1988–89 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1988–89 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 43rd season of the franchise, 41st in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 29th in Los Angeles. The Lakers entered the season as the two-time defending NBA champions. The Lakers finished with a 57–25 regular season recorded, earning them the top playoff seed in the Western Conference. After marching undefeated through the first three rounds, the Lakers were seen as the favorites in the 1989 NBA Finals, in a rematch against the Detroit Pistons, who they defeated in last season's NBA Finals in a hard fought seven games.[1] However, after injuries to their starting backcourt of Magic Johnson and Byron Scott,[2] the Lakers were swept by the Pistons in four games. After the finals concluded, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar announced his retirement after twenty seasons.

1988–89 Los Angeles Lakers season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachPat Riley
OwnersJerry Buss
ArenaGreat Western Forum
Results
Record57–25 (.695)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Pistons 0–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKHJ-TV
Prime Ticket
(Chick Hearn, Stu Lantz)
RadioKLAC
(Chick Hearn, Stu Lantz)

The 1988–89 season marked an end to a run of eight consecutive Western Conference Finals appearances for the Lakers, the most since the 1968–69 Boston Celtics, as in the following season, the Lakers would lose in the Conference Semifinals to the Phoenix Suns in five games.

Draft picks
Main article: 1988 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
125David RiversPG United StatesNotre Dame

Roster
Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
C 33 Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem (C) 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA
G/F 19 Campbell, Tony 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Ohio State
G/F 21 Cooper, Michael 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) New Mexico
F/C 45 Green, A. C. 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oregon State
G 32 Johnson, Magic (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Michigan State
G/F 3 Lamp, Jeff 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Virginia
C 31 McNamara, Mark 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) California
G 14 Rivers, David 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Notre Dame
G 4 Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Arizona State
F/C 43 Thompson, Mychal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 226 lb (103 kg) University of Minnesota
PF 0 Woolridge, Orlando 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Notre Dame
F 42 Worthy, James 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) North Carolina
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 5725.695–35–622–1925–9
x-Phoenix Suns 5527.671235–620–2123–11
x-Seattle SuperSonics 4735.5731031–1016–2520–14
x-Golden State Warriors 4339.5241429–1214–2715–19
x-Portland Trail Blazers 3943.4761828–1311–3017–17
Sacramento Kings 2755.3293021–206–3512–22
Los Angeles Clippers 2161.2563617–244–377–27
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers5725.695–
2 y-Utah Jazz5131.6226
3 x-Phoenix Suns5527.6712
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics4735.57310
5 x-Houston Rockets4537.54912
6 x-Denver Nuggets4438.53713
7 x-Golden State Warriors4339.52414
8 x-Portland Trail Blazers3943.47618
9 Dallas Mavericks3844.46319
10 Sacramento Kings2755.32930
11 San Antonio Spurs2161.25636
12 Los Angeles Clippers2161.25636
13 Miami Heat1567.18342

Record vs. opponents
1988-89 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —3–14–14–24–21–10–21–51–11–15–12–01–11–16–04–12–22–21–11–12–01–11–11–13–1
Boston 1–3—6–01–31–41–11–11–31–11–12–32–01–12–02–25–13–33–30–21–12–02–00–21–12–4
Charlotte 1–40–6—1–40–40–20–20–40–20–22–22–00–21–10–42–42–43–30–20–21–12–01–11–11–5
Chicago 2–43–14–1—0–62–01–10–61–11–14–21–12–02–06–02–23–21–31–12–02–02–02–00–23–1
Cleveland 2–44–14–06–0—2–02–03–31–11–15–11–10–22–03–34–02–23–22–02–02–02–01–11–12–2
Dallas 1–11–12–00–20–2—3–30–21–31–51–13–10–46–00–21–10–21–11–32–22–25–12–24–21–1
Denver 2–01–12–01–10–23–3—1–13–14–21–12–21–35–10–21–11–11–11–32–23–13–32–23–31–1
Detroit 5–13–14–06–03–32–01–1—1–11–14–22–02–02–02–44–00–45–02–01–12–02–02–02–05–0
Golden State 1–11–12–01–11–13–11–31–1—1–31–15–12–34–00–22–02–01–12–42–42–33–12–42–21–1
Houston 1–11–12–01–11–15–12–41–13–1—2–02–21–34–21–12–00–20–21–33–12–26–02–22–40–2
Indiana 1–53–22–22–41–51–11–12–41–10–2—1–10–21–12–41–30–50–41–12–01–12–01–11–11–3
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–21–11–11–32–20–21–52–21–1—1–51–30–21–10–20–21–51–52–33–11–41–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–12–00–22–04–03–10–23–23–12–05–1—4–01–11–11–12–03–35–05–13–14–21–31–1
Miami 1–10–21–10–20–20–61–50–20–42–41–13–10–4—0–21–11–10–20–40–41–32–40–41–50–2
Milwaukee 0–62–24–00–63–32–02–04–22–01–14–22–01–12–0—4–11–33–11–12–02–01–11–11–14–1
New Jersey 1–41–54–22–20–41–11–10–40–20–23–11–11–11–11–4—2–41–51–10–21–11–12–00–21–5
New York 2–23–34–22–32–22–01–14–00–22–05–02–01–11–13–14–2—2–41–12–01–11–11–11–15–1
Philadelphia 2–23–33–33–12–31–11–10–51–12–04–02–00–22–01–35–14–2—0–21–12–01–11–11–14–2
Phoenix 1–12–02–01–10–23–13–10–24–23–11–15–13–34–01–11–11–12–0—2–35–13–14–12–22–0
Portland 1–11–12–00–20–22–22–21–14–21–30–25–10–54–00–22–00–21–13–2—3–34–02–40–41–1
Sacramento 0–20–21–10–20–22–21–30–23–22–21–13–21–53–10–21–11–10–21–53–3—2–21–51–30–2
San Antonio 1–10–20–20–20–21–53–30–21–30–60–21–31–34–21–11–11–11–11–30–42–2—0–41–51–1
Seattle 1–12–01–10–21–12–22–20–24–22–21–14–12–44–01–10–21–11–11–44–25–14–0—3–11–1
Utah 1–11–11–12–01–12–43–30–22–24–21–13–13–15–11–12–01–11–12–24–03–15–11–3—2–0
Washington 1–34–25–11–32–21–11–10–51–12–03–12–01–12–01–45–11–52–40–21–12–01–11–10–2—

