1997–98 Los Angeles Lakers season

1997–98 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coach	Del Harris
Owner(s)	Jerry Buss
Arena	Great Western Forum
Results
Record	61–21 (.744)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	West Finals (eliminated 0–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports West, KCAL 9
Radio	AM 570 KLAC

The 1997–98 NBA season was the Lakers' 50th season in the NBA and 38th in the city of Los Angeles.^[1] During the offseason, the Lakers signed Rick Fox as a free agent. Kobe Bryant emerged as a star being selected to play in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game at the age of 19. Joining him on the Western Conference All-Star roster was Shaquille O'Neal, Eddie Jones, and Nick Van Exel. The Lakers got off to a fast start to the season before losing O'Neal to a strained stomach muscle that forced him to sit out 20 games. In his absence, the Lakers went 13-7. They won 22 of their final 25 games to tie the Pacific Division title with the Seattle SuperSonics with a 61-21 record. It was the Lakers' best record since the 1989–90 season.

In theplayoffs, the Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round for the second consecutive year, then defeated the SuperSonics in the semifinals. However, in the Western Conference Finals, they were swept by the Utah Jazz in four straight games.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	52	DeJuan Wheat	PG	United States	Louisville
2	54	Paul Rogers	C	Australia	Gonzaga

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY–MM–DD)
2.0 !SG	20	USA !	Barry, Jon	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Georgia Tech
4.5 !PF	23	USA !	Bennett, Mario	7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Arizona State
4.5 !PF	43	USA !	Blount, Corie	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Cincinnati
2.0 !SG	8	USA !	Bryant, Kobe	7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Lower Merion HS (PA)
4.5 !PF	41	USA !	Campbell, Elden	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Clemson
1.0 !PG	2	USA !	Fisher, Derek	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Arkansas-Little Rock
3.0 !SF	17	USA !	Fox, Rick	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	North Carolina
4.5 !PF	5	USA !	Horry, Robert	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Alabama
2.0 !SG	6	USA !	Jones, Eddie	7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Temple
6.0 !C	34	USA !	O'Neal, Shaquille	7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	325 lb (147 kg)	LSU
6.0 !C	45	USA !	Rooks, Sean	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Arizona
2.0 !SG	24	USA !	Seals, Shea	7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Tulsa
1.0 !PG	9	USA !	Van Exel, Nick	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Cincinnati

Head coach

Del Harris

Legend

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

Roster • Transactions

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	–	35–6	26–15	19–5
x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	–	33–8	28–13	16–8
x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	5	30–11	26–15	17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	15	26–15	20–21	14–10
Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	34	21–20	6–35	6–18
Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	42	12–29	7–34	6–18
Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	44	11–30	6–35	6–18

#	Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21

9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

Playoffs

West first round

(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers Last playoff meeting: 1997 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3–1)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (LAL-POR)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	April 24	Los Angeles	104	Portland	102	1-0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	1	TNT 10:30 et
2	April 26	Los Angeles	108	Portland	99	2–0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	2	NBC 3:00 et
3	April 28	Portland	99	Los Angeles	94	2–1	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	3	TNT 10:30 et
4	April 30	Portland	99	Los Angeles	110	3–1	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	4	TNT 10:30 et
Los Angeles wins series 3–1

West Conference Semifinals

(2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers Last playoff meeting: 1995 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3–1)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (SEA-LAL)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	May 4	Seattle	106	Los Angeles	92	1-0	KeyArena, Seattle, Washington	1	TNT 9:00et
2	May 6	Seattle	68	Los Angeles	92	1–1	KeyArena, Seattle, Washington	2	TNT 10:30 et
3	May 8	Los Angeles	119	Seattle	103	1–2	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	3	TNT 10:30 et
4	May 10	Los Angeles	112	Seattle	100	1–3	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	4	NBC 3:00 et
5	May 12	Seattle	95	Los Angeles	110	1–4	KeyArena, Seattle, Washington	5	TNT 10:30 et
Los Angeles wins series 4–1

West Conference Finals

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers Last playoff meeting: 1997 Western Conference Semifinals (Utah won 4–1)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (UTA-LAL)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	May 16	Utah	112	Los Angeles	77	1–0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	1	NBC 3:00 et
2	May 18	Utah	99	Los Angeles	95	2–0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	2	TNT 8:30 et
3	May 22	Los Angeles	98	Utah	109	3–0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	3	TNT 10:30 et
4	May 24	Los Angeles	92	Utah	96	4–0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	4	NBC 3:30 et
Utah wins series 4–0

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

Awards

Shaquille O'Neal was named to the All-NBA First Team
Eddie Jones was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team

All-Star

Kobe Bryant was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game.
Eddie Jones was selected to his second NBA All-Star Game.
Nick Van Exel was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game.
Shaquille O'Neal was selected to his sixth NBA All-Star Game.

Weekly and monthly

Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Player of the Week for games played from November 9 through November 15.
Eddie Jones was named NBA Player of the Month for November.
Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Player of the Month for January.
Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Player of the Week for games played from March 15 to March 21.
Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Player of the Month for April.
Del Harris was named NBA Coach of the Month for April.

References

↑ 1997-98 Los Angeles Lakers

External links

1997–98 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Miami New Jersey New York Orlando Philadelphia Washington

Central	Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee Toronto

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah Vancouver

Pacific	Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

Los Angeles Lakers

Founded in 1947 Played in Minneapolis (1947–1960) Based in Los Angeles, California

Franchise	Franchise Team history All-time roster Draft history Seasons Records Head coaches Current season

Arenas	Minneapolis Auditorium Minneapolis Armory Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena The Forum Staples Center

D-League affiliate	Los Angeles D-Fenders

Administration	Jeanie, Jim, and Johnny Buss (majority owners) Anschutz Entertainment Group (minority owner) Edward P. Roski (minority owner) Patrick Soon-Shiong (minority owner) Mitch Kupchak (General Manager) Luke Walton (Head Coach)

Retired numbers	13 22 25 32 33 34 42 44 52 Chick Hearn (Microphone) Minneapolis Lakers Hall of Famers Mikan Mikkelsen Martin Lovellette Pollard Coach Kundla

NBA Championships (16)	1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1972 1980 1982 1985 1987 1988 2000 2001 2002 2009 2010

Conference Championships (31)	1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1959 1962 1963 1965 1966 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1991 2000 2001 2002 2004 2008 2009 2010

Rivalries	Boston Celtics Houston Rockets Detroit Pistons San Antonio Spurs Los Angeles Clippers

Culture and lore	Jack Kent Cooke Jerry Buss Showtime Chick Hearn Shaq–Kobe feud Lawrence Tanter Jack Nicholson "I Love L.A." Laker Girls Laker Band Dancing Barry

Media	TV Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Time Warner Cable Deportes Radio 710 ESPN Radio 1330 ESPN Deportes Announcers Bill Macdonald Stu Lantz John Ireland Mychal Thompson

Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers seasons

1940s

1947–48

1948–49

1950s

1949–50

1950–51

1951–52

1952–53

1953–54

1960s

1970s

1971–72

1980s

1979–80

1981–82

1984–85

1986–87

1987–88

1990s

2000s

1999–00

2000–01

2001–02

2008–09

2010s

2009–10

Bold indicates NBA Finals victory

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