1982–83 Los Angeles Lakers season

NBA draft

The Lakers were the defending league champions, which normally results in a low draft position, but the team had the top pick in the Draft thanks to a trade made years earlier. On February 15, 1980, the Lakers had sent Don Ford and their top pick in the 1980 NBA Draft (who turned out to be Chad Kinch) to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Butch Lee and the Cavs' top pick in the 1982 NBA Draft. Prior to the implementation of the NBA draft lottery in 1985, the teams with the two worst records from the previous season would flip a coin flip for the top pick. Cleveland finished last in 1981–82, and the Lakers won the coin flip with the San Diego Clippers.

Roster

• Pat Riley
• Bill Bertka
• Dave Wohl

Regular season

Season standings

Game log

Regular season

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | October 29 | Golden State | L 117-132 | Magic Johnson (22) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum 15,802 | 0–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | November 3 | @ Denver | W 135-134 (OT) | 3 players tied (22) | Magic Johnson (15) | Magic Johnson (13) | McNichols Sports Arena 14,807 | 1-1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | November 4 | Denver | W 131-108 | Norm Nixon (21) | Kurt Rambis (11) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum 12,815 | 2–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | November 6 | @ Utah | W 104-101 | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (22) | Magic Johnson (11) | Magic Johnson (8) | Salt Palace 11,869 | 3–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | November 7 | Portland | W 103-89 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum 13,526 | 4–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 6 | November 9 | Kansas City | W 139-117 | Norm Nixon (20) | Abdul-Jabbar & Worthy (7) | Norm Nixon (13) | The Forum 12,402 | 5–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 7 | November 12 | Houston | W 127-96 | Magic Johnson (28) | Johnson & Wilkes (10) | Norm Nixon (10) | The Forum 15,804 | 6–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 14 | Cleveland | W 111-98 | Jamaal Wilkes (30) | Magic Johnson (12) | Norm Nixon (12) | The Forum 12,806 | 7–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 9 | November 16 | @ Phoenix | L 105-113 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15) | Magic Johnson (7) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,288 | 7–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 10 | November 17 | @ Dallas | L 117-118 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Norm Nixon (13) | Reunion Arena 17,134 | 7–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 11 | November 19 | Washington | W 122-92 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | 3 players tied (9) | Norm Nixon (10) | The Forum 14,945 | 8–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 12 | November 21 | Denver | W 143-129 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) | Kurt Rambis (16) | Norm Nixon (15) | The Forum 17,505 | 9–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 13 | November 24 | @ Seattle | W 111-93 | James Worthy (26) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | Kingdome 26,230 | 10–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 14 | November 26 | @ San Diego | W 117-115 | Magic Johnson (32) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Norm Nixon (8) | San Diego Sports Arena 12,077 | 11–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 15 | November 28 | Golden State | W 142-127 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum 16,125 | 12–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 16 | November 30 | @ San Antonio | L 114-117 | Norm Nixon (23) | James Worthy (10) | Norm Nixon (11) | HemisFair Arena 12,115 | 12–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 17 | December 1 | @ Houston | W 106-95 | Johnson & McAdoo (19) | Abdul-Jabbar & Wilkes (8) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Summit 8,786 | 13–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 18 | December 3 | Portland | W 115-100 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22) | 3 players tied (9) | Magic Johnson (14) | The Forum 13,787 | 14–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 19 | December 5 | Philadelphia | L 104-114 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Bob McAdoo (9) | Johnson & Nixon (7) | The Forum | 14–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 20 | December 8 | Phoenix | W 89-86 | Jamaal Wilkes (20) | Kurt Rambis (13) | Magic Johnson (8) | The Forum 13,763 | 15–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 21 | December 10 | @ Utah | W 128-122 | Bob McAdoo (26) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (13) | Salt Palace 9,023 | 16–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 22 | December 11 | @ Golden State | W 128-107 | Kurt Rambis (20) | Kurt Rambis (14) | Cooper & Nixon (9) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,335 | 17–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 23 | December 14 | @ Portland | L 103-107 | Magic Johnson (24) | Magic Johnson (8) | Magic Johnson (12) | Memorial Coliseum | 17–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 24 | December 17 | New Jersey | W 117-106 | Jamaal Wilkes (27) | Johnson & Wilkes (8) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum 15,786 | 18–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 25 | December 18 | @ Phoenix | L 100-126 | Jamaal Wilkes (20) | Bob McAdoo (8) | James Worthy (7) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,856 | 18–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 26 | December 19 | Dallas | W 110-108 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (17) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum 14,094 | 19–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 27 | December 22 | Utah | W 124-100 | Bob McAdoo (22) | 3 players tied (7) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum 12,358 | 20–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | December 23 | @ San Diego | W 120-115 | Magic Johnson (23) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (7) | Magic Johnson (9) | San Diego Sports Arena 8,160 | 21–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 29 | December 26 | @ Houston | W 96-94 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (4) | The Summit 10,833 | 22–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 30 | December 29 | @ Golden State | W 120-110 | Magic Johnson (27) | Kurt Rambis (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,335 | 23–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 31 | December 30 | Seattle | W 137-117 | Norm Nixon (24) | Magic Johnson (8) | Magic Johnson (16) | The Forum 17,505 | 24–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 32 | January 2 | Detroit | W 127-112 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) | Magic Johnson (7) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum 15,343 | 25–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 33 | January 5 | @ Philadelphia | L 120-122 (OT) | Jamaal Wilkes (36) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (20) | The Spectrum 18,482 | 25–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 34 | January 6 | @ Cleveland | W 125-107 | Norm Nixon (20) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Magic Johnson (8) | Richfield Coliseum 11,270 | 26–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 35 | January 8 | @ New York | W 108-90 | McAdoo & Wilkes (20) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) | Johnson & Nixon (8) | Madison Square Garden 19,591 | 27–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 36 | January 11 | @ New Jersey | L 96-110 | Wilkes & Worthy (17) | Johnson & McAdoo (8) | Magic Johnson (11) | Brendan Byrne Arena 20,149 | 27–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 37 | January 15 | @ Atlanta | W 120-101 | Jamaal Wilkes (21) | Magic Johnson (17) | Magic Johnson (21) | Omni Coliseum 15,956 | 28–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 38 | January 19 | San Diego | W 107-104 | Jamaal Wilkes (26) | Kurt Rambis (10) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum | 29–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 39 | January 21 | San Antonio | W 119-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | Bob McAdoo (7) | Norm Nixon (15) | The Forum | 