Recent History

In recent years, the Lakers endured a series of off-the-court problems, largely the result of friction among O'Neal, Bryant, and Jackson. In 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat and Jackson temporarily retired.

After the Lakers struggled in 2004-05, Jackson returned for the following season, and the Bryant-led team returned to the postseason, losing to the Phoenix Suns in the first round in both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.

In the 2006-2007 season the Lakers also lost to the Phoenix suns again. Later in the offseason, rumours that Kobe Bryant, the Laker's star player, requested to be traded. The Lakers did not trade Bryant.

Looking at the history, Lakers are together with Boston Celtics the best teams ever in NBA. Lakers have only missed playoff on one occasion the last ten years.