1984–85 Los Angeles Lakers season

1984–85 Los Angeles Lakers season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach	Pat Riley
Owners	Jerry Buss
Arena	The Forum
Results
Record	62–20 (.756)
Place	Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions (Defeated Celtics 4–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KHJ-TV (Chick Hearn, Keith Erickson)
Radio	KLAC (Chick Hearn, Keith Erickson)

The 1984–85 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 39th season of the franchise, 37th in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 25th in Los Angeles. The Lakers entered the season as runner-ups of the 1984 NBA Finals, where they lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Boston Celtics in seven games, increasing their losing streak to the Celtics in the NBA Finals to 8 consecutive losses.

In the playoffs, the Lakers swept in the Phoenix Suns in three games in the First Round, then defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in five games in the Semifinals, before defeating the Denver Nuggets in five games in the Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals for the fifth time in the 1980s, facing off against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals. This time, however, the Lakers were able to return to their championship ways and win their ninth NBA championship, avenging their NBA Finals loss and getting revenge on the Celtics, defeating them in six games, and marking the first time the Lakers had defeated the Celtics in the NBA Finals. The Lakers also became the only team to have defeated the Celtics in the NBA Finals while on the road.

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	23	Earl Jones	Center	United States	District of Columbia

Transactions

The Lakers have been involved in the following transactions during the 1984–1985 season.

Free Agent Additions

Player	Former team
Chuck Nevitt	Houston Rockets
Ronnie Lester	Chicago Bulls

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 33 Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1947–04–16 UCLA SG 21 Cooper, Michael 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1956–04–15 New Mexico PG 32 Johnson, Magic 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959–08–14 Michigan State C 1 Jones, Earl 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1961–01–13 Columbia PF 25 Kupchak, Mitch 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1954–05–24 North Carolina PG 12 Lester, Ronnie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1959–01–01 Iowa C 11 McAdoo, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951–09–25 North Carolina SF 40 McGee, Mike 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1959–07–29 Michigan C 43 Nevitt, Chuck 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 1959–06–13 NC State PF 31 Rambis, Kurt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1958–02–25 Santa Clara SG 4 Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1961–03–28 Arizona State PF 35 Spriggs, Larry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1959–09–08 Howard SF 52 Wilkes, Jamaal 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1953–05–02 UCLA SF 42 Worthy, James 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1961–02–27 North Carolina

Head coach Pat Riley Assistant coach(es) Bill Bertka Dave Wohl Gary Vitti Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–	36–5	26–15	18–12
x-Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	20	33–8	15–26	17–13
x-Phoenix Suns	36	46	.439	26	32–9	10–31	14–16
Seattle SuperSonics	31	51	.378	31	31–10	10–31	16–14
Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	31	27–14	10–31	13–17
Golden State Warriors	22	60	.268	40	25–16	5–36	12–18

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	52	30	.634	10
3	x-Houston Rockets	48	34	.585	14
4	x-Dallas Mavericks	44	38	.537	18
5	x-Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	20
6	x-Utah Jazz	41	41	.500	21
7	x-San Antonio Spurs	41	41	.500	21
8	x-Phoenix Suns	36	46	.439	26
9	Seattle SuperSonics	31	51	.378	31
10	Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	31
11	Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	31
12	Golden State Warriors	22	60	.268	40

