1981–82 Los Angeles Lakers season

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

1981–82 Los Angeles Lakers season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach
Owner(s)Jerry Buss
ArenaThe Forum
Results
Record5725 (.695)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated 76ers 4–2)

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKHJ
RadioAM 570 KLAC

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
8179Jay Triano CanadaSimon Fraser University

[1]

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
PF 8 Brewer, Jim 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Minnesota
G/F 21 Cooper, Michael 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1956–04–15 New Mexico
G 34 Johnson, Clay 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Missouri
G 32 Johnson, Magic 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959–08–14 Michigan State
G 5 Jordan, Eddie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Rutgers
F 54 Landsberger, Mark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1955–05–21 Arizona State
C 11 McAdoo, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) North Carolina
SF 40 McGee, Mike 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1959–07–29 Michigan
SG 30 McKenna, Kevin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Creighton
G 10 Nixon, Norm 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955–10–11 Duquesne
PF 31 Rambis, Kurt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1958–02–25 Santa Clara
G/F 52 Wilkes, Jamaal 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1953–05–02 UCLA
Head coach

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

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 "coach" and general manager Jerry West as "offensive 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 Lakers5725.69530–1127–1421–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics5230.6345.031–1021–2018–12
x-Phoenix Suns4636.56111.031–1015–2614–16
Golden State Warriors4537.54912.028–1317–2415–15
Portland Trail Blazers4240.51215.027–1415–2615–15
San Diego Clippers1765.20740.011–306–357–23
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers5725.695
2 y-San Antonio Spurs4834.5859
3 x-Seattle SuperSonics5230.6345
4 x-Denver Nuggets4636.56111
5 x-Phoenix Suns4636.56111
6 x-Houston Rockets4636.56111
7 Golden State Warriors4537.54912
8 Portland Trail Blazers4240.51215
9 Kansas City Kings3052.36627
10 Dallas Mavericks2854.34129
11 Utah Jazz2557.30532
12 San Diego Clippers1765.20740


c - clinched homecourt advantage
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1981-82 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 1–52–34–21–11–12–40–22–04–21–10–23–33–25–13–31–12–01–11–11–12–02–4
Boston 5–14–25–02–01–16–01–11–14–12–01–13–35–15–14–21–11–12–02–00–22–06–0
Chicago 3–22–45–11–11–10–60–21–13–31–12–01–52–43–21–50–21–11–12–01–11–12–4
Cleveland 2–40–51–52–00–21–51–11–11–51–10–20–60–60–60–50–21–10–21–10–22–01–5
Dallas 1–10–21–10–21–51–10–52–41–14–21–41–12–01–10–22–32–31–52–31–43–31–1
Denver 1–11–11–12–05–11–13–25–10–24–21–41–11–11–11–12–32–32–45–02–33–32–0
Detroit 4–20–66–05–11–11–12–02–02–42–00–22–42–43–32–30–20–20–22–01–11–11–4
Golden State 2–01–12–01–15–02–30–21–42–03–23–32–01–11–10–24–22–43–25–11–53–21–1
Houston 0–21–11–11–14–21–50–24–12–03–31–41–11–11–11–13–24–13–34–12–36–02–0
Indiana 2–41–53–35–11–12–04–20–20–21–10–20–64–23–20–61–11–12–02–01–11–11–5
Kansas City 1–10–21–11–12–42–40–22–33–31–11–41–11–12–00–22–30–51–54–12–33–30–2
Los Angeles 2–01–10–22–04–14–12–03–34–12–04–10–21–10–21–14–25–12–35–14–25–02–0
Milwaukee 3–33–35–16–01–11–14–20–21–16–01–12–04–13–34–21–12–01–12–00–22–03–2
New Jersey 2–31–54–26–00–21–14–21–11–12–41–11–11–44–23–32–01–11–12–00–22–04–2
New York 1–51–52–36–01–11–13–31–11–12–30–22–03–32–41–50–21–10–22–00–22–01–5
Philadelphia 3–32–45–15–02–01–13–22–01–16–02–01–12–43–35–11–12–00–22–02–02–06–0
Phoenix 1–11–12–02–03–23–22–02–42–31–13–22–41–10–22–01–13–34–14–23–33–21–1
Portland 0–21–11–11–13–23–22–04–21–41–15–01–50–21–11–10–23–33–24–23–34–10–2
San Antonio 1–10–21–12–05–14–22–02–33–30–25–13–21–11–12–02–01–42–33–24–13–31–1
San Diego 1–10–20–21–13–20–50–21–51–40–21–41–50–20–20–20–22–42–42–31–51–40–2
Seattle 1–12–01–12–04–13–21–15–13–21–13–22–42–02–02–00–23–33–31–45–15–01–1
Utah 0–20–21–10–23–33–31–12–30–61–13–30–50–20–20–20–22–31–43–34–10–51–1
Washington 4–20–64–25–11–10–24–11–10–25–12–00–22–32–45–10–61–12–01–12–01–11–1

