2020–21 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 2020–21 Los Angeles Lakers season is the franchise's 73rd season, its 72nd season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 61st season in Los Angeles, and their 21st season playing home games at Staples Center. The Lakers are coached by Frank Vogel[1][2] in his second year as head coach. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center as members of the Western Conference's Pacific Division.

2020–21 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coachFrank Vogel
General managerRob Pelinka
PresidentJeanie Buss
OwnersBuss Family Trusts (primary owner being Jeanie Buss as of March 27, 2017)
ArenaStaples Center
Results
Record18–6 (.750)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Pacific)
Conference: 3rd (Western)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionSpectrum SportsNet
RadioESPN LA 710 (English)
1020 Radio AM (Spanish)

The Lakers enter the season as the defending Pacific Division, Western Conference, and NBA champions, and will attempt to win back-to-back division titles for the first time since the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Lakers will also attempt to win back-to-back conference titles for the first time since the 2009 and 2010 seasons as well as their first back-to-back NBA titles since 2009 and 2010.

On November 10, 2020, the NBA announced that the 2020–21 season would begin on December 22, 2020 following the delayed finish to the 2019–20 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Each team will play a shortened 72-game schedule.[3] A week later the NBA announced the format for the season which will include a play-in tournament that will determine the seventh and eighth seeds in each conference.[4] The second half of the schedule would not be announced until a later date to allow for the makeup of any games postponed due to COVID-19 issues.

Previous season

The Lakers finished the 2019–20 season 52–19 to finish in first place in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference. In the playoffs, they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and Denver Nuggets to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. There they defeated the Miami Heat to earn the franchise's 17th NBA championship.

Offseason

Draft
Main article: 2020 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School / club team
1 28 Jaden McDaniels SF United States Washington (Fr.)
  • Before the start of the 2020 NBA draft period, the Lakers' first-round selection was held stuck as the 29th pick of the draft with their record being the second-best of all NBA teams behind the Milwaukee Bucks the prior season at 49–14 before the NBA suspended their season on March 12, 2020.[6] However, the Lakers did resume their season in the 2020 NBA Bubble, eventually winning their 17th championship there against the Miami Heat, leaving them a chance to move their first-round pick up or down for the 2020 draft. In the bubble, the Toronto Raptors ended up finishing with a better overall record than the Lakers, moving their first-round pick to the 28th selection instead, though still finishing as the best Western Conference team that season. The Lakers only held one first-round selection for this draft, as they traded their second-round pick to the Orlando Magic for the draft rights to Talen Horton-Tucker in last season's draft.[7]

Preseason

Game log
2020 preseason game log
Total: (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
Preseason: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
2020–21 season schedule

Regular season

Division
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div GP
Los Angeles Lakers 18 6 .750 0.0 6–4 12–2 0–2 24
Los Angeles Clippers 17 7 .708 1.0 8–3 9–4 5–1 24
Phoenix Suns 12 9 .571 4.5 5–4 7–5 2–2 21
Golden State Warriors 12 11 .522 5.5 8–5 4–6 3–2 23
Sacramento Kings 11 11 .500 6.0 7–6 4–5 1–4 22

Conference
Western Conference
# Team W L PCT GB GP
1 Utah Jazz * 18 5 .783 – 23
2 Los Angeles Lakers * 18 6 .750 0.5 24
3 Los Angeles Clippers 17 7 .708 1.5 24
4 Phoenix Suns 12 9 .571 5.0 21
5 San Antonio Spurs * 13 10 .565 5.0 23
6 Denver Nuggets 12 10 .545 5.5 22
7 Portland Trail Blazers 12 10 .545 5.5 22
8 Golden State Warriors 12 11 .522 6.0 23
9 Houston Rockets 11 11 .500 6.5 22
10 Memphis Grizzlies 9 9 .500 6.5 18
11 Sacramento Kings 11 11 .500 6.5 22
12 New Orleans Pelicans 10 12 .455 7.5 22
13 Oklahoma City Thunder 10 12 .455 7.5 22
14 Dallas Mavericks 10 14 .417 8.5 24
15 Minnesota Timberwolves 6 17 .261 12.0 23

