EL SEGUNDO — The Lakers announced on Friday they had promoted Rob Pelinka to the organization’s president of basketball operations and extended his contract.

Pelinka joined the Lakers in March 2017 as the general manager, with franchise icon Magic Johnson being hired as president of basketball operations the previous month, a position Johnson stepped down from in April 2019.

Pelinka continued to serve as the GM after Johnson’s departure before adding the title of vice president of basketball operations in a January 2020 promotion. He’ll continue in his GM role, as well.

With Pelinka at the helm, the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis in the summer of 2019, an acquisition that spearheaded their 2019-20 championship run.

Pelinka also pulled off the Lakers’ stunning trade for Slovenian star Luka Doncic in early February.

The Lakers, who went 50-32 to earn the No. 3 seed for the Western Conference playoffs, will open their best-of-seven first-round series against the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“For eight seasons, I have relied on Rob’s vision and leadership to do what’s best for the Lakers organization,” Lakers governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “I value his partnership and professionalism and believe in his ability to deliver championship-caliber basketball for Los Angeles and Lakers fans everywhere.”

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