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1982–83 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1982–83 NBA season was the Lakers' 35th season in the NBA and the 23rd season in Los Angeles. The Lakers were attempting to become the first team since the Boston Celtics in 1969 to repeat as NBA Champions. However, on April 10, 1983, rookie and number one pick in the 1982 draft James Worthy injured his leg while attempting a putback in a home loss against Phoenix, ending his season. Even without Worthy for the playoffs, the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals, only to be swept in four games by the Julius Erving and Moses Malone led Philadelphia 76ers.

This was Pat Riley's first full season as Lakers head coach. Former Lakers star guard and coach Jerry West started his long and successful tenure as general manager. West's predecessor as coach and GM, Bill Sharman, was named team president.

NBA draft

The Lakers were the defending league champions, which normally results in a low draft position, but the team had the top pick in the Draft thanks to a trade made years earlier. On February 15, 1980, the Lakers had sent Don Ford and their top pick in the 1980 NBA Draft (who turned out to be Chad Kinch) to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Butch Lee and the Cavs' top pick in the 1982 NBA Draft. Prior to the implementation of the NBA draft lottery in 1985, the teams with the two worst records from the previous season would flip a coin flip for the top pick. Cleveland finished last in 1981–82, and the Lakers won the coin flip with the .

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Game log

Regular season

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | October 29 | Golden State | L 117-132 | Magic Johnson (22) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum<br>15,802 | 0–1

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | November 3 | @ Denver | W 135-134 (OT) | 3 players tied (22) | Magic Johnson (15) | Magic Johnson (13) | McNichols Sports Arena<br>14,807 | 1-1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | November 4 | Denver | W 131-108 | Norm Nixon (21) | Kurt Rambis (11) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum<br>12,815 | 2–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | November 6 | @ Utah | W 104-101 | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (22) | Magic Johnson (11) | Magic Johnson (8) | Salt Palace<br>11,869 | 3–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | November 7 | Portland | W 103-89 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum<br>13,526 | 4–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 6 | November 9 | Kansas City | W 139-117 | Norm Nixon (20) | Abdul-Jabbar & Worthy (7) | Norm Nixon (13) | The Forum<br>12,402 | 5–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 7 | November 12 | Houston | W 127-96 | Magic Johnson (28) | Johnson & Wilkes (10) | Norm Nixon (10) | The Forum<br>15,804 | 6–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 14 | Cleveland | W 111-98 | Jamaal Wilkes (30) | Magic Johnson (12) | Norm Nixon (12) | The Forum<br>12,806 | 7–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 9 | November 16 | @ Phoenix | L 105-113 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15) | Magic Johnson (7) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>13,288 | 7–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 10 | November 17 | @ Dallas | L 117-118 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Norm Nixon (13) | Reunion Arena<br>17,134 | 7–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 11 | November 19 | Washington | W 122-92 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | 3 players tied (9) | Norm Nixon (10) | The Forum<br>14,945 | 8–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 12 | November 21 | Denver | W 143-129 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) | Kurt Rambis (16) | Norm Nixon (15) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 9–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 13 | November 24 | @ Seattle | W 111-93 | James Worthy (26) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | Kingdome<br>26,230 | 10–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 14 | November 26 | @ San Diego | W 117-115 | Magic Johnson (32) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Norm Nixon (8) | San Diego Sports Arena<br>12,077 | 11–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 15 | November 28 | Golden State | W 142-127 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum<br>16,125 | 12–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 16 | November 30 | @ San Antonio | L 114-117 | Norm Nixon (23) | James Worthy (10) | Norm Nixon (11) | HemisFair Arena<br>12,115 | 12–4

