The franchise began in 1946 as the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL).[12] After one season, a new ownership relocated the team to Minneapolis, Minnesota,[13][12] and renamed the team as the Minneapolis Lakers.[14] The Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America, where they won the 1949 BAA championship. Following the merger of the NBL and the BAA into the NBA in 1949, the Lakers won four of the next five NBA championships.[15] After struggling financially in the late 1950s, they relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season.