1981–82 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1981–82 NBA season saw the Lakers win their eighth NBA championship.

1981–82 Los Angeles Lakers season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachPaul Westhead, Pat Riley
OwnersJerry Buss
ArenaThe Forum
Results
Record57–25 (.695)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated 76ers 4–2)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKHJ
RadioAM 570 KLAC

Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
8179Jay Triano CanadaSimon Fraser University

[1]

Roster
Roster listing
Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
C 33 Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1947–04–16 UCLA
PF 8 Brewer, Jim 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Minnesota
G/F 21 Cooper, Michael 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1956–04–15 New Mexico
G 34 Johnson, Clay 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Missouri
G 32 Johnson, Magic 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959–08–14 Michigan State
G 5 Jordan, Eddie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Rutgers
F 54 Landsberger, Mark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1955–05–21 Arizona State
C 11 McAdoo, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) North Carolina
SF 40 McGee, Mike 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1959–07–29 Michigan
SG 30 McKenna, Kevin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Creighton
G 10 Nixon, Norm 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955–10–11 Duquesne
PF 31 Rambis, Kurt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1958–02–25 Santa Clara
G/F 52 Wilkes, Jamaal 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1953–05–02 UCLA
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

On November 18, 1981, at halftime while on the road at Utah, Magic Johnson and coach Paul Westhead had a verbal altercation in the locker room. It was stated by teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that Johnson had offered input on the game, which resulted in Westhead twice telling him to "Shut up." Johnson then told reporters after this game that he would like to be traded anywhere, resulting in a barrage of media coverage. One day after these events, Lakers owner Jerry Buss held a press conference at The Forum, where he announced the firing of Westhead, with his replacement being Pat Riley as "coach" and general manager Jerry West as "offensive coach". West came to the podium and clarified to media that Riley was indeed the head coach and that West himself would simply provide him support on the bench, which lasted for a period of 12 games. Although Johnson denied responsibility for Westhead's firing,[2] he was booed across the league, even by Lakers' fans[3] However, Buss was also unhappy with the Lakers offense and had intended on firing Westhead days before the Westhead–Johnson altercation, but assistant GM West and GM Bill Sharman had convinced Buss to delay his decision.[4]

Season standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers5725.695–30–1127–1421–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics5230.6345.031–1021–2018–12
x-Phoenix Suns4636.56111.031–1015–2614–16
Golden State Warriors4537.54912.028–1317–2415–15
Portland Trail Blazers4240.51215.027–1415–2615–15
San Diego Clippers1765.20740.011–306–357–23
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers5725.695–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs4834.5859
3 x-Seattle SuperSonics5230.6345
4 x-Denver Nuggets4636.56111
5 x-Phoenix Suns4636.56111
6 x-Houston Rockets4636.56111
7 Golden State Warriors4537.54912
8 Portland Trail Blazers4240.51215
9 Kansas City Kings3052.36627
10 Dallas Mavericks2854.34129
11 Utah Jazz2557.30532
12 San Diego Clippers1765.20740


