | Los Angeles Lakers | 30-52 | |
| 950 | 1993-94 | Los Angeles Lakers | 33-49 | |
| 951 | 1959-60 | Minneapolis Lakers | 25-50 | West finals |
| 1039 | 1957-58 | Minneapolis Lakers | 19-53 | |