1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1987–88 season saw the Lakers win their eleventh NBA championship, defeating the Detroit Pistons in a hard-fought seven games in the NBA Finals to become the NBA’s first repeat champions since the Boston Celtics did it in the 1968–69 NBA season.[1] In doing so, the Lakers made good on Pat Riley's famous promise to repeat as champions. “I'm guaranteeing everybody here,” Riley said at the civic celebrations following the Lakers’ 1987 championship win, “next year we’re gonna win it again.”[2] Before the Lakers could make good on Riley's guarantee, they swept the San Antonio Spurs in the opening round of the playoffs. The following two rounds however would not be as easy for the Lakers, but they still managed to get through a tough seven-game series against both the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semis and the Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals.

1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachPat Riley
OwnersJerry Buss
ArenaThe Forum
Results
Record62–20 (.756)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Pistons 4–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionPrime Ticket, KHJ
RadioAM 570 KLAC
A ticket for Game 1 of the 1988 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks.
A ticket for Game 1 of the 1988 NBA Finals at The Forum.

By the time the Lakers had finished their season they had played an NBA record 106 games including another record 24 playoff games, winning 77 and losing 29. The Lakers went 62–20 in the regular season and 15–9 in the playoffs.

The 1988 Finals was the last time the Showtime-era Lakers won an NBA championship. It was also the final time that the franchise won a championship at The Forum. They did not win another league title until 2000, when they were playing at the Staples Center.

Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were all selected to play in the 1988 NBA All-Star Game held in Chicago. Pat Riley was chosen to coach the Western Conference All-Stars.

Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
3 69 Willie Glass Forward  United States St. John's
4 92 Ralph Tally Point Guard  United States Norfolk State
6 115 Kenny Travis  United States New Mexico State
6 138 Frank Ford Guard-Forward  United States Auburn University
7 161 Ron Vanderschaaf  Netherlands Central Washington University

Roster
Roster listing
Los Angeles Lakers roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
C 33 Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem (C) 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA
G/F 19 Campbell, Tony 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Ohio State
G/F 21 Cooper, Michael 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) New Mexico
F/C 45 Green, A.C. 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oregon State
G 32 Johnson, Magic (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Michigan State
G/F 3 Lamp, Jeff 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Virginia
G 1 Matthews, Wes 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) University of Wisconsin
F 31 Rambis, Kurt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Santa Clara University
G 4 Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Arizona State
C 52 Smrek, Mike 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Canisius College
F 55 Thompson, Billy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Louisville
F/C 43 Thompson, Mychal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 226 lb (103 kg) University of Minnesota
F 34 Tolbert, Ray 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Indiana
G 20 Wagner, Milt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Louisville
F 42 Worthy, James 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) North Carolina
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 6220.756–36–526–1523–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers 5329.646933–820–2123–7
x-Seattle SuperSonics 4438.5371832–912–2919–11
Phoenix Suns 2854.3413422–196–3511–19
Golden State Warriors 2062.2444216–254–377–23
Los Angeles Clippers 1765.2074514–273–387–23
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers6220.756–
2 y-Denver Nuggets5428.6598
3 x-Dallas Mavericks5329.6469
4 x-Portland Trail Blazers5329.6469
5 x-Utah Jazz4735.57315
6 x-Houston Rockets4636.56116
7 x-Seattle SuperSonics4438.53718
8 x-San Antonio Spurs3151.37831
9 Phoenix Suns2854.34134
10 Sacramento Kings2458.29338
11 Golden State Warriors2062.24442
12 Los Angeles Clippers1765.20745
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1987-88 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —2–42–35–12–01–12–42–01–14–22–00–23–35–03–36–01–10–21–12–02–01–13–3
Boston 4–2—3–32–32–00–23–32–01–15–02–00–23–35–15–14–22–02–02–02–01–12–05–1
Chicago 3–23–3—3–30–21–12–42–02–03–32–01–15–15–13–24–22–01–11–11–11–12–03–3
Cleveland 1–53–23–3—1–11–11–50–21–14–21–11–12–45–12–43–21–11–12–02–01–10–26–0
Dallas 0–20–22–01–1—3–31–14–14–22–05–01–42–01–11–11–15–03–25–15–13–23–31–1
Denver 1–12–01–11–13–3—1–14–14–21–15–03–21–12–01–12–03–22–34–25–14–12–42–0
Detroit 4–23–34–25–11–11–1—2–01–13–31–10–24–25–14–24–12–01–12–01–11–12–03–2
Golden State 0–20–20–22–01–41–40–2—0–50–23–30–60–22–00–21–12–41–52–33–21–51–40–2
Houston 1–11–10–21–12–42–41–15–0—2–03–21–42–01–11–11–14–14–14–22–43–23–32–0
Indiana 2–40–53–32–40–21–13–32–00–2—1–11–13–36–02–32–42–00–22–02–01–11–12–4
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–21–10–50–51–13–32–31–1—1–50–20–20–21–12–40–63–20–51–51–40–2
L.A. Lakers 2–02–01–11–14–12–32–06–04–11–15–1—0–22–02–02–05–13–34–15–04–24–11–1
Milwaukee 3–33–31–54–20–21–12–42–00–23–32–02–0—3–23–32–41–11–12–01–11–11–14–1
New Jersey 0–51–51–51–51–10–21–50–21–10–62–00–22–3—3–32–41–10–21–11–10–21–10–6
New York 3–31–52–34–21–11–12–42–01–13–22–00–23–33–3—3–30–21–11–11–10–21–13–3
Philadelphia 0–62–42–42–31–10–21–41–11–14–21–10–24–24–23–3—1–11–11–11–11–12–03–3
Phoenix 1–10–20–21–10–52–30–24–21–40–24–21–51–11–12–01–1—0–63–22–32–42–30–2
Portland 2–00–21–11–12–33–21–15–11–42–06–03–31–12–01–11–16–0—4–15–03–31–42–0
Sacramento 1–10–21–10–21–52–40–23–22–40–22–31–40–21–11–11–12–31–4—3–31–41–50–2
San Antonio 0–20–21–10–21–51–51–12–34–20–25–00–51–11–11–11–13–20–53–3—3–23–30–2
Seattle 0–21–11–11–12–31–41–15–12–31–15–12–41–12–02–01–14–23–34–12–3—1–42–0
Utah 1–10–20–22–03–34–20–24–13–31–14–11–41–11–11–10–23–24–15–13–34–1—2–0
Washington 3–31–53–30–61–10–22–32–00–24–22–01–11–46–03–33–32–00–22–02–00–20–2—

