2021–22 Los Angeles Lakers season
American professional basketball season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2021–22 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 75th season of the franchise, its 74th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 62nd season in Los Angeles, and its 23rd season playing home games at Crypto.com Arena. The team was coached by Frank Vogel. The Lakers competed as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific Division, finishing the season with a 33–49 record.
Jeanie Buss (controlling owner)
Mark Walter, Todd Boehly, Edward P. Roski, and Patrick Soon-Shiong (minority)
| 2021–22 Los Angeles Lakers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Frank Vogel |
| President | Jeanie Buss |
| General manager | Rob Pelinka |
| Owners | Jerry Buss family trust (majority)[1] Jeanie Buss (controlling owner) Mark Walter, Todd Boehly, Edward P. Roski, and Patrick Soon-Shiong (minority) |
| Arena | Crypto.com Arena[A] |
| Results | |
| Record | 33–49 (.402) |
| Place | Division: 4th (Pacific) Conference: 11th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Spectrum SportsNet |
| Radio | ESPN LA 710 (English) 1020 Radio AM (Spanish) |
The Lakers, who had acquired veteran All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony during the offseason, were widely considered by experts as favorites to win the Western Conference. Despite LeBron James' strong individual performance, the Lakers fared poorly and were eliminated from both playoff and play-in contention on April 5, 2022. The team's failure to secure playoff berth was widely regarded as one of the biggest disappointments in franchise history. Following the conclusion of the season, head coach Frank Vogel was fired.
Previous season
The Lakers concluded the 2020–21 season with a 42–30 record, finishing with the third seed in the Pacific Division and the seventh seed in the Western Conference, which was not enough for a direct playoff spot. In the NBA play-in tournament, they defeated the Golden State Warriors to earn them the seventh seed in the 2021 NBA playoffs.[4] The Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round in six games despite being up 2–1,[5] making it the first time that LeBron James lost in the first round of the playoffs.[6] Anthony Davis suffered a strained left groin in Game 4, and he was also sidelined in Game 5, when the Suns took a 3–2 lead. He returned in Game 6, but played only five minutes after reaggravating the injury.[7][8] The Lakers were eliminated 4–2.[9]
Offseason
In June 2021, longtime minority owner and team landlord Philip Anschutz sold his 27% stake in the team to Los Angeles Dodgers co-owners Mark Walter and Todd Boehly for an estimated $1.35 billion.[10] The NBA approved the sale that July.[11] Shortly before the sale, the team extended its Crypto.com Arena lease with Anschutz Entertainment Group until 2041, and upgrades to the arena worth "nine figures" were promised.[10]
In August 2021, the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook in a trade that also sent two future 2nd round draft picks (2024 and 2028) to the Lakers and Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the 22nd pick of the 2021 NBA draft to the Washington Wizards.[12] This trade formed a new superteam of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Westbrook in the Western Conference.[13][14] In 2022, Claire de Lune of The Guardian described the Westbrook trade as a "'disaster'".[15] In 2023, Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report named the Lakers' acquisition of Westbrook as the worst trade in the NBA over the past five years.[16]
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School / club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Isaiah Jackson | C/PF |  United States |
Kentucky (Fr.) |
Preseason
Game log
| 2021 preseason game log Total: 0–6 (Home: 0–3; Road: 0–3)[17] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 0–6 (home: 0–3; road: 0–3)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
The regular season was the 75th season of the franchise, its 74th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 62nd season in Los Angeles, and its 23rd season playing home games at Crypto.com Arena.[A] The team was coached by Frank Vogel in his third and final year as Lakers head coach. They competed as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific Division, finishing the season 11th with a 33–49 record, one game behind the last spot for the NBA play-in tournament.[18] It was the team's worst record since 2016–17, slightly better than the Lakers' worst five seasons.[19]
After the acquisitions of Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony in the offseason,[20][21][22] the Lakers were widely considered by experts to be the favorites to win the Western Conference.[23][24] The team remained stable with a .500 percentage for the last direct playoff access spot until January 7,[25] and remained within play-in contention until March 30.[26][27] Despite LeBron James' best points per game average since 2005–06,[28] and a number of scoring and age-related records,[29][30][31] the Lakers disappointed,[32] with a combination of injuries and underperformances.[33][34] Following the season, Sam Quinn of CBS News stated that an aged and mismanaged roster was also responsible for the disappointing outcome.[35]
On April 5, the Lakers were eliminated from both playoff and play-in contention for the first time since 2018–19 and the seventh time in nine years after a 121–110 loss to the Phoenix Suns.[36] It was the fourth time in James' career that he missed the NBA playoffs and the second time in his four years with the Lakers.[37] It was also the third time and first since 2015 that Westbrook missed the playoffs when he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, having previously only missed the playoffs in his debut in 2009. The Lakers' failure to make the play-in/playoffs was widely regarded to be one of the biggest disappointments in franchise history, if not one of the greatest underachievements in NBA history.[38][39] James, Davis, Westbrook, and Anthony were selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team,[40][41] the Lakers being the team with the most active players.[42]
James was the only Laker to make the All-Star cut, with Anthony Davis having a second consecutive injury-laden season.[43][44] Due to injuries, the Lakers used 41 different starting lineups, and the trio of James, Davis, and Westbrook played only 21 games together, compiling an 11–10 record; the Lakers were just 20–33 when only two of the three were playing together.[45] Due to an ankle injury in March, James fell out of a close three-player race for the NBA scoring title,[46][47][48] finishing with only 56 games played, two less than necessary to qualify.[49]
Following the season, head coach Frank Vogel was fired on April 11, 2022.[50][51][52] Vogel had led the team to an NBA championship in 2020 and to a first-round loss in the 2021 NBA playoffs.[53] His overall record with the team was 127–98.[54]
Standings
Division
| Pacific Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| z – Phoenix Suns | 64 | 18 | .780 | – | 32–9 | 32–9 | 10–6 | 82 |
| x – Golden State Warriors | 53 | 29 | .646 | 11.0 | 31–10 | 22–19 | 12–4 | 82 |
| pi – Los Angeles Clippers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 22.0 | 25–16 | 17–24 | 9–7 | 82 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 33 | 49 | .402 | 31.0 | 21–20 | 12–29 | 3–13 | 82 |
| Sacramento Kings | 30 | 52 | .366 | 34.0 | 16–25 | 14–27 | 6–10 | 82 |
Conference
| Western Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | z – Phoenix Suns * | 64 | 18 | .780 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y – Memphis Grizzlies * | 56 | 26 | .683 | 8.0 | 82 |
| 3 | x – Golden State Warriors | 53 | 29 | .646 | 11.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x – Dallas Mavericks | 52 | 30 | .634 | 12.0 | 82 |
| 5 | y – Utah Jazz * | 49 | 33 | .598 | 15.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x – Denver Nuggets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 7 | x – Minnesota Timberwolves | 46 | 36 | .561 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 8 | pi – Los Angeles Clippers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 22.0 | 82 |
| 9 | x – New Orleans Pelicans | 36 | 46 | .439 | 28.0 | 82 |
| 10 | pi − San Antonio Spurs | 34 | 48 | .415 | 30.0 | 82 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Lakers | 33 | 49 | .402 | 31.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Sacramento Kings | 30 | 52 | .366 | 34.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Portland Trail Blazers | 27 | 55 | .329 | 37.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 24 | 58 | .293 | 40.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Houston Rockets | 20 | 62 | .244 | 44.0 | 82 |
Game log
| 2021–22 game log Total: 33–49 (Home: 21–20; Road: 12–29) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 4–3 (home: 3–2; road: 1–1)
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November: 8–8 (home: 5–4; road: 3–4)
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December: 6–8 (home: 3–4; road: 3–4)
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January: 6–8 (home: 4–2; road: 2–6)
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February: 3–6 (home: 3–3; road: 0–3)
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March: 4–12 (home: 2–3; road: 2–9)
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April: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player stats
| 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 |
Regular season statistics
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LeBron James | 56 | 56 | 37.2 | .524 | .359 | .756 | 8.2 | 6.2 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 30.3 |
| Anthony Davis | 40 | 40 | 35.1 | .532 | .186 | .713 | 9.9 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 23.2 |
| Russell Westbrook | 78 | 78 | 34.3 | .444 | .298 | .667 | 7.4 | 7.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 18.5 |
| Malik Monk | 76 | 37 | 28.1 | .473 | .391 | .795 | 3.4 | 2.9 | .8 | .4 | 13.8 |
| Carmelo Anthony | 69 | 3 | 26.0 | .441 | .375 | .830 | 4.2 | 1.0 | .7 | 0.8 | 13.3 |
| Talen Horton-Tucker | 60 | 19 | 25.2 | .416 | .269 | .800 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 10.0 |
| Isaiah Thomas | 21 | 1 | 25.3 | .308 | .227 | .727 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 9.3 |
| Austin Reaves | 61 | 19 | 23.2 | .459 | .317 | .839 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 7.3 |
| Sekou Doumbouya | 2 | 0 | 8.0 | .625 | .500 | .750 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 7.0 |
| Mason Jones | 4 | 0 | 12.8 | .467 | .250 | .800 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 6.8 |
| Wenyen Gabriel* | 19 | 5 | 16.4 | .505 | .261 | .650 | 4.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 6.7 |
| Wayne Ellington | 43 | 9 | 18.8 | .413 | .389 | .818 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 6.7 |
| Stanley Johnson | 48 | 27 | 22.8 | .466 | .314 | .716 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 6.7 |
| Avery Bradley | 62 | 45 | 22.7 | .423 | .390 | .889 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 6.4 |
| Dwight Howard | 60 | 27 | 16.2 | .612 | .533 | .658 | 5.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 6.2 |
| Mac McClung* | 1 | 0 | 22.0 | .400 | .333 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 |
| D. J. Augustin* | 21 | 0 | 17.8 | .452 | .426 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 5.3 |
| DeAndre Jordan* | 32 | 19 | 12.8 | .674 | .000 | .462 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 4.1 |
| Trevor Ariza | 24 | 11 | 19.3 | .333 | .270 | .556 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 4.0 |
| Kent Bazemore | 39 | 14 | 14.0 | .324 | .363 | .765 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| Rajon Rondo* | 18 | 0 | 16.1 | .324 | .267 | .500 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 3.1 |
| Jemerrio Jones | 2 | 0 | 7.5 | .667 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.0 |
| Darren Collison | 3 | 0 | 12.3 | .286 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| Chaundee Brown Jr.* | 2 | 0 | 10.5 | .143 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| Jay Huff | 4 | 0 | 5.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
*Total with the Lakers only
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Transactions
Overview
| Players added Via trade Via free agency |
Players lost Via free agency Via trade Waived |
Trades
| August 6, 2021[55] | ||
| Five-team trade | ||
| To Brooklyn Nets 2024 second-round pick (from Washington) 2025 second-round pick swap right (from Washington) Draft rights to Nikola Milutinov (2015 No. 26) (from San Antonio) |
To Indiana Pacers Draft rights to Isaiah Jackson (No. 22) (from Los Angeles) | |
| To Los Angeles Lakers Russell Westbrook 2023 CHI second-round pick (from Washington) 2024 second-round pick (from Washington) 2028 WAS second-round pick (from Washington) |
To San Antonio Spurs Chandler Hutchison 2022 second-round pick (from Washington) | |
| To Washington Wizards Kyle Kuzma Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Montrezl Harrell Aaron Holiday Spencer Dinwiddie Draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31) Cash considerations | ||
| September 10, 2021[56][57] | To Los Angeles Lakers Draft rights to Wang Zhelin (2016, No. 57) |
To Memphis Grizzlies Marc Gasol 2024 second-round pick Cash considerations |
| January 3, 2022[58] | Three-team trade | |
| To Cleveland Cavaliers Rajon Rondo (from Los Angeles) |
To Los Angeles Lakers Draft rights to Louis Labeyrie (2014 No. 57) (from New York) | |
| To New York Knicks Denzel Valentine (from Cleveland) Draft rights to Brad Newley (2007 No. 54) (from Los Angeles) Draft rights to Wang Zhelin (2016 No. 57) (from Los Angeles) | ||
Free agency
Re-signed
| Date | Player | Contract terms | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 6 | Talen Horton-Tucker | 3 year, $32 million deal | [59] |
Additions
| Date | Player | Contract terms | Former team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 3 | Joël Ayayi | Two-way contract | Gonzaga | [60] |
| Austin Reaves | Two-way contract | Oklahoma | [60] | |
| August 6 | Carmelo Anthony | 1 year, $2.6 million deal | Portland Trail Blazers | [61] |
| Trevor Ariza | 1 year, $2.6 million deal | Miami Heat | [62] | |
| Kent Bazemore | 1 year, $2.4 million deal | Golden State Warriors | [63] | |
| Wayne Ellington | 1 year, $2.6 million deal | Detroit Pistons | [64] | |
| Dwight Howard | 1 year, $2.6 million deal | Philadelphia 76ers | [65] | |
| Malik Monk | 1 year, $1.7 million deal | Charlotte Hornets | [66] | |
| Kendrick Nunn | 2 year, $10 million deal | Miami Heat | [67] | |
| August 10 | Chaundee Brown | Exhibit 10 contract | Michigan | [68] |
| Mac McClung | Exhibit 10 contract | Texas Tech | [68] | |
| August 31 | Rajon Rondo | 1 year, $2.6 million contract | Memphis Grizzlies | [69] |
| September 9 | DeAndre Jordan | 1 year, $2.6 million contract | Detroit Pistons | [70] |
| October 18 | Jay Huff | Two-way contract | Virginia | [71] |
| Avery Bradley | 1 year, $2.6 million contract | Golden State Warriors | [72] |
Subtractions
| Date | Player | Reason | New team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 4 | Andre Drummond | 1 year, $2.4 million deal | Philadelphia 76ers | [73] |
| August 4 | Alfonzo McKinnie | Waived | Chicago Bulls | [74] |
| August 5 | Ben McLemore | 1 year, $2.4 million deal | Portland Trail Blazers | [75] |
| August 6 | Markieff Morris | 1 year, $2.6 million deal | Miami Heat | [76] |
| August 10 | Alex Caruso | 4 year, $37 million deal | Chicago Bulls | [77] |
| August 13 | Dennis Schröder | 1 year, $5.9 million deal | Boston Celtics | [78] |
| September 20 | Devontae Cacok | Training Camp contract | Brooklyn Nets | [79] |
