The 2004âÂÂ05 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 57th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the 45th in the city of Los Angeles. The previous season had ended with a crushing defeat in five games to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, despite the Lakers being heavily favored. The 2004âÂÂ05 season is best remembered as a tough one for the Lakers, winning only 34 games and missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. It was also the Lakers first season since 1995-96 without either center Shaquille O'Neal, who was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and future draft picks, or point guard Derek Fisher (who had signed a six-year free agent contract with the Golden State Warriors), two instrumental players to the Lakers' previous three championship victories. The Lakers had the worst team defensive rating in the NBA.
Phil Jackson was also fired in the offseason and replaced by former Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich. However, in February 2005, Tomjanovich's struggle with bladder cancer that had been diagnosed since 2003 forced him to resign after a 24âÂÂ19 start and be replaced by Jackson's assistant coach Frank Hamblen for the rest of the year. In the offseason, Butler was traded to the Washington Wizards, Hamblen was fired as head coach and Vlade Divac retired.
For the season, the Lakers slightly changed their uniforms, adding the secondary logo to their shorts. They remained in use until 2018.
The Lakers would not miss the playoffs again until 2014. This was the first team since the 1998âÂÂ99 Chicago Bulls and last until the 2014âÂÂ15 Miami Heat to miss the playoffs after making a Finals appearance the previous season.
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | October 12 | Seattle | L 80-87 | Kobe Bryant (35) | Chris Mihm (7) | Tierre Brown (7) | Arrowhead Pond (Anaheim, CA)<br>16,342 | 0âÂÂ1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | October 17 | Golden State | W 94-80 | Kobe Bryant (23) | Lamar Odom (7) | Kobe Bryant (8) | Centennial Garden (Bakersfield, CA)<br>7,279 | 1-1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | October 19 | Sacramento | W 105-80 | Caron Butler (18) | 4 players tied (6) | 3 players tied (5) | Save Mart Center (Fresno, CA)<br>16,116 | 2âÂÂ1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | October 21 | Golden State | L 88-90 (OT) | Kobe Bryant (35) | Chris Mihm (13) | Kobe Bryant (7) | Staples Center<br>15,237 | 2-2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | October 22 | L.A. Clippers | W 113-102 | Kobe Bryant (25) | Lamar Odom (9) | Tierre Brown (5) | Staples Center<br>16,995 | 3âÂÂ2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 6 | October 24 | Phoenix | W 111-103 | Brian Grant (22) | Caron Butler (13) | Sasha VujaÃÂià(8) | Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, NV)<br>14,535 | 4âÂÂ2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 7 | October 25 | Seattle | W 117-91 | Caron Butler (18) | Jumaine Jones (6) | Sasha VujaÃÂià(8) | San Diego Sports Arena (San Diego, CA)<br>13,642 | 5âÂÂ2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | October 28 | Washington | W 97-87 | Kobe Bryant (19) | Lamar Odom (9) | Tierre Brown (6) | Ford Center (Oklahoma City, OK)<br>8,979 | 6âÂÂ2
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | November 2 | Denver | W 89-78 | Kobe Bryant (25) | Lamar Odom (13) | Kobe Bryant (7) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 1âÂÂ0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | November 3 | @ Utah | L 78-104 | Kobe Bryant (38) | Lamar Odom (9) | Tierre Brown (2) | Delta Center<br>19,911 | 1-1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | November 5 | San Antonio | L 96-105 | Kobe Bryant (28) | Lamar Odom (11) | Bryant & Odom (4) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 1âÂÂ2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | November 7 | Atlanta | W 106-90 | Kobe Bryant (24) | Lamar Odom (11) | Kobe Bryant (6) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 2-2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | November 9 | @ New Orleans | W 106-98 | Kobe Bryant (31) | Caron Butler (9) | Chucky Atkins (6) | New Orleans Arena<br>17,202 | 3âÂÂ2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 6 | November 10 | @ Memphis | L 87-110 | Kobe Bryant (20) | Lamar Odom (11) | Atkins & Bryant (4) | FedEx Forum<br>18,119 | 3-3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 7 | November 12 | @ Orlando | L 113-122 | Kobe Bryant (41) | Lamar Odom (8) | Kobe Bryant (8) | TD Waterhouse Centre<br>17,283 | 3âÂÂ4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 13 | @ Houston | W 84-79 | Lamar Odom (20) | Lamar Odom (13) | Lamar Odom (5) | Toyota Center<br>18,181 | 