Game log
1987–88 game log
Total: 62–20 (Home: 36–5; Road: 26–15)
November: 9–2 (Home: 7–1; Road: 2–1)
December : 11–4 (Home: 5–1; Road: 6–3)
January : 13–2 (Home: 7–0; Road: 6–2)
February : 12–1 (Home: 7–1; Road: 5–0)
March : 8–7 (Home: 4–2; Road: 4–5)
April : 9–4 (Home: 6–0; Road: 3–4)
1987–88 schedule

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) San Antonio Spurs: Lakers win series 3–0

  • Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (April 29): Los Angeles 122, San Antonio 110
  • Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 1): Los Angeles 130, San Antonio 112
  • Game 3 @ HemisFair Arena, San Antonio (May 3): Los Angeles 109, San Antonio 107

Last Playoff Meeting: 1986 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3–0)

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Utah Jazz: Lakers win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 8): Los Angeles 110, Utah 91
  • Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 10): Utah 101, Los Angeles 97
  • Game 3 @ Salt Palace, Salt Lake City (May 13): Utah 96, Los Angeles 89
  • Game 4 @ Salt Palace, Salt Lake City (May 15): Los Angeles 113, Utah 100
  • Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 17): Los Angeles 111, Utah 109
  • Game 6 @ Salt Palace, Salt Lake City (May 19): Utah 108, Los Angeles 80
  • Game 7 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 21): Los Angeles 109, Utah 98

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

West Conference Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Dallas Mavericks: Lakers win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 23): Los Angeles 113, Dallas 98
  • Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 25): Los Angeles 123, Dallas 101
  • Game 3 @ Reunion Arena, Dallas (May 27): Dallas 106, Los Angeles 94
  • Game 4 @ Reunion Arena, Dallas (May 29): Dallas 118, Los Angeles 104
  • Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 31): Los Angeles 119, Dallas 102
  • Game 6 @ Reunion Arena, Dallas (June 2): Dallas 105, Los Angeles 103
  • Game 7 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 4): Los Angeles 117, Dallas 102

Last Playoff Meeting: 1986 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4–2)

NBA Finals
Main article: 1988 NBA Finals

(W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E2) Detroit Pistons: Lakers win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 7): Detroit 105, Los Angeles 93
  • Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 9): Los Angeles 108, Detroit 96
  • Game 3 @ Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac (June 12): Los Angeles 99, Detroit 86
  • Game 4 @ Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac (June 14): Detroit 111, Los Angeles 86
  • Game 5 @ Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac (June 16): Detroit 104, Los Angeles 94
  • Game 6 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 19): Los Angeles 103, Detroit 102
  • Game 7 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 21): Los Angeles 108, Detroit 105

Last Playoff Meeting: 1962 Western Division Finals (Los Angeles won 4–3)