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 17 | December 1 | @ Houston | W 106-95 | Johnson & McAdoo (19) | Abdul-Jabbar & Wilkes (8) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Summit<br>8,786 | 13–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 18 | December 3 | Portland | W 115-100 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22) | 3 players tied (9) | Magic Johnson (14) | The Forum<br>13,787 | 14–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 19 | December 5 | Philadelphia | L 104-114 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Bob McAdoo (9) | Johnson & Nixon (7) | The Forum | 14–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 20 | December 8 | Phoenix | W 89-86 | Jamaal Wilkes (20) | Kurt Rambis (13) | Magic Johnson (8) | The Forum<br>13,763 | 15–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 21 | December 10 | @ Utah | W 128-122 | Bob McAdoo (26) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (13) | Salt Palace<br>9,023 | 16–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 22 | December 11 | @ Golden State | W 128-107 | Kurt Rambis (20) | Kurt Rambis (14) | Cooper & Nixon (9) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena<br>13,335 | 17–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 23 | December 14 | @ Portland | L 103-107 | Magic Johnson (24) | Magic Johnson (8) | Magic Johnson (12) | Memorial Coliseum | 17–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 24 | December 17 | New Jersey | W 117-106 | Jamaal Wilkes (27) | Johnson & Wilkes (8) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum<br>15,786 | 18–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 25 | December 18 | @ Phoenix | L 100-126 | Jamaal Wilkes (20) | Bob McAdoo (8) | James Worthy (7) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>12,856 | 18–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 26 | December 19 | Dallas | W 110-108 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (17) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum<br>14,094 | 19–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 27 | December 22 | Utah | W 124-100 | Bob McAdoo (22) | 3 players tied (7) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum<br>12,358 | 20–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | December 23 | @ San Diego | W 120-115 | Magic Johnson (23) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (7) | Magic Johnson (9) | San Diego Sports Arena<br>8,160 | 21–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 29 | December 26 | @ Houston | W 96-94 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (4) | The Summit<br>10,833 | 22–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 30 | December 29 | @ Golden State | W 120-110 | Magic Johnson (27) | Kurt Rambis (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena<br>13,335 | 23–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 31 | December 30 | Seattle | W 137-117 | Norm Nixon (24) | Magic Johnson (8) | Magic Johnson (16) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 24–7

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 32 | January 2 | Detroit | W 127-112 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) | Magic Johnson (7) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum<br>15,343 | 25–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 33 | January 5 | @ Philadelphia | L 120-122 (OT) | Jamaal Wilkes (36) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (20) | The Spectrum<br>18,482 | 25–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 34 | January 6 | @ Cleveland | W 125-107 | Norm Nixon (20) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Magic Johnson (8) | Richfield Coliseum<br>11,270 | 26–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 35 | January 8 | @ New York | W 108-90 | McAdoo & Wilkes (20) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) | Johnson & Nixon (8) | Madison Square Garden<br>19,591 | 27–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 36 | January 11 | @ New Jersey | L 96-110 | Wilkes & Worthy (17) | Johnson & McAdoo (8) | Magic Johnson (11) | Brendan Byrne Arena<br>20,149 | 27–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 37 | January 15 | @ Atlanta | W 120-101 | Jamaal Wilkes (21) | Magic Johnson (17) | Magic Johnson (21) | Omni Coliseum<br>15,956 | 28–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 38 | January 19 | San Diego | W 107-104 | Jamaal Wilkes (26) | Kurt Rambis (10) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum | 29–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 39 | January 21 | San Antonio | W 119-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | Bob McAdoo (7) | Norm Nixon (15) | The Forum | 30–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 40 | January 23 | Indiana | W 105-102 | Jamaal Wilkes (28) | Bob McAdoo (9) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) | The Forum<br>14,139 | 31–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 41 | January 25 | @ Portland | W 125-120 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25) | Magic Johnson (9) | Magic Johnson (9) | Memorial Coliseum<br>12,666 | 32–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 42 | January 26 | Milwaukee | W 115-113 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (20) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 33–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 43 | January 28 | Atlanta | W 109-85 | Magic Johnson (21) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 34–9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 44 | January 30 | @ Boston | L 95-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) | Magic Johnson (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | Boston Garden<br>15,320 | 34–10

