1982–83 Los Angeles Lakers season

In the 1982–83 NBA season, 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 James Worthy injured his leg while attempting a putback in a home loss against Phoenix, ending his rookie season. Even without Worthy for the playoffs, the Lakers did make 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 coachPat Riley
OwnersJerry Buss
ArenaThe Forum
Results
Record58–24 (.707)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to 76ers 0–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKHJ
RadioAM 570 KLAC

NBA Draft

The Lakers were the defending league champions, which normally results in a low draft position, but the Lakers had the top pick in the Draft thanks to a trade made years earlier. On February 15, 1980, the Lakers sent Don Ford and their top pick in the 1980 NBA Draft (who turned out to be Chad Kinch) in exchange for Butch Lee and the Cleveland Cavaliers' 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 engage in a coin flip to determine which team would receive the top pick. Therefore, when Cleveland finished with the worst record in 1981-82, the Lakers took their place in the coin flip, and won out over the San Diego Clippers to earn the top pick.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 1 James Worthy Forward  United States North Carolina

Roster
33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
35 Billy Ray Bates
35 Joe Cooper
21 Michael Cooper
34 Clay Johnson
32 Magic Johnson
13 Dwight Jones
15 Eddie Jordan
54 Mark Landsberger
11 Bob McAdoo
40 Mike McGee
50 Steve Mix
10 Norm Nixon
31 Kurt Rambis
52 Jamaal Wilkes
42 James Worthy

Regular season

Season standings
Pacific Division
TeamWLPCT.GB
Los Angeles Lakers5824.707-
Phoenix Suns5329.6465
Seattle SuperSonics4834.58510
Portland Trail Blazers4636.56112
Golden State Warriors3052.36628
San Diego Clippers2557.30533

Record vs. opponents
1982-83 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —1–55–16–01–11–13–30–22–06–00–20–21–42–43–22–41–11–10–21–11–12–04–2
Boston 5–1—3–25–12–02–03–31–12–04–11–12–03–35–13–33–32–01–12–01–11–12–03–3
Chicago 1–52–3—5–11–11–12–42–01–14–20–20–21–52–41–41–50–21–10–21–10–21–11–5
Cleveland 0–61–51–5—2–00–21–52–02–05–11–10–21–50–61–50–50–21–10–21–11–10–23–2
Dallas 1–10–21–10–2—3–32–03–25–12–03–32–30–20–20–20–22–33–22–45–02–32–40–2
Denver 1–10–21–12–03–3—2–04–15–11–13–31–42–01–10–20–24–12–32–43–23–24–21–1
Detroit 3–33–34–25–10–20–2—2–02–04–20–20–23–33–21–50–61–11–11–11–10–20–23–2
Golden State 2–01–10–20–22–31–40–2—3–21–11–41–51–10–21–10–22–42–41–43–33–33–22–0
Houston 0–20–21–10–21–51–50–22–3—2–01–50–50–21–10–20–20–50–51–52–31–40–61–1
Indiana 0–61–42–41–50–21–12–41–10–2—1–10–21–50–63–31–41–10–20–21–11–12–01–5
Kansas City 2–01–12–01–13–33–32–04–15–11–1—1–41–11–11–10–21–42–33–34–11–44–22–0
Los Angeles 2–00–22–02–03–24–12–05–15–02–04–1—2–01–12–00–23–33–31–45–15–14–11–1
Milwaukee 4–13–35–15–12–00–23–31–12–05–11–10–2—3–24–21–51–12–02–02–00–22–03–2
New Jersey 4–21–54–26–02–01–12–32–01–16–01–11–12–3—4–23–31–11–10–21–12–01–13–2
New York 2–33–34–15–12–02–05–11–12–03–31–10–22–42–4—1–50–21–12–00–21–11–14–2
Philadelphia 4–23–35–15–02–02–06–02–02–04–12–02–05–13–35–1—2–00–21–12–02–02–04–2
Phoenix 1–10–22–02–03–21–41–14–25–01–14–13–31–11–12–00–2—5–13–24–25–15–00–2
Portland 1–11–11–11–12–33–21–14–25–02–03–23–30–21–11–12–01–5—2–35–13–33–21–1
San Antonio 2–00–22–02–04–24–21–14–15–12–03–34–10–22–00–21–12–33–2—4–11–45–12–0
San Diego 1–11–11–11–10–52–31–13–33–21–11–41–50–21–12–00–22–41–51–4—0–62–30–2
Seattle 1–11–12–01–13–22–32–03–34–11–14–11–52–00–21–10–21–53–34–16–0—5–01–1
Utah 0–20–21–12–04–22–42–02–36–00–22–41–40–21–11–10–20–52–31–53–20–5—0–2
Washington 2–43–35–12–32–01–12–30–21–15–10–21–13–33–32–42–42–01–10–22–01–12–0—

Playoffs

West First Round

The Lakers had a first round bye.

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Portland Trail Blazers: Lakers win series 4–1

  • Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles: Los Angeles 118, Portland 97
  • Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles: Los Angeles 112, Portland 106
  • Game 3 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland: Los Angeles 115, Portland 109 (OT)
  • Game 4 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland: Portland 108, Los Angeles 95
  • Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles: Los Angeles 116, Portland 108

West Conference Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) San Antonio Spurs: Lakers win series 4–2

  • Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles: Los Angeles 119, San Antonio 107
  • Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles: San Antonio 122, Los Angeles 113
  • Game 3 @ HemisFair Arena, San Antonio: Los Angeles 113, San Antonio 100
  • Game 4 @ HemisFair Arena, San Antonio: Los Angeles 129, San Antonio 121
  • Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles: San Antonio 117, Los Angeles 112
  • Game 6 @ HemisFair Arena, San Antonio: Los Angeles 101, San Antonio 100

NBA Finals
Main article: 1983 NBA Finals

(E1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (W1) Los Angeles Lakers: 76ers win series 4–0

  • Game 1 @ The Spectrum, Philadelphia: Philadelphia 113, Los Angeles 107
  • Game 2 @ The Spectrum, Philadelphia: Philadelphia 103, Los Angeles 93
  • Game 3 @ The Forum, Los Angeles: Philadelphia 111, Los Angeles 94
  • Game 4 @ The Forum, Los Angeles: Philadelphia 115, Los Angeles 108

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-Jabbar7932.359220061170172221.8
Jamaal Wilkes8031.93431826517157119.6
Magic Johnson7936.868382917647132616.8
Norm Nixon7934.32055661044119115.1
James Worthy7725.63991329164103313.4
Bob McAdoo4721.724739404070315.0
Michael Cooper8226.2274315115506397.8
Kurt Rambis7823.253190105635847.5
Dwight Jones3215.3114221391564.9
Mike McGee399.853261151564.0
Clay Johnson489.369242241443.0
Mark Landsberger399.11281284982.5
Eddie Jordan359.52680311942.7
Steve Mix117.0120099.0
Billy Ray Bates46.8101051.3
Joe Cooper25.5201121.0

Award winners/Honors

References
  1. James Worthy Bio at NBA.com
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