1988 playoff game log
Western Conference First Round: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1April 29, 1988
2:00 PM PST		San Antonio W 122–110 Worthy (22) M Thompson (14) Johnson (18) The Forum
17,505		 1–0
2May 1, 1988
2:00 PM PST		San Antonio W 130–112 M Thompson (29) M Thompson (16) Johnson (15) The Forum
17,505		 2–0
3May 3, 1988
2:00 PM CST		@ San Antonio W 109–107 Johnson (25) Worthy (11) Johnson (11) HemisFair Arena
11,542		 3–0
Western Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1May 8, 1988
2:00 PM PST		Utah W 110–91 Worthy (23) Abdul-Jabbar (10) Johnson (9) The Forum
17,505		 1–0
2May 10, 1988
2:00 PM PST		Utah L 97–101 Scott (26) M Thompson (12) Johnson (10) The Forum
17,505		 1–1
3May 13, 1988
2:00 PM UTC		@ Utah L 89–96 Scott (29) M Thompson (12) Johnson (6) Salt Palace
12,444		 1–2
4May 15, 1988
2:20 PM UTC		@ Utah W 113–100 Worthy (29) Abdul-Jabbar (11) Johnson (9) Salt Palace
12,444		 2–2
5May 17, 1988
2:15 PM PST		Utah W 111–109 Worthy (27) M Thompson (11) Johnson (13) The Forum
17,505		 3–2
6May 19, 1988
2:05 PM UTC		@ Utah L 80–108 Scott (16) M Thompson (9) Johnson (9) Salt Palace
12,444		 3–3
7May 21, 1988
2:15 PM PST		Utah W 109–98 Scott (29) Johnson (9) Johnson (16) The Forum
17,505		 4–3
Western Conference Finals: 4–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1May 23, 1988
7:30 PM PDT		Dallas W 113–98 Worthy (28) Green, Johnson & M Thompson (6) Johnson (12) The Forum
17,505		 1–0
2May 25, 1988
7:30 PM PDT		Dallas W 123–101 Scott (30) Abdul-Jabbar (7) Johnson (19) The Forum
17,505		 2–0
3May 27, 1988
5:00 PM PDT		@ Dallas L 94–106 Worthy (19) Johnson (8) Johnson (10) Reunion Arena
17,007		 2–1
4May 29, 1988
12:30 PM PDT		@ Dallas L 104–118 Johnson (28) Green (12) Johnson (12) Reunion Arena
17,007		 2–2
5May 31, 1988
8:30 PM PDT		Dallas W 119–102 Worthy (28) Green (10) Johnson (20) The Forum
17,505		 3–2
6June 2, 1988
6:00 PM PDT		@ Dallas L 103–105 Scott & Worthy (27) Worthy (11) Johnson (12) Reunion Arena
17,007		 3–3
7June 4, 1988
12:30 PM PDT		Dallas W 117–102 Worthy (28) Johnson (9) Johnson (11) The Forum
17,505		 4–3
NBA Finals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)
1987–88 schedule

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season
NBA roster statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 808028.9.532.000.7626.01.70.61.214.6
Tony Campbell 13118.6.564.333.7182.11.10.80.211.0
Michael Cooper 61819.4.392.320.8583.74.71.10.48.7
A.C. Green 826432.1.503.000.7738.71.11.10.511.4
Magic Johnson 727036.6.492.196.8536.211.91.60.219.6
Jeff Lamp 302.3.000.0001.0000.00.00.00.00.7
Wes Matthews 51813.8.460.233.8311.32.70.50.15.7
Kurt Rambis 702012.1.548.000.7853.80.80.60.24.0
Byron Scott 818137.6.527.346.8584.14.11.90.321.7
Mike Smrek 4828.8.427.000.6671.80.20.10.92.8
Billy Thompson 904.2.231.000.8001.00.10.10.01.6
Mychal Thompson 80025.1.512.000.6346.10.80.51.011.6
Ray Tolbert 1405.9.571.000.7690.71.50.20.23.0
Milt Wagner 4049.5.422.200.8970.71.50.20.13.8
James Worthy 757235.4.531.125.7965.03.91.00.719.7

Playoffs
NBA roster statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 242429.9.464.000.7895.51.50.61.514.1
Tony Campbell 1506.3.429.000.6880.70.30.20.03.1
Michael Cooper 24024.5.412.403.7412.42.70.80.36.4
A.C. Green 241830.3.544.000.7537.30.80.10.510.1
Magic Johnson 242440.2.514.500.8525.412.61.40.119.9
Wes Matthews 1002.7.400.000.8000.10.20.10.01.2
Kurt Rambis 1969.8.618.000.6922.70.40.20.12.7
Byron Scott 242437.4.499.436.8654.22.51.40.219.6
Mike Smrek 804.3.200.000.3330.80.00.10.30.4
Mychal Thompson 24025.6.513.000.5817.10.50.70.89.7
Milt Wagner 502.8.400.0001.0000.40.60.00.21.2
James Worthy 242437.3.523.111.7585.84.41.30.821.1

Awards and records

Awards

All-Star

Transactions

Trades

Free Agents

References
  1. 1987-88 Los Angeles Lakers
  2. "Halfway Through A 2-Year Quest For Greatness". The New York Times. November 1, 1987.
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