1997–98 Los Angeles Lakers season: Difference between revisions

1997–98 Los Angeles Lakers season
1997–98 Los Angeles Lakers season
Head coach	Del Harris
Owners	Jerry Buss
Arena	Great Western Forum
Results
Record	61–21 (.744)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific); Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference Finals; (Eliminated by Jazz 0–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports West, KCAL 9
Radio	AM 570 KLAC
< 1996–97	1998–99 >

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 21:04, 9 June 2017

The 1997–98 NBA season was the Lakers' 50th season in the National Basketball Association, and 38th in the city of Los Angeles.^[1] During the offseason, the Lakers signed free agents Rick Fox and Jon Barry. Kobe Bryant emerged as a star in his second season averaging 15.4 points per game off the bench, while being selected to play in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game at the age of 19. Joining him on the Western Conference All-Star roster were Shaquille O'Neal, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. The Lakers got off to a fast start to the season winning their first eleven games, before losing O'Neal to a strained stomach muscle that forced him to sit out 20 games. In his absence, the Lakers went 13–7. They won 22 of their final 25 games to tie the Pacific Division title with the Seattle SuperSonics with a 61–21 record. It was the Lakers' best record since the 1989–90 season.

In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 3–1 in the first round for the second consecutive year, then defeated the SuperSonics 4–1 in the semifinals after losing Game 1. However, in the Western Conference Finals, they were swept by the Utah Jazz in four straight games. Following the season, Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets, and Barry signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings.

The team's season roster is featured in the video games NBA 2K16 ^[2] and NBA 2K17.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	52	DeJuan Wheat	PG	United States	Louisville
2	54	Paul Rogers	C	Australia	Gonzaga

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Height	Weight	DOB
SG	20	Barry, Jon	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Georgia Tech
PF	23	Bennett, Mario	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Arizona State
PF	43	Blount, Corie	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Cincinnati
SG	8	Bryant, Kobe	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Lower Merion HS (PA)
C	41	Campbell, Elden	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Clemson
PG	2	Fisher, Derek	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Arkansas-Little Rock
SF	17	Fox, Rick	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	North Carolina
PF	5	Horry, Robert	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Alabama
SG	6	Jones, Eddie	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Temple
C	34	O'Neal, Shaquille	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	325 lb (147 kg)	LSU
C	45	Rooks, Sean	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Arizona
SG	24	Seals, Shea	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Tulsa
PG	9	Van Exel, Nick	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Cincinnati

Head coach

Del Harris (Milligan)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster

Depth Chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Reserve
C	Shaquille O'Neal	Elden Campbell	Sean Rooks
PF	Robert Horry	Corie Blount
SF	Rick Fox	Mario Bennett
SG	Eddie Jones	Kobe Bryant	Jon Barry	Shea Seals
PG	Nick Van Exel	Derek Fisher

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	–	35–6	26–15	19–5
x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	–	33–8	28–13	16–8
x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	5	30–11	26–15	17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	15	26–15	20–21	14–10
Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	34	21–20	6–35	6–18
Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	42	12–29	7–34	6–18
Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	44	11–30	6–35	6–18

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21

9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

Record vs. opponents

1997-98 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
Boston	1–2	—	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
Charlotte	0–4	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Chicago	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	—	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	—	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Miami	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	—	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
Orlando	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	—	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	—	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	—	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Toronto	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	0–3
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	—	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Game log

Playoffs

West first round

(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers Last playoff meeting: 1997 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3–1)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (LAL-POR)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	April 24	Los Angeles	104	Portland	102	1-0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles	1	TNT 10:30 et
2	April 26	Los Angeles	108	Portland	99	2–0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	2	NBC 3:00 et
3	April 28	Portland	99	Los Angeles	94	2–1	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	3	TNT 10:30 et
4	April 30	Portland	99	Los Angeles	110	3–1	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	4	TNT 10:30 et
Los Angeles wins series 3–1