Playoffs
1989 playoff game log
First Round: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 27 Portland W 128–108 Magic Johnson (30) Scott, Abdul-Jabbar (8) Magic Johnson (16) Great Western Forum
17,505		 1–0
2 April 30 Portland W 113–105 Magic Johnson (35) A. C. Green (13) Magic Johnson (12) Great Western Forum
17,505		 2–0
3 May 3 @ Portland W 116–108 Byron Scott (25) A. C. Green (13) Magic Johnson (7) Memorial Coliseum
12,880		 3–0
Conference Semifinals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 7 Seattle W 113–102 James Worthy (28) James Worthy (12) Magic Johnson (14) Great Western Forum
17,505		 1–0
2 May 10 Seattle W 130–108 James Worthy (30) A. C. Green (8) Magic Johnson (12) Great Western Forum
17,505		 2–0
3 May 12 @ Seattle W 91–86 James Worthy (20) Magic Johnson (9) Magic Johnson (14) Kingdome
14,541		 3–0
4 May 14 @ Seattle W 97–95 James Worthy (33) A. C. Green (10) Magic Johnson (9) Kingdome
14,006		 4–0
Conference Finals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 20 Phoenix W 127–119 James Worthy (32) A. C. Green (10) Magic Johnson (12) Great Western Forum
17,505		 1–0
2 May 23 Phoenix W 101–95 Byron Scott (30) Magic Johnson (9) Magic Johnson (14) Great Western Forum
17,505		 2–0
3 May 26 @ Phoenix W 110–107 James Worthy (29) James Worthy (12) Magic Johnson (11) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
14,471		 3–0
4 May 28 @ Phoenix W 122–117 Byron Scott (35) A. C. Green (11) Magic Johnson (20) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
14,471		 4–0
NBA Finals: 0–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 June 6 @ Detroit L 97–109 Johnson, Worthy (17) A. C. Green (8) Magic Johnson (14) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 0–1
2 June 8 @ Detroit L 105–108 Cooper, Worthy (19) A. C. Green (9) Magic Johnson (9) The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,454		 0–2
3 June 11 Detroit L 110–114 James Worthy (26) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) Michael Cooper (13) Great Western Forum
17,505		 0–3
4 June 13 Detroit L 97–105 James Worthy (40) A. C. Green (12) Michael Cooper (9) Great Western Forum
17,505		 0–4
1989 schedule
  • On June 28, 1989, after twenty professional seasons, Abdul-Jabbar announced his retirement. On his "retirement tour" he received standing ovations at all the games, home and away.

Awards and honors
  • A. C. Green, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
  • Magic Johnson, NBA Most Valuable Player[3]
  • Magic Johnson, NBA All-First Team

References
  1. "Can Lakers sweep Pistons in Finals?". Vidette-Messenger of Porter County. Valparaiso, Indiana. June 6, 1989. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "If Magic rests, Rivers must get into flow". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. June 11, 1989. p. 54 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. http://www.nba.com/history/awards_mvp.html
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