1988–89 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1988–89 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 43rd season of the franchise, 41st in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 29th in Los Angeles. The Lakers finished with a 57–25 regular season recorded, earning them the top playoff seed in the Western Conference. After marching undefeated through the first three rounds, the Lakers were seen as the favorites in the 1989 NBA Finals, in a rematch against the Detroit Pistons, who they defeated in last season's NBA Finals in a hard fought seven games.[1] However, after injuries to their starting backcourt of Magic Johnson and Byron Scott,[2] the Lakers were swept by the Pistons in four games. After the finals concluded, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar announced his retirement after twenty seasons.

1988–89 Los Angeles Lakers season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachPat Riley
OwnersJerry Buss
ArenaGreat Western Forum
Results
Record57–25 (.695)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Pistons 0–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKHJ-TV
Prime Ticket
(Chick Hearn, Stu Lantz)
RadioKLAC
(Chick Hearn, Stu Lantz)

The 1988–89 season marked an end to a run of eight consecutive Western Conference Finals appearances for the Lakers, the most since the 1968–69 Boston Celtics, as in the following season, the Lakers would lose in the Conference Semifinals to the Phoenix Suns in five games.

Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
125David RiversPG United StatesNotre Dame

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
C 31 McNamara, Mark 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) California
G 14 Rivers, David 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Notre Dame
G 4 Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Arizona State
F/C 43 Thompson, Mychal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 226 lb (103 kg) University of Minnesota
PF 0 Woolridge, Orlando 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Notre Dame
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 5725.695–35–622–1925–9
x-Phoenix Suns 5527.671235–620–2123–11
x-Seattle SuperSonics 4735.5731031–1016–2520–14
x-Golden State Warriors 4339.5241429–1214–2715–19
x-Portland Trail Blazers 3943.4761828–1311–3017–17
Sacramento Kings 2755.3293021–206–3512–22
Los Angeles Clippers 2161.2563617–244–377–27
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers5725.695–
2 y-Utah Jazz5131.6226
3 x-Phoenix Suns5527.6712
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics4735.57310
5 x-Houston Rockets4537.54912
6 x-Denver Nuggets4438.53713
7 x-Golden State Warriors4339.52414
8 x-Portland Trail Blazers3943.47618
9 Dallas Mavericks3844.46319
10 Sacramento Kings2755.32930
11 San Antonio Spurs2161.25636
12 Los Angeles Clippers2161.25636
13 Miami Heat1567.18342

