Celtics for the most all-time. Primary Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, who took over the team in 2017, would also become the first female controlling owner of an NBA team to win the NBA Finals. During the 2021 off-season, the Lakers picked up many NBA veterans, the most notable of which was Russell Westbrook, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards. Kyle Kuzma, the last player left from the Lakers' young core era, was traded away, along with others. Other veterans picked up during the off-season included Carmelo Anthony, DeAndre Jordan, and returning players Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo. Alex Caruso left the Lakers and signed with the Chicago Bulls, and veteran locker-room voice Jared Dudley retired. Rivalries Boston Celtics The rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Lakers involves the two most storied basketball franchises in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. It has been called the best rivalry in the NBA. The two teams have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, starting with their first Finals meeting in . They would go on to dominate the league in the 1960s and the 1980s, facing each other six times in the 1960s and three times in the 1980s. The rivalry had been less intense since the retirements of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the early 1990s, but in 2008 it was renewed as the Celtics and Lakers met in the Finals for the first time since 1987, with the Celtics winning the series 4–2. They faced off once again in the 2010 NBA Finals, which the Lakers won in 7 games. The two teams have tied for the highest number of championships, with 17 titles apiece; together, the 34 championships account for almost half of the 74 championships in NBA history. The all-time series record for the Lakers vs Celtics is 204–162 with the Celtics being the forerunners. Detroit Pistons The rivalry between the Lakers and the Detroit Pistons developed in the late 1980s. Both teams faced each other in back-to-back finals appearances in the 1988 NBA Finals, which the Lakers won in 7 games and the 1989 NBA Finals, which the Pistons won in 4 games. The rivalry reemerged in the early 2000s as both teams squared off against one another in the 2004 NBA Finals, which the Pistons won in five games. Los Angeles Clippers The rivalry