1989–90 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1989–90 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 42nd season for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association, and their 30th in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers drafted Yugoslavian center Vlade Divac with the 26th overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft.

Despite the retirement of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and an NBA Finals defeat in which they were swept in four games by the Detroit Pistons, the Lakers got off to a fast start by winning ten of their first eleven games of the regular season, and holding a 35–11 record at the All-Star break. The team finished in first place in the Pacific Division with a league-best 63–19 record, and earned the first seed in the Western Conference.

Magic Johnson averaged 22.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 11.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game, led the Lakers with 106 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, while James Worthy averaged 21.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and Byron Scott contributed 15.5 points per game. In addition, A.C. Green provided the team with 12.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while sixth man Orlando Woolridge contributed 12.7 points per game, and Mychal Thompson provided with 10.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Divac averaged 8.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while defensive guard Michael Cooper contributed 6.4 points per game, and Larry Drew provided with 5.2 points and 2.7 assists per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Johnson, Worthy and Green were all selected for the 1990 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; it was Green's first and only All-Star appearance. Johnson scored 22 points along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, despite the Western Conference losing to the Eastern Conference, 130–113. Johnson was also named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year for the third time in four years, in a controversial voting over Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers; Johnson received fewer first-place votes (27 of the 92 cast) than Barkley (38), but totaled 636 points in the ballot compared to Barkley's 614. Meanwhile, Riley was named the NBA Coach of the Year for the first time, and Woolridge finished tied in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Lakers faced off against the 8th–seeded Houston Rockets, a team that featured All-Star center Akeem Olajuwon, Otis Thorpe and Sleepy Floyd. The Lakers won the first two games over the Rockets at home at the Great Western Forum, before losing Game 3 on the road, 114–108 at The Summit. The Lakers won Game 4 over the Rockets on the road, 109–88 to win the series in four games.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, and for the second consecutive year, the team faced off against the 5th–seeded Phoenix Suns, who were led by the quartet of All-Star forward Tom Chambers, All-Star guard Kevin Johnson, Jeff Hornacek, and sixth man Eddie Johnson. The Lakers lost Game 1 to the Suns at the Great Western Forum, 104–102, but managed to win Game 2 at home, 124–100 to even the series. However, the Lakers lost the next two games to the Suns on the road at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and then lost Game 5 at the Great Western Forum, 106–103, thus losing the series in five games; it was the first time in nine years that the Lakers did not reach the Western Conference Finals, ending a run that started in 1982, the longest series of consecutive NBA Conference Finals appearances since Bill Russell's Boston Celtics in 1969.

The Lakers finished sixth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 712,498 at the Great Western Forum during the regular season. Following the season, Riley resigned as head coach after nine seasons with the Lakers; he would later on return to coach the New York Knicks for the 1991–92 season. Also following the season, Woolridge was traded to the Denver Nuggets, and Cooper was released to free agency, and left to play overseas in Italy.