1988–89 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1988–89 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 43rd season for the Los Angeles Lakers as a franchise, their 41st season in the National Basketball Association, and 29th in Los Angeles, California. This would also be the final season for All-Star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. During the off-season, the Lakers signed free agent Orlando Woolridge. The Lakers entered the regular season as the 2-time defending NBA champions, having defeated the Detroit Pistons in a full seven-game series in the 1988 NBA Finals.

With the addition of Woolridge, the Lakers got off to a fast start by winning 15 of their first 18 games of the regular season, which included a seven-game winning streak between November and December, and later on holding a 32–15 record at the All-Star break. The team posted a six-game winning streak in March, and won their final five games of the season. The Lakers finished in first place in the Pacific Division with a 57–25 record, and earned the first seed in the Western Conference.

Magic Johnson averaged 22.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 12.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year, and was also named to the All-NBA First Team, while James Worthy averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, and Byron Scott provided the team with 19.6 points and 1.5 steals per game. In addition, A.C. Green provided with 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Abdul-Jabbar contributed 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Woolridge provided with 9.7 points per game, while Mychal Thompson averaged 9.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, and defensive guard Michael Cooper contributed 7.3 points and 3.9 assists per game, and led the Lakers with 80 three-point field goals.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas, Johnson, Worthy and Abdul-Jabbar were all selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team, while head coach Pat Riley was selected to coach the Western Conference. However, Johnson did not participate due to a hamstring injury, as Abdul-Jabbar was selected as his replacement; it would also be the final All-Star appearance for Abdul-Jabbar. Riley also finished tied in seventh place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1989 NBA playoffs, the Lakers faced off against the 8th–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, a team that featured All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, All-Star center Kevin Duckworth, and Terry Porter. The Lakers won the first two games over the Trail Blazers at home at the Great Western Forum, before winning Game 3 on the road, 116–108 at the Memorial Coliseum to win the series in a three-game sweep.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 4th–seeded Seattle SuperSonics, a team that featured All-Star guard Dale Ellis, All-Star forward Xavier McDaniel, and second-year forward Derrick McKey. After winning their first two games over the SuperSonics at the Great Western Forum, the Lakers won the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 win over the SuperSonics at the Seattle Center Coliseum, 97–95 to win the series in a four-game sweep.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers then faced off against the 3rd–seeded Phoenix Suns, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Tom Chambers, Sixth Man of the Year, Eddie Johnson, and second-year star, and Most Improved Player of the Year, Kevin Johnson. The Lakers won the first two games over the Suns at the Great Western Forum, and then won the next two games on the road, including a Game 4 win over the Suns at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 122–117 to complete another four-game series sweep, and advance to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year.

In the 1989 NBA Finals, The Lakers once again faced off against the top–seeded Detroit Pistons, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Bill Laimbeer, and who they defeated in last year's NBA Finals in a hard-fought seven game series. However, after injuries to their starting backcourt of Magic Johnson and Scott, the Lakers lost the first two games to the Pistons on the road at The Palace of Auburn Hills, and then lost their next two home games, including a Game 4 loss to the Pistons at the Great Western Forum, 105–97, despite a 40-point performance from Worthy. The Lakers lost the series in a four-game sweep, as the Pistons won their first ever NBA championship in franchise history. After the Finals concluded, Abdul-Jabbar announced his retirement at the age of 42, and after twenty seasons in the NBA.

The Lakers finished sixth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 717,349 at the Great Western Forum during the regular season. Following the season, Tony Campbell signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves expansion team. 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.