1991–92 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1991–92 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 44th season for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association, and their 32nd season in Los Angeles, California. This was the start of a new era for the Lakers, as they were coming from an NBA Finals defeat to the Chicago Bulls in five games, but also with the sudden retirement of their long-time superstar, All-Star guard Magic Johnson, after he announced that he was HIV positive.

During the off-season, the Lakers acquired Sedale Threatt from the Seattle SuperSonics. In October, the Lakers played in the international McDonald's Open tournament in Paris, France, where Johnson was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after helping the Lakers win gold.

Starting the regular season without Johnson for the first time since the 1978–79 season, the Lakers won 10 of their first 13 games, including a nine-game winning streak, and held a 28–18 record at the All-Star break. However, the team struggled playing below .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season, losing seven straight games in February and posting a 3–9 record during that month. The Lakers ultimately finished in sixth place in the Pacific Division with a 43–39 record, which earned them the eighth seed in the Western Conference; it was their worst record since the 1975–76 season.

James Worthy averaged 19.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game, but only played 54 games due to a knee injury, while Sam Perkins averaged 16.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, and Threatt provided the team with 15.1 points, 7.2 assists and 2.0 steals. In addition, Byron Scott contributed 14.9 points and 1.3 steals per game, while A.C. Green provided with 13.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, and Vlade Divac averaged 11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, but only played just 36 games due to a back injury. Meanwhile, sixth man Terry Teagle contributed 10.7 points per game off the bench, second-year forward Elden Campbell averaged 7.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, and second-year guard Tony Smith provided with 4.4 points per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida, and despite his HIV infection, Johnson would briefly return to the NBA, as he and Worthy were both selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team, despite controversy; Johnson scored 25 points along with 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals, and made all 3 of his three-point field-goal attempts, and was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, as the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 153–113. It was also the final All-Star appearance for both Johnson and Worthy. Head coach Mike Dunleavy finished tied in seventh place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1992 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Lakers faced off against the top–seeded, and Pacific Division champion Portland Trail Blazers, a team that featured All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, All-Star guard Terry Porter, and Jerome Kersey. However, without Worthy and Perkins due to season-ending injuries, the Lakers lost the first two games to the Trail Blazers on the road at the Memorial Coliseum, but managed to win Game 3 at home in overtime, 121–119 at the Great Western Forum. Game 4 of the series was played at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada, home of the NCAA's UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team, due to the 1992 Los Angeles riots; the Lakers lost to the Trail Blazers, 102–76, thus losing the series in four games. The Trail Blazers would lose in six games to the defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls in the 1992 NBA Finals.

The Lakers finished seventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 699,240 at the Great Western Forum during the regular season. Following the season, Dunleavy left and took a coaching job with the Milwaukee Bucks, and Teagle was released to free agency.