30–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 40 | January 23 | Indiana | W 105-102 | Jamaal Wilkes (28) | Bob McAdoo (9) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) | The Forum 14,139 | 31–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 41 | January 25 | @ Portland | W 125-120 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25) | Magic Johnson (9) | Magic Johnson (9) | Memorial Coliseum 12,666 | 32–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 42 | January 26 | Milwaukee | W 115-113 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (20) | The Forum 17,505 | 33–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 43 | January 28 | Atlanta | W 109-85 | Magic Johnson (21) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum 17,505 | 34–9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 44 | January 30 | @ Boston | L 95-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) | Magic Johnson (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | Boston Garden 15,320 | 34–10 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 45 | February 2 | @ Dallas | L 120-122 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (34) | Johnson & Rambis (9) | 3 players tied (6) | Reunion Arena 17,134 | 34–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 46 | February 4 | @ Kansas City | W 143-125 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (15) | Checkerdome | 35–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 47 | February 6 | Kansas City | W 116-106 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (18) | James Worthy (8) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum 17,505 | 36–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 48 | February 8 | @ Seattle | W 121-118 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (11) | Kingdome 19,726 | 37–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 49 | February 9 | Utah | W 113-99 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum 13,656 | 38–11 |- align="center" |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- style="background:#fcc;" | 50 | February 15 | San Antonio | L 103-124 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Abdul-Jabbar & McAdoo (10) | Norm Nixon (12) | The Forum 15,111 | 38–12 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 51 | February 17 | @ Dallas | W 127-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Magic Johnson (11) | Reunion Arena 17,134 | 39–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 52 | February 18 | @ Kansas City | L 118-124 | Jamaal Wilkes (26) | Johnson & Worthy (7) | Magic Johnson (15) | Kemper Arena 15,116 | 39–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 53 | February 20 | @ Indiana | W 126-112 | Magic Johnson (27) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Norm Nixon (13) | Market Square Arena 10,952 | 40–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 54 | February 23 | Boston | L 104-113 | Magic Johnson (20) | Magic Johnson (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum 17,505 | 40–14 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 55 | February 26 | @ Utah | L 92-101 | Jamaal Wilkes (17) | 3 players tied (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | Salt Palace 12,097 | 40–15 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 56 | February 27 | Denver | L 120-135 | Magic Johnson (28) | Kurt Rambis (14) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum 17,505 | 40–16 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 57 | March 1 | @ Chicago | W 114-111 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (8) | Chicago Stadium 15,307 | 41–16 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 58 | March 2 | @ Milwaukee | W 127-117 | Magic Johnson (34) | 3 players tied (7) | Magic Johnson (15) | MECCA Arena 11,052 | 42–16 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 59 | March 4 | @ Washington | L 93-96 | Norm Nixon (26) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | Capital Centre 17,118 | 42–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 60 | March 5 | @ Detroit | W 122-108 | James Worthy (28) | Johnson & Worthy (10) | Magic Johnson (16) | Pontiac Silverdome 25,278 | 43–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 61 | March 8 | @ Golden State | W 116-112 | Magic Johnson (31) | Magic Johnson (12) | Johnson & Nixon (9) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,335 | 44–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 62 | March 9 | San Diego | W 119-114 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (8) | Magic Johnson (20) | The Forum 17,505 | 45–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 63 | March 12 | Chicago | W 123-116 | Norm Nixon (27) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (14) | The Forum 17,505 | 46–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 64 | March 16 | Phoenix | W 104-95 | Magic Johnson (25) | Magic Johnson (11) | Norm Nixon (12) | The Forum 16,060 | 47–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 65 | March 18 | Kansas City | W 109-96 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (35) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Norm Nixon (13) | The Forum 15,817 | 48–17 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 66 | March 19 | @ San Diego | L 99-107 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (8) | Norm Nixon (10) | San Diego Sports Arena 13,075 | 48–18 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 67 | March 20 | Dallas | W 117-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (16) | The Forum 17,505 | 49–18 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 68 | March 22 | Seattle | W 123-108 | Jamaal Wilkes (26) | Magic Johnson (15) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum 17,505 | 50–18 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 69 | March 25 | San Antonio | L 120-132 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum 17,505 | 50–19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 70 | March 27 | Houston | W 114-93 | Magic Johnson (26) | Dwight Jones (9) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum 14,719 | 51–19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 71 | March 29 | San Diego | W 127-109 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) | Magic Johnson (8) | The Forum 16,581 | 52–19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 72 | March 31 | @ Denver | W 122-116 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Magic Johnson (16) | Magic Johnson (12) | McNichols Sports Arena 17,310 | 53–19 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 73 | April 1 | New York | W 102-88 | Norm Nixon (22) | Magic Johnson (9) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum 17,505 | 54–19 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 74 | April 4 | @ Seattle | L 111-121 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (8) | Kingdome 18,045 | 54–20 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 75 | April 5 | @ Portland | L 101-107 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) | Magic Johnson (16) | Magic Johnson (13) | Memorial Coliseum 12,666 | 54–21 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 76 | April 7 | @ Phoenix | W 117-108 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) | 3 players tied (8) | Magic Johnson (13) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,660 | 55–21 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 77 | April 8 | Golden State | W 118-107 | Magic Johnson (36) | Magic Johnson (13) | Magic Johnson (14) | The Forum 15,176 | 56–21 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 78 | April 10 | Phoenix | L 95-101 | Jamaal Wilkes (23) | Magic Johnson (9) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum 16,545 | 56–22 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 79 | April 12 | @ Houston | W 114-113 | Magic Johnson (31) | Kurt Rambis (10) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Summit 8,147 | 57–22 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 80 | April 13 | @ San Antonio | L 109-114 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) | Magic Johnson (12) | HemisFair Arena 15,782 | 57–23 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 81 | April 15 | Seattle | W 100-99 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum 17,505 | 58–23 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 82 | April 17 | Portland | L 108-119 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) | Norm Nixon (12) | The Forum 16,509 | 58–24

