1983–84 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1983–84 season for the Los Angeles Lakers saw them lose in the 1984 NBA Finals against Larry Bird's Boston Celtics in seven well-fought games. The Lakers were coming off of an NBA Finals loss to the Julius Erving and Moses Malone led Philadelphia 76ers, in which they were swept in four games. The Los Angeles Lakers, powered by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who broke the NBA's all-time total points record) and Magic Johnson with his 13.1 assists per game (tops in '84), ended up winning 54 games in the 1983–84 NBA season. On April 5, 1984, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a 12-foot shot over Mark Eaton of the Utah Jazz 1 to surpass Wilt Chamberlain as the NBA's all-time leading scorer with 31,421 points.[1]

1983–84 Los Angeles Lakers season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachPat Riley
OwnersJerry Buss
ArenaThe Forum
Results
Record54–28 (.659)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Celtics 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKHJ
RadioAM 570 KLAC

In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Kansas City Kings in the first round, Dallas Mavericks in the second, and the Phoenix Suns in the 1984 Western Conference Finals in order to advance to what is called the "greatest NBA Finals in history", against Larry Bird's formidable, 62–20 Boston Celtics. The Lakers' early step on the green team in the Championship caused Bird to label teammates "sissies". The words inspired the Celtics, and shot down the Lakers, and the C's won game 7 111–102, a Laker heartbreaker, and still, arguably, the most memorable Finals of the 1980s.

Draft picks
Main article: 1983 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College

Roster
Roster listing
1983–84 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
G 21 Cooper, Michael 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1956-04-15 New Mexico
F 0 Garrett, Calvin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1956-07-11 Oral Roberts
G 32 Johnson, Magic 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959-08-14 Michigan State
G 15 Jordan, Eddie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955-01-29 Rutgers
F 25 Kupchak, Mitch 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1954-05-24 North Carolina
C 11 McAdoo, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-09-25 North Carolina
F 40 McGee, Mike 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1959-07-29 Michigan
C 41 Nater, Swen 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1950-01-14 UCLA
F 31 Rambis, Kurt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1958-02-25 Santa Clara
G 4 Scott, Byron (R) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1961-03-28 Arizona State
F 35 Spriggs, Larry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1959-09-08 Howard
F 52 Wilkes, Jamaal 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1953-05-02 UCLA
F 42 Worthy, James 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1961-02-27 North Carolina
Head coach

Pat Riley

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2013-07-30

Regular season

Season standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 5428.659–28–1326–1518–12
x-Portland Trail Blazers 4834.585633–815–2617–13
x-Seattle Sonics 4240.5121232–910–3114–16
x-Phoenix Suns 4141.5001331–1010–3116–14
Golden State Warriors 3745.4511727–1410–3113–17
San Diego Clippers 3052.3662425–165–3612–18
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers5428.659–
2 y-Utah Jazz4537.5499
3 x-Portland Trail Blazers4834.5856
4 x-Dallas Mavericks4339.52411
5 x-Seattle Sonics4240.51212
6 x-Phoenix Suns4141.50013
7 x-Denver Nuggets3844.46316
8 x-Kansas City Kings3844.46316
9 San Antonio Spurs3745.45117
10 Golden State Warriors3745.45117
11 San Diego Clippers3052.36624
12 Houston Rockets2953.35425