West Conference Semifinals

(2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers Last playoff meeting: 1995 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3–1)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (SEA-LAL)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	May 4	Seattle	106	Los Angeles	92	1-0	KeyArena, Seattle	1	TNT 9:00et
2	May 6	Seattle	68	Los Angeles	92	1–1	KeyArena, Seattle, Washington	2	TNT 10:30 et
3	May 8	Los Angeles	119	Seattle	103	1–2	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles	3	TNT 10:30 et
4	May 10	Los Angeles	112	Seattle	100	1–3	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	4	NBC 3:00 et
5	May 12	Seattle	95	Los Angeles	110	1–4	KeyArena, Seattle, Washington	5	TNT 10:30 et
Los Angeles wins series 4–1

West Conference Finals

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers Last playoff meeting: 1997 Western Conference Semifinals (Utah won 4–3)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (UTA-LAL)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	May 16	Utah	112	Los Angeles	77	1–0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City	1	NBC 3:00 et
2	May 18	Utah	99	Los Angeles	95	2–0	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	2	TNT 8:30 et
3	May 22	Los Angeles	98	Utah	109	3–0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles	3	TNT 10:30 et
4	May 24	Los Angeles	92	Utah	96	4–0	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	4	NBC 3:30 et
Utah wins series 4–0

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

Playoffs

Awards and records

Awards

Shaquille O'Neal was named to the All-NBA First Team
Eddie Jones was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team

All-Star

Kobe Bryant was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game.
Eddie Jones was selected to his second NBA All-Star Game.
Nick Van Exel was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game.
Shaquille O'Neal was selected to his sixth NBA All-Star Game.

Weekly and monthly

Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Player of the Week for games played from November 9 through November 15.
Eddie Jones was named NBA Player of the Month for November.
Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Player of the Month for January.
Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Player of the Week for games played from March 15 to March 21.
Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Player of the Month for April.
Del Harris was named NBA Coach of the Month for April.

Transactions

References

^ 1997–98 Los Angeles Lakers
^ Lelinwalla, Mark (September 11, 2015). "'NBA 2K16': All The Classic Teams Announced". Tech Times. Retrieved April 16, 2016.

External links

[1] 1997–98 Los Angeles Lakers

[2] Lelinwalla, Mark (September 11, 2015). "'NBA 2K16': All The Classic Teams Announced". Tech Times. Retrieved April 16, 2016.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 470: / Line 470: @@
 ==External links==
-* [http://www.databasebasketball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?yr=1997&tm=LAL&lg=N Lakers on Database Basketball]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120203224058/http://www.databasebasketball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=LAL&lg=n&yr=1997 Lakers on Database Basketball]
 * [http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/1998.html Lakers on Basketball Reference]

v t e Los Angeles Lakers
Founded in 1948 Played in Minneapolis (1948–1960) Based in Los Angeles, California
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history Records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Minneapolis Auditorium Minneapolis Armory Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Kia Forum Crypto.com Arena
Personnel	Ownership Jeanie, Jim, and Johnny Buss (majority) Anschutz Entertainment Group, Ed Roski Jr., Patrick Soon-Shiong (minority) President Jeanie Buss General manager Rob Pelinka Head coach JJ Redick
G League affiliate	South Bay Lakers
Retired numbers	8 13 16 22 24 25 32 33 34 42 44 52 99 MIC
NBA championships	1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1972 1980 1982 1985 1987 1988 2000 2001 2002 2009 2010 2020
NBA Cup championships	2023
Rivalries	Boston Celtics Detroit Pistons Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings San Antonio Spurs
Culture and lore	Broadcasters radio network Jack Kent Cooke Jerry Buss Showtime Shaq–Kobe feud Laker Girls Laker Band Chick Hearn Flea Lawrence Tanter Jack Nicholson Dancing Barry Backstage: Lakers Fletch "It Was a Good Day" Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs Bulls vs Lakers and the NBA Playoffs The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash Murals of Kobe Bryant