Game log

Regular season

1981–82 game log
Total: 57-25 (Home: 30-11; Road: 27-14)
October: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
November: 12–4 (Home: 5–2; Road: 7–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
December: 12–2 (Home: 8–0; Road: 4–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
January: 7–5 (Home: 3–2; Road: 4–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
February: 10–5 (Home: 5–3; Road: 5–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
57 February 26 Philadelphia W 116–114 (2OT) The Forum 40–17
March: 8–6 (Home: 4–2; Road: 4–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
61 March 7 @ Philadelphia L 113–119 Spectrum 41–20
April: 8–2 (Home: 5–1; Road: 3–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
1981–82 schedule

Playoffs

1982 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1 April 27 Phoenix W 115–96 Jamaal Wilkes (28) Bob McAdoo (12) Magic Johnson (10) The Forum
13,623
1–0
2 April 28 Phoenix W 117–98 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24) Magic Johnson (12) Magic Johnson (12) The Forum
15,558
2–0
3 April 30 @ Phoenix W 114–106 Jamaal Wilkes (26) Magic Johnson (14) Magic Johnson (9) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
14,660
3–0
4 May 2 @ Phoenix W 112–107 Jamaal Wilkes (24) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) Magic Johnson (12) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
11,932
4–0
Conference Finals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1 May 9 San Antonio W 128–117 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) Magic Johnson (16) Magic Johnson (14) The Forum
15,700
1–0
2 May 11 San Antonio W 110–101 Nixon, Wilkes (22) Kurt Rambis (15) Nixon, Johnson (9) The Forum
17,505
2–0
3 May 14 @ San Antonio W 118–108 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar (10) Nixon, Johnson (10) HemisFair Arena
15,800
3–0
4 May 15 @ San Antonio W 128–123 Norm Nixon (30) Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar (9) Norm Nixon (10) HemisFair Arena
15,800
4–0
NBA Finals: 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1 May 27 @ Philadelphia W 124–117 Nixon, Wilkes (24) Magic Johnson (14) Norm Nixon (10) Spectrum
18,364
1–0
2 May 30 @ Philadelphia L 94–110 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) Magic Johnson (11) Norm Nixon (10) Spectrum
18,364
1–1
3 June 1 Philadelphia W 129–108 Norm Nixon (29) Magic Johnson (9) Magic Johnson (8) The Forum
17,505
2–1
4 June 3 Philadelphia W 111–101 Johnson, Wilkes (24) Abdul-Jabbar, Rambis (11) Norm Nixon (14) The Forum
17,505
3–1
5 June 6 @ Philadelphia L 102–135 Bob McAdoo (23) Magic Johnson (10) Norm Nixon (13) Spectrum
18,364
3–2
6 June 8 Philadelphia W 114–104 Jamaal Wilkes (27) Magic Johnson (13) Magic Johnson (13) The Forum
17,505
4–2
1982 schedule

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

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Johnson; Novak (1999). 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.
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