c - clinched homecourt advantage
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1981-82 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —1–52–34–21–11–12–40–22–04–21–10–23–33–25–13–31–12–01–11–11–12–02–4
Boston 5–1—4–25–02–01–16–01–11–14–12–01–13–35–15–14–21–11–12–02–00–22–06–0
Chicago 3–22–4—5–11–11–10–60–21–13–31–12–01–52–43–21–50–21–11–12–01–11–12–4
Cleveland 2–40–51–5—2–00–21–51–11–11–51–10–20–60–60–60–50–21–10–21–10–22–01–5
Dallas 1–10–21–10–2—1–51–10–52–41–14–21–41–12–01–10–22–32–31–52–31–43–31–1
Denver 1–11–11–12–05–1—1–13–25–10–24–21–41–11–11–11–12–32–32–45–02–33–32–0
Detroit 4–20–66–05–11–11–1—2–02–02–42–00–22–42–43–32–30–20–20–22–01–11–11–4
Golden State 2–01–12–01–15–02–30–2—1–42–03–23–32–01–11–10–24–22–43–25–11–53–21–1
Houston 0–21–11–11–14–21–50–24–1—2–03–31–41–11–11–11–13–24–13–34–12–36–02–0
Indiana 2–41–53–35–11–12–04–20–20–2—1–10–20–64–23–20–61–11–12–02–01–11–11–5
Kansas City 1–10–21–11–12–42–40–22–33–31–1—1–41–11–12–00–22–30–51–54–12–33–30–2
Los Angeles 2–01–10–22–04–14–12–03–34–12–04–1—0–21–10–21–14–25–12–35–14–25–02–0
Milwaukee 3–33–35–16–01–11–14–20–21–16–01–12–0—4–13–34–21–12–01–12–00–22–03–2
New Jersey 2–31–54–26–00–21–14–21–11–12–41–11–11–4—4–23–32–01–11–12–00–22–04–2
New York 1–51–52–36–01–11–13–31–11–12–30–22–03–32–4—1–50–21–10–22–00–22–01–5
Philadelphia 3–32–45–15–02–01–13–22–01–16–02–01–12–43–35–1—1–12–00–22–02–02–06–0
Phoenix 1–11–12–02–03–23–22–02–42–31–13–22–41–10–22–01–1—3–34–14–23–33–21–1
Portland 0–21–11–11–13–23–22–04–21–41–15–01–50–21–11–10–23–3—3–24–23–34–10–2
San Antonio 1–10–21–12–05–14–22–02–33–30–25–13–21–11–12–02–01–42–3—3–24–13–31–1
San Diego 1–10–20–21–13–20–50–21–51–40–21–41–50–20–20–20–22–42–42–3—1–51–40–2
Seattle 1–12–01–12–04–13–21–15–13–21–13–22–42–02–02–00–23–33–31–45–1—5–01–1
Utah 0–20–21–10–23–33–31–12–30–61–13–30–50–20–20–20–22–31–43–34–10–5—1–1
Washington 4–20–64–25–11–10–24–11–10–25–12–00–22–32–45–10–61–12–01–12–01–11–1—

Game log

Regular season
1981–82 game log
Total: 57-25 (Home: 30-11; Road: 27-14)
October: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
November: 12–4 (Home: 5–2; Road: 7–2)
December: 12–2 (Home: 8–0; Road: 4–2)
January: 7–5 (Home: 3–2; Road: 4–3)
February: 10–5 (Home: 5–3; Road: 5–2)
March: 8–6 (Home: 4–2; Road: 4–4)
April: 8–2 (Home: 5–1; Road: 3–1)
1981–82 schedule

Playoffs
1982 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
Conference finals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
NBA finals: 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2)
1982 schedule

Playoffs

West First Round

The Lakers had a first round bye.

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Phoenix Suns: Lakers win series 4–0

  • Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 115, Phoenix 96
  • Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 117, Phoenix 98
  • Game 3 @ Phoenix: Los Angeles 114, Phoenix 106
  • Game 4 @ Phoenix: Los Angeles 112, Phoenix 107

West Conference Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) San Antonio Spurs: Lakers win series 4–0

  • Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 128, San Antonio 117
  • Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 110, San Antonio 101
  • Game 3 @ San Antonio: Los Angeles 118, San Antonio 108
  • Game 4 @ San Antonio: Los Angeles 128, San Antonio 123

NBA Finals
Main article: 1982 NBA Finals

(E3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (W1) Los Angeles Lakers: Lakers win series 4–2

  • Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Los Angeles 124, Philadelphia 117
  • Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 110, Los Angeles 94
  • Game 3 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 129, Philadelphia 108
  • Game 4 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 111, Philadelphia 101
  • Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 135, Los Angeles 102
  • Game 6 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 114, Philadelphia 104

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
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Awards and records

Awards

Transactions

Free Agents

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Johnson; Novak (1999). My Life. p. 143. ISBN 1-902799-01-1.
  3. "Magic Johnson Bio". NBA Encyclopedia: Playoff Edition. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  4. Ostler, Scott; Springer, Steve (1988). Winnin' Times : The Magical Journey of the Los Angeles Lakers. Collier Books. pp. 154–156, 159–160, 169. ISBN 0-02-029591-X.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.