The NBA Tuesday miniseries analyzing individual franchise history continues today with our assessment of the Los Angeles Lakers—and this is a doozy, folks. Originally in Minneapolis from 1948-1960, the Lake Show has won 17 NBA titles, the second most of any team. Four of the those championship teams are represented below, which is a good representation of the team’s success, overall. Enjoy this … how do you like us now?!

Editor’s Note: The team has made the postseason 63 times in its existence, which is incredible as the NBA itself only started 74 years ago. Think about that for a moment, and let it sink in.

No. 5: 1972-73 Los Angeles Lakers

The only team on this list to not win an NBA title, these Lakers did reach the Finals, losing in somewhat of a surprise result to the New York Knicks. A 60-22 record produced a Pacific Division title, along with the No. 1 ranking in the overall SRS. The No. 4 offense and the No. 5 presented a lethal combo in the postseason at first, as L.A. beat the Chicago Bulls in seven games before topping the Golden State Warriors in five games.

Center Wilt Chamberlain (18.2 Win Shares), point guard Jerry West (10.6), and shooting guard Gail Goodrich (8.1) formed the Big Three. Colloquially, the Stilt, the Logo, and the Stump were pretty darn good. That opening series against the Bulls was tough, though, with the home team winning every game. How much that took out of the Lakers before the Finals might be one way to explain why this team didn’t repeat.

No. 4: 1949-50 Minneapolis Lakers

This was the first NBA season in history, and this team won it all. The sport looks very different now, but we digress: in a 17-team league, the Lakers posted a 51-17 record and earned the No. 1 overall SRS ranking. The team was No. 4 on offense and No. 2 on defense as it tied for the Central Division title with the Rochester Royals. Minneapolis then went on a victorious 11-2 playoff run to win the first-ever NBA championship.

C George Mikan (21.1 WS) was our pick for the MVP Award that didn’t exist; his best teammate was power forward Vern Mikkelsen (9.2). This probably was the earliest version of running the Two Towers offense; it was hard to stop. The Lakers waltzed their undefeated way through the Royals, the Chicago Stags, the Ft. Wayne Pistons, and the Anderson Packers before beating the Syracuse Nationals in a six-game Finals.

No. 3: 1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers

This was the fourth of five NBA champs from L.A. in the decade—and the only one on this list, so it’s the best one (sabermetrics!). With a 65-17 mark, the Lakers finished No. 1 in the Pacific Division and No. 1 in the overall SRS rankings. The No. 2 offense overshadowed and outdid the No. 12 defense, but L.A. had a smooth postseason, dropping just three games along the way (one to Golden State, two to Boston in the Finals).

PG Magic Johnson (15.9 WS) won the MVP vote (but not our hardware), while small forward James Worthy (9.3), SG Byron Scott (7.7), PF A.C. Green (7.6), C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7.5), and SG Michael Cooper (6.1) all did their fair share, too. The Lakers had fun in the playoffs, outscoring their opponents by 11.4 ppg. The key game of the Finals? Game 4 at Boston, with L.A. up 2-1 in the series. It was a classic!

No. 2: 1999-00 Los Angeles Lakers

This was the first of three straight Lakers title teams, although two of the years were suspect AF (2000, 2002). Regardless, this team posted a 67-15 record to win the Pacific again, based on the No. 6 offense and the No. 6 defense. That did amount to the No. 1 ranking in the SRS overall, too. In the playoffs, the Lakers lost 8 games, though, in four rounds on their way to the Promised Land, even with a lot of shady officiating.

The top dog on this team was easily C Shaquille O’Neal (18.6 WS), although his two caddies helped out a little: SG Kobe Bryant (10.6) and SF Glen Rice (9.0). O’Neal was both the league MVP and ours, too. But L.A. needed a deciding fifth game to eliminate the Sacramento Kings in the first round—and seven games, infamously, to beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals. The real Finals? Zzzzz.

No. 1: 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers

Until the 1996 Chicago Bulls came around, this team was the record holder for most regular-season victories: 69 in 82 games. These Lakers were first on offense, sixth on defense, and first in the overall SRS rankings. They won the Pacific Division and won three rounds of playoffs to claim the NBA title: L.A. beat Chicago in four straight; the defending champ Milwaukee Bucks in six games, and the Knicks in five games.

Here we go again with the Stilt, the Logo, and the Stump: Chamberlain (15.8 WS), West (13.3), and Goodrich (12.3) again paved the way for this all-time great squad. PF Happy Hairston (9.2) also deserves a big shoutout here. The Lakers swept the Bulls by 10.0 ppg, and then facing the league MVP, it was L.A. scratching out three close victories. In the Finals, the Lakers lost Game 1 before winning four consecutive.