Game log
2020–21 game log
Total: 18–6 (Home: 6–4; Road: 12–2)
December: 3–2 (Home: 2–2; Road: 1–0)
January: 11–4 (Home: 2–2; Road: 9–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
6 January 1 @ San Antonio W 109–103 Anthony Davis (34) Davis, James, Harrell (11) LeBron James (10) AT&T Center
0		 4–2
7 January 3 @ Memphis W 108–94 LeBron James (22) LeBron James (13) LeBron James (8) FedEx Forum
 5–2
8 January 5 @ Memphis W 94–92 Davis, James (26) LeBron James (11) LeBron James (7) FedEx Forum
 6–2
9 January 7 San Antonio L 109–118 LeBron James (27) Davis, Kuzma (10) LeBron James (12) Staples Center
0		 6–3
10 January 8 Chicago W 117–115 LeBron James (28) Montrezl Harrell (14) LeBron James (7) Staples Center
0		 7–3
11 January 10 @ Houston W 120–102 Anthony Davis (27) Montrezl Harrell (8) James, Schröder (7) Toyota Center
 8–3
12 January 12 @ Houston W 117–100 LeBron James (26) Kyle Kuzma (11) Gasol, James (5) Toyota Center
 9–3
13 January 13 @ Oklahoma City W 128–99 LeBron James (26) Davis, Morris (7) LeBron James (7) Chesapeake Energy Arena
0		 10–3
14 January 15 New Orleans W 112–95 Lebron James (21) Kyle Kuzma (13) Lebron James (11) Staples Center
0		 11–3
15 January 18 Golden State L 113–115 Dennis Schröder (25) Anthony Davis (17) Anthony Davis (7) Staples Center
0		 11–4
16 January 21 @ Milwaukee W 113–106 LeBron James (34) Anthony Davis (9) LeBron James (8) Fiserv Forum
0		 12–4
17 January 23 @ Chicago W 101–90 Anthony Davis (37) LeBron James (11) LeBron James (6) United Center
0		 13–4
18 January 25 @ Cleveland W 115–108 LeBron James (46) Anthony Davis (10) LeBron James (6) Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
2,000		 14–4
19 January 27 @ Philadelphia L 106–107 LeBron James (36) Anthony Davis (8) Lebron James (5) Wells Fargo Center
0		 14–5
20 January 28 @ Detroit L 92–107 James, Kuzma (22) Kyle Kuzma (10) LeBron James (10) Little Caesars Arena
0		 14–6
21 January 30 @ Boston W 96–95 Anthony Davis (27) Anthony Davis (14) James, Schröder (7) TD Garden
 15-6
February: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
March: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
2020–21 season schedule


Roster
Roster listing
Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F 37 Antetokounmpo, Kostas (TW) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-11-20 Dayton
F 12 Cacok, Devontae (TW) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1996-10-08 UNC Wilmington
G 1 Caldwell-Pope, Kentavious 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 1993-02-18 Georgia
G 4 Caruso, Alex 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 1994-02-28 Texas A&M
G 2 Cook, Quinn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1993-03-23 Duke
F/C 3 Davis, Anthony 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 253 lb (115 kg) 1993-03-11 Kentucky
F 10 Dudley, Jared 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 237 lb (108 kg) 1985-07-10 Boston College
C 14 Gasol, Marc 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1985-01-29 Spain
F/C 15 Harrell, Montrezl 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1994-01-26 Louisville
G 5 Horton-Tucker, Talen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 2000-11-25 Iowa State
F 23 James, LeBron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1984-12-30 St. Vincent-St. Mary HS (OH)
F 0 Kuzma, Kyle 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 221 lb (100 kg) 1995-07-24 Utah
G 9 Matthews, Wesley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1986-10-14 Marquette
G 28 McKinnie, Alfonzo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1992-09-17 Green Bay
F 88 Morris, Markieff 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1989-09-02 Kansas
G 17 Schröder, Dennis 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1993-09-15 Germany
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • (L) On leave from the team
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: December 4, 2020