4-4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 9 | November 17 | L.A. Clippers | W 103-89 | Kobe Bryant (23) | Brian Grant (7) | Kobe Bryant (11) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 5âÂÂ4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 10 | November 19 | @ Phoenix | L 102-107 | Kobe Bryant (29) | Lamar Odom (15) | Kobe Bryant (10) | American West Arena<br>18,422 | 5-5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 11 | November 21 | Chicago | W 102-93 | Kobe Bryant (29) | Lamar Odom (12) | Kobe Bryant (7) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 6âÂÂ5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 12 | November 23 | Milwaukee | W 100-96 | Kobe Bryant (30) | Lamar Odom (9) | Tierre Brown (6) | Staples Center<br>18,215 | 7âÂÂ5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 13 | November 26 | Sacramento | L 106-109 | Kobe Bryant (40) | Lamar Odom (14) | Kobe Bryant (8) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 7âÂÂ6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 14 | November 28 | New Orleans | W 89-76 | Kobe Bryant (20) | Lamar Odom (14) | Kobe Bryant (7) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 8âÂÂ6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 15 | November 30 | @ Milwaukee | W 95-90 | Brian Cook (25) | Cook & Odom (11) | Kobe Bryant (11) | Bradley Center<br>14,975 | 9âÂÂ6
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 16 | December 1 | @ Chicago | L 84-92 | Kobe Bryant (28) | Lamar Odom (11) | Kobe Bryant (10) | United Center<br>18,524 | 9âÂÂ7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 17 | December 3 | Golden State | W 97-88 | Caron Butler (27) | Kobe Bryant (12) | Kobe Bryant (10) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 10âÂÂ7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 18 | December 8 | Phoenix | L 110-113 | Kobe Bryant (20) | Kobe Bryant (14) | Kobe Bryant (11) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 10âÂÂ8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 19 | December 11 | @ L.A. Clippers | W 89-87 | Kobe Bryant (37) | Lamar Odom (12) | Kobe Bryant (5) | Staples Center<br>19,697 | 11âÂÂ8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 20 | December 12 | Orlando | W 105-98 | Jones & Mihm (25) | Chris Mihm (14) | Tierre Brown (8) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 12âÂÂ8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 21 | December 14 | @ Seattle | L 93-108 | Kobe Bryant (35) | Bryant & Odom (9) | Kobe Bryant (5) | KeyArena<br>17,072 | 12âÂÂ9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 22 | December 16 | @ Sacramento | W 115-99 | Kobe Bryant (31) | Chris Mihm (8) | Kobe Bryant (12) | ARCO Arena<br>17,317 | 13âÂÂ9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 23 | December 17 | Washington | L 116-120 (OT) | Kobe Bryant (36) | Bryant & Odom (10) | Kobe Bryant (14) | Staples Center<br>18,212 | 13âÂÂ10 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 24 | December 20 | Memphis | L 72-82 | Caron Butler (16) | Lamar Odom (12) | Kobe Bryant (8) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 13âÂÂ11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 25 | December 22 | New Orleans | W 101-89 | Chucky Atkins (30) | Chris Mihm (21) | 3 players tied (4) | Staples Center<br>18,477 | 14âÂÂ11 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 26 | December 25 | Miami | L 102-104 (OT) | Kobe Bryant (42) | Chris Mihm (14) | Chucky Atkins (7) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 14âÂÂ12 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 27 | December 28 | Toronto | W 117-99 | Kobe Bryant (48) | Lamar Odom (13) | Chucky Atkins (7) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 15âÂÂ12
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | January 2 | Denver | W 99-91 | Kobe Bryant (42) | Lamar Odom (15) | 3 players tied (4) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 16âÂÂ12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 29 | January 4 | @ San Antonio | L 83-100 | Kobe Bryant (17) | Lamar Odom (8) | Tierre Brown (5) | SBC Center<br>18,797 | 16âÂÂ13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 30 | January 5 | @ Dallas | L 104-118 | Kobe Bryant (32) | Jumaine Jones (13) | Chucky Atkins (7) | American Airlines Center<br>20,393 | 16âÂÂ14 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 31 | January 7 | Houston | W 111-104 | Kobe Bryant (27) | Lamar Odom (12) | Kobe Bryant (10) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 17âÂÂ14 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 32 | January 10 | @ Minnesota | W 105-96 | Kobe Bryant (31) | Chris Mihm (17) | Chucky Atkins (7) | Target Center<br>19,356 | 18âÂÂ14 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 33 | January 12 | @ Denver | L 83-95 | Caron Butler (18) | Lamar Odom (12) | Kobe Bryant (7) | Pepsi Center<br>18,171 | 18âÂÂ15 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 34 | January 13 | Cleveland | W 98-94 | Lamar Odom (24) | Caron Butler (11) | Lamar Odom (7) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 19âÂÂ15 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 35 | January 15 | @ Golden State | W 104-102 | Lamar Odom (27) | Mihm & Odom (12) | 3 players tied (3) | The Arena in Oakland<br>19,602 | 20âÂÂ15 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 36 | January 17 | Utah | L 94-102 | Caron Butler (26) | Lamar Odom (10) | Lamar Odom (6) | Staples Center<br>18,111 | 20âÂÂ16 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 37 | January 19 | Minnesota | W 93-90 | Chucky Atkins (25) | Jumaine Jones (8) | Chucky Atkins (11) | Staples Center<br>18,417 | 21âÂÂ16 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 38 | January 21 | Golden State | W 105-101 | Chucky Atkins (26) | Butler & Jones (9) | Chucky Atkins (10) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 22âÂÂ16 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 39 | January 25 | Seattle | L 93-104 | Odom & Walton (19) | Lamar Odom (13) | Lamar Odom (8) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 22âÂÂ17 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 40 | January 26 | @ L.A. Clippers | L 89-105 | Chucky Atkins (17) | Jumaine Jones (7) | Chucky Atkins (4) | Staples Center<br>20,127 | 22âÂÂ18 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 41 | January 28 | New Jersey | L 103-109 | Caron Butler (31) | Lamar Odom (13) | Lamar Odom (8) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 22âÂÂ19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 42 | January 30 | Charlotte | W 101-90 | Atkins & Butler (20) | Chris Mihm (12) | Lamar Odom (7) | Staples Center<br>18,532 | 23âÂÂ19
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 43 | February 1 | Portland | W 92-79 | Atkins & Butler (19) | Butler & Mihm (10) | Tierre Brown (9) | Staples Center<br>18,116 | 24âÂÂ19 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 44 | February 3 | San Antonio | L 91-103 | Lamar Odom (23) | Lamar Odom (13) | Luke Walton (6) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 24âÂÂ20 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 45 | February 6 | @ Houston | L 102-103 | Lamar Odom (22) | Jumaine Jones (13) | Lamar Odom (8) | Toyota Center<br>18,201 | 24âÂÂ21 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 46 | February 7 | @ Atlanta | L 108-114 | Lamar Odom (28) | Brian Cook (10) | Chucky Atkins (5) | Philips Arena<br>15,633 | 24âÂÂ22 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 47 | February 9 | @ New Jersey | W 104-103 (OT) | Jumaine Jones (20) | Lamar Odom (19) | Lamar Odom (8) | Continental Airlines Arena<br>13,979 | 25âÂÂ22 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 48 | February 10 | @ Detroit | L 81-103 | Lamar Odom (17) | Lamar Odom (9) | Chucky Atkins (5) | The Palace of Auburn Hills<br>22,076 | 25âÂÂ23 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 49 | February 13 | @ Cleveland | L 89-103 | Kobe Bryant (26) | Lamar Odom (9) | Kobe Bryant (6) | Gund Arena<br>20,562 | 25âÂÂ24 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 50 | February 15 | Utah | W 102-95 | Kobe Bryant (40) | Slava Medvedenko (9) | Kobe Bryant (8) | Staples Center<br>18,480 | 26âÂÂ24 |- style="text-align:center;" | colspan="9" style="background:#bbcaff;"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" | 51 | February 22 | Boston | W 104-95 | Bryant & Odom (21) | Chris Mihm (15) | Luke Walton (7) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 27âÂÂ24 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 52 | February 23 | @ Portland | W 86-83 | Kobe Bryant (31) | Lamar Odom (12) | Bryant & Odom (6) | Rose Garden<br>18,665 | 28âÂÂ24 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 53 | February 25 | Detroit | L 90-111 | Kobe Bryant (20) | Lamar Odom (9) | Kobe Bryant (11) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 28âÂÂ25 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 54 | February 27 | @ Toronto | L 102-108 | Kobe Bryant (31) | Bryant & Odom (8) | Kobe Bryant (8) | Air Canada Centre<br>19,800 | 28âÂÂ26 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 55 | February 28 | @ New York | L 115-117 (OT) | Kobe Bryant (30) | Lamar Odom (15) | Kobe Bryant (8) | Madison Square Garden<br>19,763 | 28âÂÂ27
