1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers season

1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers season
Eleventh NBA Championship
Head coach	Pat Riley
Arena	The Forum
Results
Record	62–20 (.756)
Place	Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Prime Ticket, KHJ
Radio	AM 570 KLAC
< 1986–87	1988–89 >

The 1987-88 NBA season saw the Lakers win their eleventh NBA championship, defeating the Detroit Pistons in a seven-game final to become the NBA's first repeat champions since the Boston Celtics did it in the 1968–69 NBA season.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
3	69	Willie Glass	Forward	United States	St. John's
4	92	Ralph Tally	Point Guard	United States	Norfolk State
6	115	Kenny Travis		United States	New Mexico State
6	138	Frank Ford	Guard-Forward	United States	Auburn University
7	161	Ron Vanderschaaf		Netherlands	Central Washington University

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From 6.0 !C 33 USA ! Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem (C) 86 !7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA 2.5 !G/F 19 USA ! Campbell, Tony 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Ohio State 2.5 !G/F 21 USA ! Cooper, Michael 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) New Mexico 5.5 !F/C 45 USA ! Green, A.C. 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oregon State 1.5 !G 32 USA ! Johnson, Magic 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Michigan State 2.5 !G/F 3 USA ! Lamp, Jeff 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Virginia 1.5 !G 1 USA ! Matthews, Wes 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) University of Wisconsin 4.0 !F 31 USA ! Rambis, Kurt 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Santa Clara University 1.5 !G 4 USA ! Scott, Byron 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Arizona State 6.0 !C 52 CAN ! Smrek, Mike 84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Canisius College 4.0 !F 55 USA ! Thompson, Billy 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Louisville 5.5 !F/C 43 BAH ! Thompson, Mychal 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 226 lb (103 kg) University of Minnesota 4.0 !F 34 USA ! Tolbert, Ray 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Indiana 1.5 !G 20 USA ! Wagner, Milt 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Louisville 4.0 !F 42 USA ! Worthy, James 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) North Carolina	Head coach Pat Riley (Kentucky) Assistant coach(es) Bill Bertka Randy Pfund (Wheaton College) Athletic trainer(s) Gary Vitti (Southern Connecticut State) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Mychal Thompson	Mike Smrek
PF	A. C. Green	Kurt Rambis
SF	James Worthy	Tony Campbell		Billy Thompson
SG	Byron Scott	Michael Cooper	Milt Wagner	Jeff Lamp
PG	Magic Johnson	Wes Matthews

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Los Angeles Lakers C	62	20	.756	-
Portland Trail Blazers	53	29	.646	9
Seattle SuperSonics	44	38	.537	18
Phoenix Suns	28	54	.341	34
Golden State Warriors	20	62	.244	42
Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45

'C - NBA Champions'

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) San Antonio Spurs: Lakers win series 3-0

• Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (April 29): Los Angeles 122, San Antonio 110
• Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 1): Los Angeles 130, San Antonio 112
• Game 3 @ HemisFair Arena, San Antonio (May 3): Los Angeles 109, San Antonio 107

Last Playoff Meeting: 1986 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-0)

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Utah Jazz: Lakers win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 8): Los Angeles 110, Utah 91
• Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 10): Utah 101, Los Angeles 97
• Game 3 @ Salt Palace, Salt Lake City (May 13): Utah 96, Los Angeles 89
• Game 4 @ Salt Palace, Salt Lake City (May 15): Los Angeles 113, Utah 100
• Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 17): Los Angeles 111, Utah 109
• Game 6 @ Salt Palace, Salt Lake City (May 19): Utah 108, Los Angeles 80
• Game 7 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 21): Los Angeles 109, Utah 98

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

West Conference Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Dallas Mavericks: Lakers win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 23): Los Angeles 113, Dallas 98
• Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 25): Los Angeles 123, Dallas 101
• Game 3 @ Reunion Arena, Dallas (May 27): Dallas 106, Los Angeles 94
• Game 4 @ Reunion Arena, Dallas (May 29): Dallas 118, Los Angeles 104
• Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 31): Los Angeles 119, Dallas 102
• Game 6 @ Reunion Arena, Dallas (June 2): Dallas 105, Los Angeles 103
• Game 7 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 4): Los Angeles 117, Dallas 102

Last Playoff Meeting: 1986 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4-2)

