A LAKERS LOVE STORY FORMER MINNEAPOLIS PLAYERS SAY THEY'LL ALWAYS BE A PART.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

George Mikan sat at a table in Los Angeles Thursday night, surrounded by players from his days with the Minneapolis Lakers.

But put these guys in the same room and it is as if everyone else disappears. They were back lounging around the locker room at Minneapolis Auditorium, where the stories were plentiful and old-fashioned teasing was a must.

``We got $5 a day to eat back then,'' Slater Martin, the point guard and floor leader, said during a news conference at Staples Center.

``Four-fifty,'' countered Vern Mikkelsen, who played forward.

``How much did we get, coach?'' Martin asked.

``Five-fifty,'' said John Kundla, the first coach to win three consecutive NBA titles.

``Well, I got three dollars,'' Martin said. ``Where did you all get my money?''

They all laughed. They don't remember some of the details from 50 years ago, when they built the Minneapolis Lakers into the league's first dynasty. But they know they won five titles in six years. Now so, too, will everyone who enters Staples Center.

Two banners were unveiled at halftime, both with a gold outline and white lettering on blue interior. One, located underneath the retired jerseys of former Los Angeles Lakers greats, has the names of the six Minneapolis Lakers in the Basketball Hall of Fame. The other banner, a larger horizontal cloth hung to the right of the championship banners won by the Los Angeles Lakers, lists the years of five championships won by Minneapolis.

``(Other teams) have all carried their banners and championships with them,'' said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. ``The Lakers have never acknowledged this. This is a part of their history they should acknowledge.''

The game the Lakers of 2001-02 played against the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday night was secondary. The Lakers, clad in the blue and gold worn in the Minneapolis days, put on their normal show. But no play on the court got as big an ovation as the legends of Lakers past.

Mikan, Mikkelsen, Martin, Clyde Lovellette, Kundla and the former wife of the late Jim Pollard watched from the stands as the current Lakers played. The guests marveled at the progression of the team they helped start.

``I didn't think they were going to get to Sioux Falls much less L.A.,'' Mikkelsen said. ``Now here they are today with all these wonderful championships. We had our share of good ones and so have you guys.''

Mikan said he couldn't believe it when the Lakers left Minneapolis. But the Lakers have never left him.

``We were sick,'' Mikan said. ``We didn't want to lose the Lakers. But as long as they kept the Lakers name, we felt we were still a part of it. My true love is the Lakers. Once a Laker, always a Laker.''

Thursday they were shown they still are part of the team. Cameras flashed from all around the arena as the Minneapolis Lakers were handed commemorative championship rings by Los Angeles Lakers greats Jerry West, Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Elgin Baylor, former coach and general manager Bill Sharman and current general manager Mitch Kupchak.

Mikan, 77 and stricken with diabetes, was pushed onto the floor in a wheelchair but was helped to his feet to accept his ring from Baylor.

The NBA's first dominant big player had his photo taken with Shaquille O'Neal before the game. A fan of O'Neal's, Mikan understands what it is like to be far and away the biggest and most physical presence of his time. Mikan outweighed most of his opposing centers by 40 pounds.

``I sympathize with what Shaq goes through with the hack-a-Shaq,'' Mikan said. ``I think a well-placed elbow every once in a while does a world of good.''

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Legendary Lakers center George Mikan, the NBA's first prominent big man, shares a laugh with Magic Johnson Thursday night.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer