<P> Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West , Los Angeles made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s , but lost each series to the Boston Celtics , beginning their long and storied rivalry . In 1968 , the Lakers acquired four - time NBA Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) Wilt Chamberlain to play center , and after losing in the Finals in 1969 and 1970 , they won their sixth NBA title -- and first in Los Angeles -- in 1972 , led by new head coach Bill Sharman . After the retirement of West and Chamberlain , the team acquired another center , Kareem Abdul - Jabbar , who had won multiple MVP awards , but was unable to make the Finals in the late 1970s . The 1980s Lakers were nicknamed `` Showtime '' due to their Magic Johnson - led fast break - offense , and won five championships in a 9 - year span , including their first ever Finals championship against the Celtics in 1985 . This team featured Hall of Famers in Johnson , Abdul - Jabbar , and James Worthy , and a Hall of Fame coach , Pat Riley . After Abdul - Jabbar and Johnson 's retirement , the team struggled in the early 1990s before acquiring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 1996 . Led by O'Neal , Bryant , and another Hall of Fame coach , Phil Jackson , Los Angeles won three consecutive titles between 2000 to 2002 , securing the franchise its second `` three - peat '' . After losing both the 2004 and 2008 NBA Finals , the Lakers won two more championships by defeating the Orlando Magic in 2009 and Boston in 2010 . </P>
when was the last time the los angeles lakers won a championship
2010