NBA Finals

Main article: 1988 NBA Finals

(W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E2) Detroit Pistons: Lakers win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 7): Detroit 105, Los Angeles 93
• Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 9): Los Angeles 108, Detroit 96
• Game 3 @ Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac (June 12): Los Angeles 99, Detroit 86
• Game 4 @ Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac (June 14): Detroit 111, Los Angeles 86
• Game 5 @ Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac (June 16): Detroit 104, Los Angeles 94
• Game 6 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 19): Los Angeles 103, Detroit 102
• Game 7 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 21): Los Angeles 108, Detroit 105

Last Playoff Meeting: 1962 Western Division Finals (Los Angeles won 4-3)

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem !Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	80	80	28.9	.532	.000	.762	6.0	1.7	0.6	1.2	14.6
Campbell, Tony !Tony Campbell	13	1	18.6	.564	.333	.718	2.1	1.1	0.8	0.2	11.0
Cooper, Michael !Michael Cooper	61	8	19.4	.392	.320	.858	3.7	4.7	1.1	0.4	8.7
Green, A.C. !A.C. Green	82	64	32.1	.503	.000	.773	8.7	1.1	1.1	0.5	11.4
Johnson, Magic !Magic Johnson	72	70	36.6	.492	.196	.853	6.2	11.9	1.6	0.2	19.6
Lamp, Jeff !Jeff Lamp	3	0	2.3	.000	.000	1.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7
Matthews, Wes !Wes Matthews	51	8	13.8	.460	.233	.831	1.3	2.7	0.5	0.1	5.7
Rambis, Kurt !Kurt Rambis	70	20	12.1	.548	.000	.785	3.8	0.8	0.6	0.2	4.0
Scott, Byron !Byron Scott	81	81	37.6	.527	.346	.858	4.1	4.1	1.9	0.3	21.7
Smrek, Mike !Mike Smrek	48	2	8.8	.427	.000	.667	1.8	0.2	0.1	0.9	2.8
Thompson, Billy !Billy Thompson	9	0	4.2	.231	.000	.800	1.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	1.6
Thompson, Mychal !Mychal Thompson	80	0	25.1	.512	.000	.634	6.1	0.8	0.5	1.0	11.6
Tolbert, Ray !Ray Tolbert	14	0	5.9	.571	.000	.769	0.7	1.5	0.2	0.2	3.0
Worthy, James !James Worthy	75	72	35.4	.531	.125	.796	5.0	3.9	1.0	0.7	19.7

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem !Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	24	24	29.9	.464	.000	.789	5.5	1.5	0.6	1.5	14.1
Campbell, Tony !Tony Campbell	15	0	6.3	.429	.000	.688	0.7	0.3	0.2	0.0	3.1
Cooper, Michael !Michael Cooper	24		24.5	.412	.403	.741	2.4	2.7	0.8	0.3	6.4
Green, A.C. !A.C. Green	24		30.3	.544	.000	.753	7.3	0.8	0.1	0.5	10.1
Johnson, Magic !Magic Johnson	24	24	40.2	.514	.500	.852	5.4	12.6	1.4	0.1	19.9
Matthews, Wes !Wes Matthews	10	0	2.7	.400	.000	.800	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.0	1.2
Rambis, Kurt !Kurt Rambis	19		9.8	.618	.000	.692	2.7	0.4	0.2	0.1	2.7
Scott, Byron !Byron Scott	24	24	37.4	.499	.436	.865	4.2	2.5	1.4	0.2	19.6
Smrek, Mike !Mike Smrek	8	0	4.3	.200	.000	.333	0.8	0.0	0.1	0.3	0.4
Thompson, Mychal !Mychal Thompson	24		25.6	.513	.000	.581	7.1	0.5	0.7	0.8	9.7
Worthy, James !James Worthy	24	24	37.3	.523	.111	.758	5.8	4.4	1.3	0.8	21.1

Awards and records

Awards

• James Worthy, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• Magic Johnson, All-NBA First Team
• Michael Cooper, NBA All-Defensive First Team

All-Star

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named to his 18th consecutive NBA All-Star Game. He broke the All-Star scoring record during the game at Chicago Stadium
• Magic Johnson was voted to his 6th consecutive NBA All-Star Game as a starter and 8th overall
• James Worthy was voted to his 3rd consecutive NBA All-Star Game

Transactions

Free Agents

Additions

Player Signed Former team

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team

See also

• 1987-88 NBA season