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 45 | February 2 | @ Dallas | L 120-122 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (34) | Johnson & Rambis (9) | 3 players tied (6) | Reunion Arena<br>17,134 | 34–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 46 | February 4 | @ Kansas City | W 143-125 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (15) | Checkerdome | 35–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 47 | February 6 | Kansas City | W 116-106 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (18) | James Worthy (8) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 36–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 48 | February 8 | @ Seattle | W 121-118 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (11) | Kingdome<br>19,726 | 37–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 49 | February 9 | Utah | W 113-99 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum<br>13,656 | 38–11 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- style="background:#fcc;" | 50 | February 15 | San Antonio | L 103-124 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Abdul-Jabbar & McAdoo (10) | Norm Nixon (12) | The Forum<br>15,111 | 38–12 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 51 | February 17 | @ Dallas | W 127-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Magic Johnson (11) | Reunion Arena<br>17,134 | 39–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 52 | February 18 | @ Kansas City | L 118-124 | Jamaal Wilkes (26) | Johnson & Worthy (7) | Magic Johnson (15) | Kemper Arena<br>15,116 | 39–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 53 | February 20 | @ Indiana | W 126-112 | Magic Johnson (27) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Norm Nixon (13) | Market Square Arena<br>10,952 | 40–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 54 | February 23 | Boston | L 104-113 | Magic Johnson (20) | Magic Johnson (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 40–14 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 55 | February 26 | @ Utah | L 92-101 | Jamaal Wilkes (17) | 3 players tied (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | Salt Palace<br>12,097 | 40–15 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 56 | February 27 | Denver | L 120-135 | Magic Johnson (28) | Kurt Rambis (14) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 40–16

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 57 | March 1 | @ Chicago | W 114-111 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (8) | Chicago Stadium<br>15,307 | 41–16 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 58 | March 2 | @ Milwaukee | W 127-117 | Magic Johnson (34) | 3 players tied (7) | Magic Johnson (15) | MECCA Arena<br>11,052 | 42–16 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 59 | March 4 | @ Washington | L 93-96 | Norm Nixon (26) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | Capital Centre<br>17,118 | 42–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 60 | March 5 | @ Detroit | W 122-108 | James Worthy (28) | Johnson & Worthy (10) | Magic Johnson (16) | Pontiac Silverdome<br>25,278 | 43–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 61 | March 8 | @ Golden State | W 116-112 | Magic Johnson (31) | Magic Johnson (12) | Johnson & Nixon (9) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena<br>13,335 | 44–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 62 | March 9 | San Diego | W 119-114 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (8) | Magic Johnson (20) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 45–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 63 | March 12 | Chicago | W 123-116 | Norm Nixon (27) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (14) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 46–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 64 | March 16 | Phoenix | W 104-95 | Magic Johnson (25) | Magic Johnson (11) | Norm Nixon (12) | The Forum<br>16,060 | 47–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 65 | March 18 | Kansas City | W 109-96 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (35) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Norm Nixon (13) | The Forum<br>15,817 | 48–17 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 66 | March 19 | @ San Diego | L 99-107 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (8) | Norm Nixon (10) | San Diego Sports Arena<br>13,075 | 48–18 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 67 | March 20 | Dallas | W 117-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (16) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 49–18 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 68 | March 22 | Seattle | W 123-108 | Jamaal Wilkes (26) | Magic Johnson (15) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 50–18 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 69 | March 25 | San Antonio | L 120-132 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 50–19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 70 | March 27 | Houston | W 114-93 | Magic Johnson (26) | Dwight Jones (9) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum<br>14,719 | 51–19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 71 | March 29 | San Diego | W 127-109 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) | Magic Johnson (8) | The Forum<br>16,581 | 52–19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 72 | March 31 | @ Denver | W 122-116 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Magic Johnson (16) | Magic Johnson (12) | McNichols Sports Arena<br>17,310 | 53–19

