KUNDLA LED 1ST LAKERS DYNASTY
Before Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown, even before Red Auerbach, there was John Kundla. The Hall of Fame coach who led the Minneapolis Lakers to five NBA championships died Sunday. He was 101. The Lakers won the 1949 championship in the BAA — the league that preceded the NBA — and NBA titles in 1950 and 1952-54, cementing the franchise’s place as the league’s first dynasty. The Lakers also won an NBL title in 1948, but the NBL is not included in the NBA’s records. Kundla was the oldest living Hall of Famer in any of the four major pro sports. Kundla was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995. A year later, he was named one of the league’s 10 greatest coaches as part of the league’s NBA at 50 celebration. He was hired at 31 and resigned at 42 with a career record of 423302, happy to cede the attention and accolades to his players.