Los Angeles’ rich basketball history includes the Lakers’ 12 NBA World Championship titles; UCLA’s 11 NCAA basketball titles, a high school system that’s developed dozens of basketball greats, and a wide-ranging pick-up basketball culture featured in such films as White Men Can’t Jump. The prestigious John R. Wooden Award is presented annually by the Los Angeles Athletic Club to the men’s and women’s college basketball Players of the Year. Even the term “slam dunk” was coined in L.A. by the late, great Lakers announcer Chick Hearn. All of which makes Los Angeles a veritable hoops heaven for roundball junkies looking to explore the city.
When it comes to pro basketball, Crypto.com Arena (formerly STAPLES Center) in Downtown L.A. is the center of the Los Angeles hoops universe – the home of the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers and the WNBA Sparks.
The Lakers franchise is one of the most successful in all of sports, with 17 championships, 38 Hall of Famers (28 players, 5 head coaches, 1 assistant coach, and 4 contributors) and a 33-game winning streak (1971-72 season) that is still the longest of any team in American professional sports.
Contact: Discover Los Angeles, Francine Sheridan, Regional Director, Europe & ME (UK), Email: fsheridan@latourism.org
