1995–96 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1995–96 NBA season was the Lakers' 48th season in the National Basketball Association, and 36th in the city of Los Angeles.[1] It was also the highlight of All-Star guard Magic Johnson making a comeback. The Lakers played around .500 in the first few months before Johnson's arrival in late January. The team won ten of their twelve games in February. However, in March, after a game against the Seattle SuperSonics, scoring leader Cedric Ceballos missed the team's charter flight to Seattle without explanation. The Lakers were scheduled to play the Sonics again. Ceballos went missing for a few days, and was suspended without pay.[2] Their troubles continued as Nick Van Exel shoved a referee in a game against the Denver Nuggets on April 9, and was suspended for the final seven games of the season.[3] The Lakers finished second in the Pacific Division with a 53–29 record.

1995–96 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coachDel Harris
OwnersJerry Buss
ArenaGreat Western Forum
Results
Record53–29 (.646)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Pacific)
Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finishFirst Round
(Lost to Rockets 1–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionPrime Sports West, KCAL
RadioAM 570 KLAC

In the Western Conference First Round, the Lakers lost to the 5th-seeded Houston Rockets in four games. After the defeat, Magic decided to retire for the second time and for good. Following the season, Vlade Divac was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for Kobe Bryant, Anthony Peeler and George Lynch were both dealt to the Vancouver Grizzlies, and Sedale Threatt was released.

NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
2 37 Frankie King Guard  United States Western Carolina

Roster
Roster listing
Los Angeles Lakers roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PF 43 Blount, Corie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Cincinnati
PF 41 Campbell, Elden 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Clemson
SF 23 Ceballos, Cedric 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Cal State Fullerton
C 12 Divac, Vlade 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 243 lb (110 kg) Yugoslavia
PF 32 Johnson, Magic 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Michigan State
SG 25 Jones, Eddie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Temple
PG 4 King, Frankie  6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Western Carolina
SF 34 Lynch, George 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) North Carolina
PF 2 Miller, Anthony  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Michigan State
SG 1 Peeler, Anthony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Missouri
C 24 Roberts, Fred 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 218 lb (99 kg) BYU
PF 7 Strong, Derek 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Xavier
PG 3 Threatt, Sedale 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) West Virginia University Institute of Technology
PG 9 Van Exel, Nick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Cincinnati
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Regular season

Magic's Comeback

In the 1995–96 NBA season, Johnson made a short-lived second comeback as a player from January 1996 to May 1996. In this time, he had bulked up from his self-reported weight of 235 lb in 1992[4] to 255 lb in order to play power forward, a much more physical position than his usual point guard role. At age 36, Johnson played the last 32 games of the season, averaging 14.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game. The Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, and Johnson retired for good. Johnson explained his comeback with the words: "I am going out on my terms, something I couldn't say when I aborted a comeback in 1992." [5]

Season standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics6418.780–38–326–1521–3
x-Los Angeles Lakers5329.6461130–1123–1817–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers4438.5372026–1518–2311–13
x-Phoenix Suns4141.5002325–1616–259–15
x-Sacramento Kings3943.4762526–1513–2811–13
Golden State Warriors3646.4392823–1813–287–17
Los Angeles Clippers2953.3543519–2210–317–17
Western Conference
# Team W L PCT GB GP
1 c-Seattle SuperSonics *6418.780–82
2 y-San Antonio Spurs *5923.720582
3 x-Utah Jazz5527.671982
4 x-Los Angeles Lakers5329.6461182
5 x-Houston Rockets4834.5851682
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers4438.5372082
7 x-Phoenix Suns4141.5002382
8 x-Sacramento Kings3943.4762582
9 Golden State Warriors3646.4392882
10 Denver Nuggets3547.4272982
11 Los Angeles Clippers2953.3543582
12 Minnesota Timberwolves2656.3173882
13 Dallas Mavericks2656.3173882
14 Vancouver Grizzlies1567.1834982