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 56 | March 2 | @ Boston | L 101-104 | Chucky Atkins (29) | Lamar Odom (13) | Lamar Odom (4) | Fleet Center<br>18,624 | 28-28 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 57 | March 4 | Dallas | W 108-103 | Kobe Bryant (40) | Lamar Odom (11) | Chucky Atkins (10) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 29âÂÂ28 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 58 | March 6 | Indiana | W 103-94 | Kobe Bryant (37) | Bryant & Mihm (10) | Lamar Odom (7) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 30âÂÂ28 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 59 | March 8 | L.A. Clippers | L 101-110 | Kobe Bryant (41) | Jumaine Jones (8) | Chucky Atkins (6) | Staples Center<br>18,225 | 30âÂÂ29 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 60 | March 10 | @ Dallas | W 100-95 | Kobe Bryant (36) | Lamar Odom (14) | Lamar Odom (7) | American Airlines Center<br>20,411 | 31âÂÂ29 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 61 | March 12 | @ Charlotte | W 117-116 | Kobe Bryant (32) | Lamar Odom (11) | Kobe Bryant (9) | Charlotte Coliseum<br>23,319 | 32âÂÂ29 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 62 | March 14 | @ Washington | L 81-95 | Caron Butler (20) | Caron Butler (11) | Kobe Bryant (6) | MCI Center<br>20,173 | 32âÂÂ30 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 63 | March 15 | @ Philadelphia | L 91-108 | Kobe Bryant (20) | Slava Medvedenko (9) | Sasha VujaÃÂià(5) | Wachovia Center<br>20,778 | 32âÂÂ31 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 64 | March 17 | @ Miami | L 89-102 | Kobe Bryant (26) | Lamar Odom (11) | Chucky Atkins (6) | American Airlines Arena<br>20,272 | 32-32 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 65 | March 18 | @ Indiana | L 97-103 | Chucky Atkins (23) | Caron Butler (10) | Kobe Bryant (4) | Conseco Fieldhouse<br>18,345 | 32âÂÂ33 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 66 | March 20 | Seattle | L 100-102 | Kobe Bryant (30) | Slava Medvedenko (7) | Chucky Atkins (5) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 32âÂÂ34 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 67 | March 22 | @ Utah | L 107-115 | Kobe Bryant (43) | Brian Grant (8) | Caron Butler (5) | Delta Center<br>18,746 | 32âÂÂ35 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 68 | March 24 | @ Denver | L 96-117 | Caron Butler (22) | Butler & Jones (9) | 3 players tied (4) | Pepsi Center<br>19,866 | 32âÂÂ36 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 69 | March 27 | Philadelphia | L 89-96 | Kobe Bryant (34) | Chris Mihm (11) | Kobe Bryant (5) | Staples Center<br>18,347 | 32âÂÂ37 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 70 | March 29 | New York | W 117-107 | Kobe Bryant (32) | Chris Mihm (8) | Bryant & Walton (5) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 33âÂÂ37 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 71 | March 31 | Minnesota | L 96-105 | Kobe Bryant (26) | Chris Mihm (10) | Kobe Bryant (6) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 33âÂÂ38
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 72 | April 2 | @ San Antonio | L 94-95 | Caron Butler (27) | Bryant & Jones (8) | Kobe Bryant (6) | SBC Center<br>18,797 | 33âÂÂ39 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 73 | April 3 | @ Memphis | L 82-102 | Caron Butler (18) | Jumaine Jones (10) | Atkins & Butler (5) | FedEx Forum<br>18,119 | 33âÂÂ40 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 74 | April 5 | @ Phoenix | L 99-125 | Caron Butler (30) | Butler & VujaÃÂià(7) | Chucky Atkins (8) | American West Arena<br>18,422 | 33âÂÂ41 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 75 | April 7 | Houston | L 100-114 | Caron Butler (24) | Caron Butler (12) | Kobe Bryant (10) | Staples Center<br>18,212 | 33âÂÂ42 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 76 | April 8 | @ Seattle | W 117-94 | Kobe Bryant (42) | Jumaine Jones (12) | Bryant & Jones (5) | KeyArena<br>17,072 | 34âÂÂ42 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 77 | April 10 | @ Sacramento | L 105-124 | Kobe Bryant (18) | Butler & Grant (5) | Chucky Atkins (9) | ARCO Arena<br>17,317 | 34âÂÂ43 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 78 | April 11 | Phoenix | L 97-108 | Kobe Bryant (20) | Caron Butler (11) | Kobe Bryant (10) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 34âÂÂ44 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 79 | April 15 | Sacramento | L 106-115 | Caron Butler (34) | Luke Walton (12) | Luke Walton (9) | Staples Center<br>18,997 | 34âÂÂ45 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 80 | April 17 | Dallas | L 112-114 | Kobe Bryant (33) | Jumaine Jones (9) | Kobe Bryant (9) | Staples Center<br>18,237 | 34âÂÂ46 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 81 | April 18 | @ Golden State | L 99-126 | Kobe Bryant (22) | Jumaine Jones (11) | Sasha VujaÃÂià(7) | The Arena in Oakland<br>20,024 | 34âÂÂ47 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 82 | April 20 | @ Portland | L 103-106 | Kobe Bryant (37) | Chris Mihm (10) | Atkins & VujaÃÂià(7) | Rose Garden<br>19,818 | 34âÂÂ48