LAKERS: L.A. to Honor Great Minneapolis Lakers Teams and Players

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Lakers to Wear Uniforms of ‘51-’52 Champs in April 11 Game vs. Timberwolves

L.A. to Honor Great Minneapolis Lakers Teams and Players

APRIL 4 -- The Los Angeles Lakers will honor the legendary teams and players of the Minneapolis Lakers during their home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, April 11 with a special halftime ceremony.

Shaq models the uniform of the first Lakers dynasty.
As part of the ceremony, the Lakers will raise a banner featuring the numbers of members of the Minneapolis teams that won five NBA titles in six years starting in the 1948-49 season. Hall of Famers George Mikan, Slater Martin, Vern Mikkelsen, Clyde Lovellette, Coach John Kundla and the wife of the late Jim Pollard are scheduled to attend and be honored.

In addition, Los Angeles Lakers legends Magic Johnson, Jerry West, James Worthy, Elgin Baylor, and Michael Cooper will present the Minneapolis Lakers players in attendance with a commemorative championship ring. The ceremony will also feature a special video tribute to the team.

During the game, the Lakers will wear the road uniforms of the Minneapolis team that won the NBA Championship 50 years ago during the 1951-52 season. The uniform is blue with gold lettering and features MPLS across the chest. The jerseys are made by Nike and will be sold as part of the NBA’s Hardwood Classics Collection of jerseys. The jerseys will be sold at the NBA Store on NBA.com, the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, NIKETOWN, Staples Center, Champs, East Bay and Fanzz among others.

The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT at 10:30 p.m. Eastern. The MPLS jerseys worn by the Lakers during the game will be signed and auctioned on NBA.com and NBA.com/Lakers. Proceeds from the auction, powered by Yahoo! Auctions, will go to the Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation.

The Minneapolis Lakers were the NBA’s first dynasty, winning five titles in six seasons from 1948-49-1953-54. The Lakers teams featured the NBA’s first superstar -- George Mikan -- a 6-10 center who won five straight scoring titles and averaged 22.6 points in a career that came almost entirely before the implementation of the 24-second shot clock. The Minneapolis Lakers tallied an impressive 229-107 record, a .682 winning percentage, in the five seasons in which they won NBA crowns. The Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles before the start of the 1960-61 NBA season.