z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1983–84 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 —0–54–23–31–10–22–41–11–14–20–20–23–33–34–15–11–10–21–11–11–11–14–2
Boston 5–0—5–06–02–02–04–22–01–15–12–00–25–14–23–32–42–02–02–01–12–01–14–2
Chicago 2–40–5—2–41–10–21–52–00–23–31–10–22–42–42–42–31–12–00–21–10–21–12–4
Cleveland 3–30–64–2—1–10–21–51–11–12–40–20–21–52–31–52–41–11–11–11–11–10–24–1
Dallas 1–10–21–11–1—4–20–24–14–22–03–33–20–21–10–21–13–22–34–24–11–44–20–2
Denver 2–00–22–02–02–4—1–12–34–20–24–21–41–11–11–11–12–31–43–33–22–33–30–2
Detroit 4–22–45–15–12–01–1—1–11–14–21–11–13–21–44–23–32–01–11–12–01–11–13–3
Golden State 1–10–20–21–11–43–21–1—2–32–04–13–30–21–11–11–11–52–43–23–34–21–42–0
Houston 1–11–12–01–12–42–41–13–2—1–12–41–41–10–20–20–22–31–42–42–33–21–50–2
Indiana 2–41–53–34–20–22–02–40–21–1—0–21–11–51–52–40–51–11–10–21–11–11–11–4
Kansas City 2–00–21–12–03–32–41–11–44–22–0—0–50–22–00–20–22–32–35–13–21–43–32–0
Los Angeles 2–02–02–02–02–34–11–13–34–11–15–0—2–01–10–21–13–35–12–34–23–34–11–1
Milwaukee 3–31–54–25–12–01–12–32–01–15–12–00–2—4–24–12–42–01–11–11–11–11–15–1
New Jersey 3–32–44–23–21–11–14–11–12–05–10–21–12–4—3–33–32–00–20–22–01–11–14–2
New York 1–43–34–15–12–01–12–41–12–04–22–02–01–43–3—2–41–10–22–02–01–12–04–2
Philadelphia 1–54–23–24–21–11–13–31–12–05–02–01–14–23–34–2—1–11–12–02–01–12–04–2
Phoenix 1–10–21–11–12–33–20–25–13–21–13–23–30–20–21–11–1—2–45–04–22–41–42–0
Portland 2–00–20–21–13–24–11–14–24–11–13–21–51–12–02–01–14–2—4–14–24–21–41–1
San Antonio 1–10–22–01–12–43–31–12–34–22–01–53–21–12–00–20–20–51–4—4–12–34–21–1
San Diego 1–11–11–11–11–42–30–23–33–21–12–32–41–10–20–20–22–42–41–4—3–32–31–1
Seattle 1–10–22–01–14–13–21–12–42–31–14–13–31–11–11–11–14–22–43–23–3—1–41–1
Utah 1–11–11–12–02–43–31–14–15–11–13–31–41–11–10–20–24–14–12–43–24–1—1–1
Washington 2–42–44–21–42–02–03–30–22–04–10–21–11–52–42–42–40–21–11–11–11–11–1—

Game log

Regular season
1983–84 game log
Total: 54–28 (Home: 28–13; Road: 26–15)
October: 2–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 2–0)
November: 10–4 (Home: 7–1; Road: 3–3)
December: 7–6 (Home: 6–3; Road: 1–3)
January: 8–6 (Home: 4–3; Road: 4–3)
February: 11–4 (Home: 4–1; Road: 7–3)
March: 11–4 (Home: 4–3; Road: 7–1)
April: 5–4 (Home: 3–2; Road: 2–2)
1983–84 schedule

Playoffs
1984 playoff game log
Western Conference First Round: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
Western Conference Semifinals: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)
Western Conference Finals: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
NBA Finals: 3–4 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–3)
1984 schedule

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Kansas City Kings: Lakers win series 3–0

  • Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (April 18): Los Angeles 116, Kansas City 105
  • Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (April 20): Los Angeles 109, Kansas City 102
  • Game 3 @ Kemper Arena, Kansas City (April 22): Los Angeles 108, Kansas City 102

Last Playoff Meeting: 1955 Western Division Semifinals (Lakers won 2–1; Lakers were in Minneapolis, Kings were in Rochester, New York as the Royals)

West Conference Semifinals

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

  • Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (April 28): Los Angeles 134, Dallas 91
  • Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 1): Los Angeles 117, Dallas 101
  • Game 3 @ Reunion Arena, Dallas (May 4): Dallas 125, Los Angeles 115
  • Game 4 @ Reunion Arena, Dallas (May 6)*: Los Angeles 122, Dallas 115 (OT)
  • Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 8): Los Angeles 115, Dallas 99

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Lakers and Mavericks.

West Conference Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Phoenix Suns: Lakers win series 4–2

Last Playoff Meeting: 1982 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4–0)

NBA Finals
Main article: 1984 NBA Finals
GameHome teamScoreRoad TeamSeries
Game 1Boston Celtics109–115Los Angeles LakersLA 1–0
Game 2Boston Celtics124–121*Los Angeles LakersTIED 1–1
Game 3Los Angeles Lakers137–104Boston CelticsLA 2–1
Game 4Los Angeles Lakers125–129*Boston CelticsTIED 2–2
Game 5Boston Celtics121–103Los Angeles LakersBOS 3–2
Game 6Los Angeles Lakers119–108Boston CelticsTIED 3–3
Game 7Boston Celtics111–102Los Angeles LakersBOS 4–3

*overtime

Boston beats Los Angeles 4–3

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

Awards and records

References
  1. Numbelivable!, p.160, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0

Lakers History

The 1984 NBA Finals|Celtics.com

NBA.com: Larry's Celtics Edge Magic's Lakers in 7

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