Record vs. opponents
1988-89 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —3–14–14–24–21–10–21–51–11–15–12–01–11–16–04–12–22–21–11–12–01–11–11–13–1
Boston 1–3—6–01–31–41–11–11–31–11–12–32–01–12–02–25–13–33–30–21–12–02–00–21–12–4
Charlotte 1–40–6—1–40–40–20–20–40–20–22–22–00–21–10–42–42–43–30–20–21–12–01–11–11–5
Chicago 2–43–14–1—0–62–01–10–61–11–14–21–12–02–06–02–23–21–31–12–02–02–02–00–23–1
Cleveland 2–44–14–06–0—2–02–03–31–11–15–11–10–22–03–34–02–23–22–02–02–02–01–11–12–2
Dallas 1–11–12–00–20–2—3–30–21–31–51–13–10–46–00–21–10–21–11–32–22–25–12–24–21–1
Denver 2–01–12–01–10–23–3—1–13–14–21–12–21–35–10–21–11–11–11–32–23–13–32–23–31–1
Detroit 5–13–14–06–03–32–01–1—1–11–14–22–02–02–02–44–00–45–02–01–12–02–02–02–05–0
Golden State 1–11–12–01–11–13–11–31–1—1–31–15–12–34–00–22–02–01–12–42–42–33–12–42–21–1
Houston 1–11–12–01–11–15–12–41–13–1—2–02–21–34–21–12–00–20–21–33–12–26–02–22–40–2
Indiana 1–53–22–22–41–51–11–12–41–10–2—1–10–21–12–41–30–50–41–12–01–12–01–11–11–3
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–21–11–11–32–20–21–52–21–1—1–51–30–21–10–20–21–51–52–33–11–41–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–12–00–22–04–03–10–23–23–12–05–1—4–01–11–11–12–03–35–05–13–14–21–31–1
Miami 1–10–21–10–20–20–61–50–20–42–41–13–10–4—0–21–11–10–20–40–41–32–40–41–50–2
Milwaukee 0–62–24–00–63–32–02–04–22–01–14–22–01–12–0—4–11–33–11–12–02–01–11–11–14–1
New Jersey 1–41–54–22–20–41–11–10–40–20–23–11–11–11–11–4—2–41–51–10–21–11–12–00–21–5
New York 2–23–34–22–32–22–01–14–00–22–05–02–01–11–13–14–2—2–41–12–01–11–11–11–15–1
Philadelphia 2–23–33–33–12–31–11–10–51–12–04–02–00–22–01–35–14–2—0–21–12–01–11–11–14–2
Phoenix 1–12–02–01–10–23–13–10–24–23–11–15–13–34–01–11–11–12–0—2–35–13–14–12–22–0
Portland 1–11–12–00–20–22–22–21–14–21–30–25–10–54–00–22–00–21–13–2—3–34–02–40–41–1
Sacramento 0–20–21–10–20–22–21–30–23–22–21–13–21–53–10–21–11–10–21–53–3—2–21–51–30–2
San Antonio 1–10–20–20–20–21–53–30–21–30–60–21–31–34–21–11–11–11–11–30–42–2—0–41–51–1
Seattle 1–12–01–10–21–12–22–20–24–22–21–14–12–44–01–10–21–11–11–44–25–14–0—3–11–1
Utah 1–11–11–12–01–12–43–30–22–24–21–13–13–15–11–12–01–11–12–24–03–15–11–3—2–0
Washington 1–34–25–11–32–21–11–10–51–12–03–12–01–12–01–45–11–52–40–21–12–01–11–10–2—

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Portland Trail Blazers: Lakers win series 3-0

  • Game 1 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (April 27): Los Angeles 128, Portland 108
  • Game 2 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (April 30): Los Angeles 113, Portland 105
  • Game 3 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 3): Los Angeles 116, Portland 108

Last Playoff Meeting: 1985 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4-1)

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Lakers win series 4-0

  • Game 1 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 7): Los Angeles 113, Seattle 102
  • Game 2 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 10): Los Angeles 130, Seattle 108
  • Game 3 @ Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle (May 12): Los Angeles 91, Seattle 86
  • Game 4 @ Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle (May 14): Los Angeles 97, Seattle 95

Last Playoff Meeting: 1987 Western Conference Finals (Los Angeles won 4-0)

West Conference Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Phoenix Suns: Lakers win series 4-0

  • Game 1 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 20): Los Angeles 127, Phoenix 119
  • Game 2 @ Great Western Forum, Los Angeles (May 23): Los Angeles 101, Phoenix 95
  • Game 3 @ Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix (May 26): Los Angeles 110, Phoenix 107
  • Game 4 @ Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix (May 28): Los Angeles 122, Phoenix 117

Last Playoff Meeting: 1985 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-0)

NBA Finals
GameRoad TeamHome Teamseries
Game 1:L.A. Lakers 97at Detroit 1091-0
Game 2:L.A. Lakers 105at Detroit 1082-0
Game 3:Detroit 114at L.A. Lakers 1103-0
Game 4:Detroit 105at L.A. Lakers 974-0

Pistons win series 4-0

  • On June 28, 1989, after twenty professional seasons, Abdul-Jabbar announced his retirement. On his "retirement tour" he received standing ovations at all the games, home and away.

Awards and honors
  • A. C. Green, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
  • Magic Johnson, NBA Most Valuable Player[3]
  • Magic Johnson, NBA All-First Team

Transactions

References
  1. "Can Lakers sweep Pistons in Finals?". Vidette-Messenger of Porter County. Valparaiso, Indiana. June 6, 1989. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "If Magic rests, Rivers must get into flow". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. June 11, 1989. p. 54 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. http://www.nba.com/history/awards_mvp.html
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