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Recently, after the Chicago Black Hawks won the NHL’s Stanley Cup, I highlighted the last Hawks team to win the Cup, in 1961. If I did the same thing for this year’s NBA champs, the Los Angeles Lakers, I would only have to go back to last season. So instead I’ve decided to look back at the 1972 Lakers, who won the team’s first title in that city that year. The Lakers, behind legend George Mikan, won 5 titles in Minneapolis before moving to L.A. But despite having one of the league’s best teams year after year, they were frustrated throughout the 1960s, mostly by the Boston Celtics, and didn’t win a championship until the 1971-72 season. After dropping game one to the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks, the Lakers stormed back to win the next 4 games and claim the title. The Knicks were handicapped by an injury to center Willis Reed, and the much shorter Jerry Lucas was forced to try and stop the Lakers’ Wilt Chamberlain. Also, Dave DeBuscherre was forced to play hurt throughout the series, and was ineffective.  The series win was sweet for Laker veterans Chamberlain and Jerry West, with Wilt coming close but not having won a title since 1967 and West  chasing that elusive NBA title for his entire long, storied career. Both of them were nearing the end of their careers at that point, and another Laker legend, Elgin Baylor, had been forced to retire because of injuries and unfortunately wasn’t a part of this team. West played well throughout the Finals but Wilt was dominating and wound up winning the Finals MVP award.  Young forward Jim McMillian had replaced Baylor in the lineup, and was a key player in the Finals, averaging 19 points per game. Other players on the team included Happy Hairston, Gail Goodrich, Jim Cleamons and future Laker coach Pat Riley. Another future Laker coach, Phil Jackson, played for the Knicks.