Transactions
Main article: List of 2020–21 NBA season transactions

Overview
Players Added

Via draft Via trade Via free agency

 Players Lost

Via free agency Via retirement Waived

Trades
November 18, 2020[8] To Los Angeles Lakers
Dennis Schröder		 To Oklahoma City Thunder
Danny Green
Draft rights to Jaden McDaniels (#28)
November 23, 2020[9] To Los Angeles Lakers
Alfonzo McKinnie
Jordan Bell		 To Cleveland Cavaliers
Javale McGee
2026 LAL second-round pick

Re-signed
Date Player Contract terms Ref.
November 22 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 3 year $40 million deal [10]
November 23 Markieff Morris 1 year $1.4 million deal [11]
November 26 Kostas Antetokounmpo Two-way contract [12]
December 1 Jared Dudley 1 year $2.6 million deal [13]
December 2 LeBron James 2 year $85 million deal [14]
December 3 Anthony Davis 5 year $190 million deal [15]
December 4 Quinn Cook 1 year $1.7 million deal [16]
December 20 Kyle Kuzma 3 year $40 million deal [17]

Additions
Date Player Contract terms Former team Ref.
November 22 Montrezl Harrell 2 year $19 million deal Los Angeles Clippers [18]
November 22 Wesley Matthews 1 year $3.6 million deal Milwaukee Bucks [19]
November 24 Marc Gasol 2 year $5.3 million deal Toronto Raptors [20]

Subtractions
Date Player Reason New team Ref.
November 21 Dwight Howard 1 year $2.6 million deal Philadelphia 76ers [21]
November 23 Avery Bradley 2 year $11.6 million deal Miami Heat [22]
November 23 Rajon Rondo 2 year $15 million deal Atlanta Hawks [23]

References
  1. "Lakers Announce Hiring of Frank Vogel as Head Coach". NBA.com. May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  2. Baer, Jack (May 11, 2019). "Lakers land on former Pacers coach Frank Vogel as next head coach". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  3. "NBA announces Dec. 22 return, 72-game season | CBC Sports". CBC. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  4. "NBA announces 2020-21 format, season to be played in two halves". Arizona Sports. November 18, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  5. "Lakers Acquire Dennis Schröder". Lakers.com. November 18, 2020.
  6. https://www.otgbasketball.com/post/nba-mock-draft-2020-march-sadness-edition
  7. "Lakers Acquire Talen Horton-Tucker". National Basketball Association. June 20, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  8. "Lakers Acquire Dennis Schröder". NBA.com. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  9. "Cavaliers Acquire JaVale McGee from Los Angeles Lakers". NBA.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  10. "Lakers re-sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  11. "Lakers re-sign Markieff Morris". NBA.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  12. "Lakers re-sign Kostas Antetokounmpo". NBA.com. November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  13. "Lakers re-sign Jared Dudley". NBA.com. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  14. "LeBron James extends, reportedly for two years, with Lakers". NBA.com. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  15. "Lakers re-sign Anthony Davis". NBA.com. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  16. "Lakers re-sign Quinn Cook". NBA.com. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  17. "Lakers' Kyle Kuzma signs 3-year, $40 million extension". NBA.com. December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  18. "Lakers Sign Montrezl Harrell". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  19. "Lakers Sign Wesley Matthews". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  20. "Veteran center Marc Gasol signs with Lakers | NBA.com". www.nba.com. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  21. "76ers sign Dwight Howard". NBA.com. November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  22. "Avery Bradley signs with the Heat". NBA.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  23. "Atlanta Hawks sign free agent Rajon Rondo". NBA.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
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