1981–82 Los Angeles Lakers season

1981–82 Los Angeles Lakers season
NBA Champions
Conference Champions
Division Champions
Head coach Paul Westhead, Pat Riley
Owner(s) Jerry Buss
Arena The Forum
Results
Record 57–25 (.695)
Place Division: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish NBA Champions

Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

Local media
Television KHJ
Radio AM 570 KLAC

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

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
8179 Jay Triano  Canada Simon Fraser University

[1]

Roster

Depth chart

Pos. Starter Bench Reserve Inactive
C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bob McAdoo
PF Kurt Rambis Jim Brewer Mitch Kupchak
SF Jamaal Wilkes Mark Landsberger
SG Norm Nixon Michael Cooper Mike McGee Kevin McKenna
PG Magic Johnson Clay Johnson Eddie Jordan

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 "offensive coach" and general manager Jerry West as "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 Lakers 57 25 .695 – 30–11 27–14 21–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics 52 30 .634 5.0 31–10 21–20 18–12
x-Phoenix Suns 46 36 .561 11.0 31–10 15–26 14–16
Golden State Warriors 45 37 .549 12.0 28–13 17–24 15–15
Portland Trail Blazers 42 40 .512 15.0 27–14 15–26 15–15
San Diego Clippers 17 65 .207 40.0 11–30 6–35 7–23
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers 57 25 .695 –
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 48 34 .585 9
3 x-Seattle SuperSonics 52 30 .634 5
4 x-Denver Nuggets 46 36 .561 11
5 x-Phoenix Suns 46 36 .561 11
6 x-Houston Rockets 46 36 .561 11
7 Golden State Warriors 45 37 .549 12
8 Portland Trail Blazers 42 40 .512 15
9 Kansas City Kings 30 52 .366 27
10 Dallas Mavericks 28 54 .341 29
11 Utah Jazz 25 57 .305 32
12 San Diego Clippers 17 65 .207 40
c - clinched homecourt advantage
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

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

West Conference Finals

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

NBA Finals

Main article: 1982 NBA Finals

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

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

Additions

Player Signed Former team

Subtractions

Player Left New team

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1981
  2. ↑ Johnson; Novak. 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.

External links

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