The Lakers' franchise began in 1947 when Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen of Minnesota purchased the recently disbanded Detroit Gems^[10] of the National Basketball League (NBL) for $15,000 from Gems owner Maury Winston.^[11] Minneapolis sportswriter Sid Hartman played a key behind the scenes role in helping put together the deal and later the team.^[12] Inspired by Minnesota's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes", the team christened themselves the Lakers.^[6][13] Hartman helped them hire John Kundla from College of St. Thomas, to be their first head coach, by meeting with him and selling him on the team.^[14][15]

The Lakers had a solid roster which featured forward Jim Pollard, playmaker Herm Schaefer, and center George Mikan, who became the most dominant player in the NBL.^[16] In their first season, they led the league with a 43–17 record.