1982–83 Los Angeles Lakers season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 1982–83 NBA season was the Lakers' 35th season in the NBA and the 23rd season in Los Angeles. The Lakers were attempting to become the first team since the Boston Celtics in 1969 to repeat as NBA Champions. However, on April 10, 1983, rookie and number one pick in the 1982 draft James Worthy injured his leg while attempting a putback in a home loss against Phoenix, ending his season. Even without Worthy for the playoffs, the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals, only to be swept in four games by the Julius Erving and Moses Malone led Philadelphia 76ers.
| 1982–83 Los Angeles Lakers season | |
|---|---|
Conference champions | |
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Pat Riley |
| General manager | Jerry West |
| Owner | Jerry Buss |
| Arena | The Forum |
| Results | |
| Record | 58–24 (.707) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | NBA Finals (lost to 76ers 0–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KHJ |
| Radio | AM 570 KLAC |
This was Pat Riley's first full season as Lakers head coach. Former Lakers star guard and coach Jerry West started his long and successful tenure as general manager. West's predecessor as coach and GM, Bill Sharman, was named team president.
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.[1] 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.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | James Worthy | Forward |  United States |
North Carolina |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | W | L | PCT. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers | 58 | 24 | .707 | - |
| Phoenix Suns | 53 | 29 | .646 | 5 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 48 | 34 | .585 | 10 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 46 | 36 | .561 | 12 |
| Golden State Warriors | 30 | 52 | .366 | 28 |
| San Diego Clippers | 25 | 57 | .305 | 33 |
Game log
Regular season
Playoffs
| 1983 playoff game log Total: 8–7 (home: 4–4; road: 4–3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conference Semi-finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
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Conference finals: 4–2 (home: 1–2; road: 3–0)
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NBA Finals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2)
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| 1983 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
| Player | GP | MPG | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 79 | 32.3 | 592 | 200 | 61 | 170 | 1722 | 21.8 |
| Jamaal Wilkes | 80 | 31.9 | 343 | 182 | 65 | 17 | 1571 | 19.6 |
| Magic Johnson | 79 | 36.8 | 683 | 829 | 176 | 47 | 1326 | 16.8 |
| Norm Nixon | 79 | 34.3 | 205 | 566 | 104 | 4 | 1191 | 15.1 |
| Bob McAdoo | 47 | 21.7 | 247 | 39 | 40 | 40 | 703 | 15.0 |
| James Worthy | 77 | 25.6 | 399 | 132 | 91 | 64 | 1033 | 13.4 |
| Michael Cooper | 82 | 26.2 | 274 | 315 | 115 | 50 | 639 | 7.8 |
| Kurt Rambis | 78 | 23.2 | 531 | 90 | 105 | 63 | 584 | 7.5 |
| Dwight Jones | 32 | 15.3 | 114 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 156 | 4.9 |
| Mike McGee | 39 | 9.8 | 53 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 156 | 4.0 |
| Clay Johnson | 48 | 9.3 | 69 | 24 | 22 | 4 | 144 | 3.0 |
| Mark Landsberger | 39 | 9.1 | 128 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 98 | 2.5 |
| Eddie Jordan | 35 | 9.5 | 26 | 80 | 31 | 1 | 94 | 2.7 |
| Steve Mix | 1 | 17.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9.0 |
| Billy Ray Bates | 4 | 6.8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1.3 |
| Joe Cooper | 2 | 5.5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.0 |
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
- The Spurs protested the original ending of the game, a double-overtime Lakers win, which was upheld by NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien. The conclusion of the game was replayed on April 13, 1983.[2]