The Los Angeles Lakers (LA Lakers) are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA) based in Los Angeles, California. The LA Lakers compete in the Western Conference Pacific Division along with Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, and Phoenix Suns. There is a rivalry between the LA Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, not only because they’re from the same area but they also share a home arena. When the two meet their games are occasionally referred to as the “Hallway Series”.
The LA Lakers play their home games at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which opened in 1999. Previously the team played at the Minneapolis Auditorium and the Minneapolis Armory when they were known as the Minneapolis Lakers. When they moved to Los Angeles and became the LA Lakers they played at The Forum in Inglewood before moving to the Staples Center when it opened in 1999. They kept the Lakers part of their name despite the lack of natural lakes in Los Angeles.
When the LA Lakers play, the Staples Center has a capacity of 18,997. As well as sharing their home with the Los Angeles Clippers, the arena is also home to WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings. The Staples Center has been used eighteen times to host the Grammy Awards since 2000 and was used for two musician’s memorial services; Michael Jackson’s memorial in 2009 and Nipsey Hussle’s memorial in 2019. You can catch other events and concerts at the Staples Center including Premier Boxing Champions matches, and Marc Anthony.