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 73 | April 1 | New York | W 102-88 | Norm Nixon (22) | Magic Johnson (9) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 54–19 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 74 | April 4 | @ Seattle | L 111-121 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (8) | Kingdome<br>18,045 | 54–20 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 75 | April 5 | @ Portland | L 101-107 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) | Magic Johnson (16) | Magic Johnson (13) | Memorial Coliseum<br>12,666 | 54–21 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 76 | April 7 | @ Phoenix | W 117-108 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) | 3 players tied (8) | Magic Johnson (13) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum<br>14,660 | 55–21 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 77 | April 8 | Golden State | W 118-107 | Magic Johnson (36) | Magic Johnson (13) | Magic Johnson (14) | The Forum<br>15,176 | 56–21 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 78 | April 10 | Phoenix | L 95-101 | Jamaal Wilkes (23) | Magic Johnson (9) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum<br>16,545 | 56–22 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 79 | April 12 | @ Houston | W 114-113 | Magic Johnson (31) | Kurt Rambis (10) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Summit<br>8,147 | 57–22 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 80 | April 13 | @ San Antonio | L 109-114 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) | Magic Johnson (12) | HemisFair Arena<br>15,782 | 57–23 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 81 | April 15 | Seattle | W 100-99 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 58–23 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 82 | April 17 | Portland | L 108-119 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) | Norm Nixon (12) | The Forum<br>16,509 | 58–24

Playoffs

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | April 24 | Portland | W 118–97 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) | Johnson & Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (18) | The Forum<br>13,891 | 1–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | April 26 | Portland | W 112–106 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (37) | Jamaal Wilkes (9) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) | The Forum<br>16,239 | 2–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | April 29 | @ Portland | W 115–109 (OT) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) | Rambis & Wilkes (9) | Magic Johnson (11) | Memorial Coliseum<br>12,666 | 3–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | May 1 | @ Portland | L 95–108 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (34) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (9) | Magic Johnson (8) | Memorial Coliseum<br>12,666 | 3–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | May 3 | Portland | W 116–108 | Norm Nixon (36) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) | Magic Johnson (15) | The Forum<br>16,739 | 4–1 |-

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | May 8 | San Antonio | W 119–107 | Abdul-Jabbar & Nixon (30) | 3 players tied (8) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum<br>15,063 | 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | May 10 | San Antonio | L 113–122 | Johnson & Nixon (28) | Magic Johnson (12) | Norm Nixon (11) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 1–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | May 13 | @ San Antonio | W 113–100 | Jamaal Wilkes (26) | Magic Johnson (11) | Magic Johnson (13) | HemisFair Arena<br>15,782 | 2–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | May 15 | @ San Antonio | W 129–121 | Magic Johnson (31) | Magic Johnson (8) | Magic Johnson (17) | HemisFair Arena<br>15,782 | 3–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 5 | May 18 | San Antonio | L 112–117 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) | Magic Johnson (11) | Magic Johnson (19) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 3–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 6 | May 20 | @ San Antonio | W 101–100 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) | Magic Johnson (15) | Magic Johnson (16) | HemisFair Arena<br>15,782 | 4–2 |-

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | May 22 | @ Philadelphia | L 107–113 | Norm Nixon (26) | Mark Landsberger (10) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Spectrum<br>18,482 | 0–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | May 26 | @ Philadelphia | L 93–103 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | Magic Johnson (8) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Spectrum<br>18,482 | 0–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | May 29 | Philadelphia | L 94–111 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 0–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | May 31 | Philadelphia | L 108–115 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) | 4 players tied (7) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum<br>17,505 | 0–4 |-

Player statistics

Note: GP= Games played; MPG= Minutes per Game; REB = Rebounds; AST = Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; PPG = Points per Game

Season

Playoffs

Award winners/Honors

Notes

References