Record vs. opponents
1995-96 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA VAN WAS
Atlanta —4–03–10–43–11–11–12–21–11–11–32–00–22–22–21–14–02–12–22–10–22–02–00–20–24–01–12–01–3
Boston 0–4—2–20–31–30–21–12–10–21–10–42–00–23–13–12–02–20–41–34–01–10–22–00–20–23–10–21–12–2
Charlotte 1–32–2—1–33–12–02–01–30–20–21–31–12–02–23–11–10–33–00–43–12–01–11–10–20–23–11–12–03–1
Chicago 4–03–03–1—4–02–01–14–02–02–02–22–02–03–14–02–03–03–13–14–01–12–02–02–01–13–12–02–04–0
Cleveland 1–33–11–30–4—2–01–12–22–01–12–22–02–01–34–02–01–23–11–24–02–01–11–10–20–23–10–22–03–1
Dallas 1–12–00–20–20–2—2–20–22–21–30–22–20–40–21–10–41–10–21–10–21–30–42–22–22–21–11–34–00–2
Denver 1–11–10–21–11–12–2—1–12–21–30–21–32–20–21–14–00–21–11–12–03–10–40–40–41–32–03–13–11–1
Detroit 2–21–23–10–42–22–01–1—2–01–12–22–00–21–32–21–14–00–41–34–02–02–01–12–01–14–00–22–01–2
Golden State 1–12–02–00–20–22–22–20–2—2–21–13–11–31–11–13–12–00–20–22–01–31–31–31–30–41–11–34–01–1
Houston 1–11–12–00–21–13–13–11–12–2—2–04–03–10–22–02–22–00–20–22–03–12–22–21–30–42–02–24–01–1
Indiana 3–14–03–12–22–22–02–02–21–10–2—2–01–13–03–11–11–31–32–23–11–11–10–21–12–04–00–22–03–0
L.A. Clippers 0–20–21–10–20–22–23–10–21–30–40–2—0–41–11–13–11–11–10–22–03–12–22–21–30–40–21–33–11–1
L.A. Lakers 2–02–00–20–20–24–02–22–03–11–31–14–0—2–02–03–12–01–11–11–13–12–23–11–32–22–02–24–01–1
Miami 2–21–32–21–33–12–02–03–11–12–00–31–10–2—3–01–15–01–31–33–11–10–21–11–10–22–10–21–12–2
Milwaukee 2–21–31–30–40–41–11–12–21–10–21–31–10–20–3—1–11–32–21–32–10–22–00–21–10–22–20–21–11–3
Minnesota 1–10–21–10–20–24–00–41–11–32–21–11–31–31–11–1—1–10–20–21–11–30–43–11–30–41–11–32–20–2
New Jersey 0–42–23–00–32–11–12–00–40–20–23–11–10–20–53–11–1—2–20–42–20–21–11–10–20–22–20–22–02–2
New York 1–24–00–31–31–32–01–14–02–02–03–11–11–13–12–22–02–2—1–33–10–20–20–21–11–14–01–11–13–1
Orlando 2–23–14–01–32–11–11–13–12–02–02–22–01–13–13–12–04–03–1—4–02–01–11–11–11–12–11–12–04–0
Philadelphia 1–20–41–30–40–42–00–20–40–20–21–30–21–11–31–21–12–21–30–4—0–20–20–20–20–23–11–11–11–3
Phoenix 2–01–10–21–10–23–11–30–23–11–31–11–31–31–12–03–12–02–00–22–0—2–22–21–30–42–01–34–02–0
Portland 0–22–01–10–21–14–04–00–23–12–21–12–22–22–00–24–01–12–01–12–02–2—1–31–31–32–01–32–20–2
Sacramento 0–20–21–10–21–12–24–01–13–12–22–02–21–31–12–01–31–12–01–12–02–23–1—1–30–42–00–42–20–2
San Antonio 2–02–02–00–22–02–24–00–23–13–11–13–13–11–11–13–12–01–11–12–03–13–13–1—2–22–03–14–01–1
Seattle 2–02–02–01–12–02–23–11–14–04–00–24–02–22–02–04–02–01–11–12–04–03–14–02–2—1–13–13–11–1
Toronto 0–41–31–31–31–31–10–20–41–10–20–42–00–21–22–21–12–20–41–21–30–20–20–20–21–1—0–21–13–1
Utah 1–12–01–10–22–03–11–32–03–12–22–03–12–22–02–03–12–01–11–11–13–13–14–01–31–32–0—4–01–1
Vancouver 0–21–10–20–20–20–41–30–20–40–40–21–30–41–11–12–20–21–10–21–10–42–22–20–41–31–10–4—0–2
Washington 3–12–21–30–41–32–01–12–11–11–10–31–11–12–23–12–02–21–30–43–10–22–02–01–11–11–31–12–0—

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

(4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Houston Rockets Last Playoff Meeting: 1991 Western Conference First Round (Houston won 3–1)

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(LAL-HOU)

 Venue Recap Television
1 April 25 Los Angeles 83 Houston 87 0–1 Great Western Forum, Los Angeles 1 TNT 10:30et
2 April 27 Los Angeles 104 Houston 94 1–1 Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California 2 NBC 3:30et
3 April 30 Houston 104 Los Angeles 98 1–2 The Summit, Houston, Texas 3 TBS 9:00et
4 May 2 Houston 102 Los Angeles 94 1–3 The Summit, Houston, Texas 4 TNT 9:30et
Houston wins series 3–1

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

Playoffs

Award winners

Salaries
PlayerSalary
Vlade Divac$3,333,000
Sedale Threatt$2,400,000
Cedric Ceballos$2,245,000
Elden Campbell$2,200,000
Nick Van Exel$1,900,000
George Lynch$1,760,000
Eddie Jones$1,600,000
Anthony Peeler$1,330,000
Corie Blount$1,040,000
Derek Strong$1,000,000
Anthony Miller$550,000
Fred Roberts$225,000
Frankie King$200,000

Transactions

References
  1. 1995-96 Los Angeles Lakers
  2. "Ceballos Is Missing, Suspended". Los Angeles Times. March 22, 1996. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  3. "Hitting Referee Costs Van Exel $187,000". Los Angeles Times. April 11, 1996. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  4. NY Times, Johnson, Unbowed by H.I.V., Will Return to Pro Basketball , accessed June 1, 2007.
  5. Schwartz, Larry. "Magic made Showtime a show". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
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