Playoffs

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | April 24 | Portland | W 118–97 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) | Johnson & Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (18) | The Forum 13,891 | 1–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | April 26 | Portland | W 112–106 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (37) | Jamaal Wilkes (9) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) | The Forum 16,239 | 2–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | April 29 | @ Portland | W 115–109 (OT) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) | Rambis & Wilkes (9) | Magic Johnson (11) | Memorial Coliseum 12,666 | 3–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | May 1 | @ Portland | L 95–108 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (34) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (9) | Magic Johnson (8) | Memorial Coliseum 12,666 | 3–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | May 3 | Portland | W 116–108 | Norm Nixon (36) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) | Magic Johnson (15) | The Forum 16,739

Player statistics

Note: GP= Games played; MPG= Minutes per Game; REB = Rebounds; AST = Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; PPG = Points per Game

Season

Playoffs

Award winners/Honors

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Second Team All-NBA, All-Star
• Michael Cooper, Second Team All-Defense
• Magic Johnson, First Team All-NBA, All-Star
• Jamaal Wilkes, All-Star
• James Worthy, First Team All-Rookie

Notes

References

• Lakers on Basketball Reference

References

1. [http://www.nba.com/history/players/worthy_bio.html James Worthy Bio at NBA.com]
2. (December 15, 1982). "NBA Upholds Spurs' Protest". New York Times.