Record vs. opponents

1984-85 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–4	3–3	3–3	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–0	0–2	6–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–4	3–3	3–3	0–5	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	3–3
Boston	4–1	—	4–2	6–0	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–4	5–1	6–0	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	5–1
Chicago	3–3	2–4	—	2–4	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–3	2–4	4–2	0–5	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–2
Cleveland	3–3	0–6	4–2	—	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	4–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–5	2–3	3–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–3
Dallas	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	—	2–4	0–2	4–1	2–4	2–0	5–1	3–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	4–1	4–2	5–0	1–5	1–1
Denver	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–2	—	0–2	5–0	2–4	2–0	4–2	2–3	2–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	4–1	3–3	3–2	4–2	2–0
Detroit	5–1	2–4	3–3	4–1	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	1–5	3–2	1–5	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3
Golden State	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	0–5	0–2	—	2–3	0–2	2–3	2–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–4	1–4	3–3	1–4	1–1
Houston	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–2	4–2	1–1	3–2	—	1–1	5–1	2–3	1–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	4–2	3–2	3–3	0–2
Indiana	0–6	1–5	4–2	2–4	0–2	0–2	0–6	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–5	2–3	2–4	1–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–4
Kansas City	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	1–1	3–2	1–5	1–1	—	3–2	0–5	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	2–4	3–2	2–4	1–1
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	1–1	4–2	3–2	2–0	2–3	—	0–6	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	4–2	1–5	2–3	2–4	3–2	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–1	3–2	1–1	5–1	4–1	1–1	5–0	6–0	—	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	5–1	5–1	3–2	3–3	4–1	1–1
Milwaukee	4–2	4–1	3–3	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	—	3–3	5–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
New Jersey	3–3	1–5	4–2	3–2	1–1	0–2	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	3–3	—	6–0	2–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	4–2
New York	3–3	0–6	2–4	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	4–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	0–6	—	2–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–6
Philadelphia	5–0	3–3	5–0	2–4	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	4–2	4–2	—	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	4–2
Phoenix	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	4–2	1–4	2–0	3–2	2–4	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	—	3–3	1–4	5–1	3–2	1–1
Portland	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–4	1–1	4–2	2–3	2–0	2–3	5–1	1–5	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	—	3–2	4–2	3–2	1–1
San Antonio	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–3	1–1	4–1	2–4	1–1	4–2	3–2	2–3	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–3	—	4–1	1–5	0–2
Seattle	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–5	2–3	1–1	3–3	2–3	2–0	2–3	4–2	3–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	1–4	—	3–2	2–0
Utah	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	5–1	2–4	2–0	4–1	3–3	0–2	4–2	2–3	1–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–3	2–3	5–1	2–3	—	1–1
Washington	3–3	1–5	2–3	3–3	1–1	0–2	3–3	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–4	6–0	2–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	—

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

Regular season

Los Angeles Lakers statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	79	79	33.3	.599	.000	.732	7.9	3.2	0.8	2.1	22.0
Magic Johnson	77	77	36.1	.561	.189	.843	6.2	12.6	1.5	0.3	18.3
James Worthy	80	76	33.7	.572	.000	.776	6.4	2.5	1.1	0.8	17.6
Byron Scott	81	65	28.5	.539	.433	.820	2.6	3.0	1.2	0.2	16.0
Bob McAdoo	66	0	19.0	.520	.000	.753	4.5	1.0	0.3	0.8	10.5
Mike McGee	76	3	15.4	.538	.361	.588	2.2	0.9	0.5	0.1	10.2
Michael Cooper	82	20	26.7	.465	.285	.865	3.1	5.2	1.1	0.6	8.6
Jamaal Wilkes	42	8	18.1	.488	.000	.773	2.2	1.0	0.5	0.1	8.3
Larry Spriggs	75	32	17.2	.548	.000	.767	3.0	1.8	0.6	0.2	6.7
Mitch Kupchak	58	3	12.3	.504		.659	3.2	0.4	0.3	0.3	5.3
Kurt Rambis	82	46	19.7	.554		.660	6.4	0.8	1.0	0.6	5.2
Ronnie Lester	32	1	8.7	.415	.000	.677	0.8	2.5	0.5	0.1	2.8
Chuck Nevitt	11	0	5.4	.294		.250	1.8	0.3	0.0	1.4	1.1
Earl Jones	2	0	3.5	.000			0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Phoenix Suns: Lakers win series 3–0

• Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (April 18): Los Angeles 135, Phoenix 88
• Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (April 20): Los Angeles 122, Phoenix 94
• Game 3 @ Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix (April 23): Los Angeles 114, Phoenix 94

Last Playoff Meeting: 1984 Western Conference Finals (Los Angeles won 4–2)

West Conference Semifinals

A ticket for Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers.

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

• Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (April 27): Los Angeles 125, Portland 101
• Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (April 30): Los Angeles 134, Portland 118
• Game 3 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 3): Los Angeles 130, Portland 126
• Game 4 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 5): Portland 115, Los Angeles 107
• Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 7): Los Angeles 139, Portland 120

Last Playoff Meeting: 1983 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4–1)

West Conference Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Denver Nuggets: Lakers win series 4–1

• Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 11): Los Angeles 139, Denver 122
• Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 14): Denver 136 , Los Angeles 114
• Game 3 @ McNichols Sports Arena, Denver (May 17): Los Angeles 136, Denver 118
• Game 4 @ McNichols Sports Arena, Denver (May 19): Los Angeles 120, Denver 116
• Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 22): Los Angeles 153, Denver 109

Last Playoff Meeting: 1979 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 2–1)

NBA Finals

The following scoring summary is written in a line score format, except that the quarter numbers are replaced by game numbers.

Team	Games						Wins
	1	2	3	4	5	6
Los Angeles Lakers	114	109	136	105	120	111	4
Boston Celtics	148	102	111	107	111	100	2

Awards and records

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• Magic Johnson, All-NBA First Team
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, All-NBA Second Team
• Michael Cooper, NBA All-Defensive First Team

External links

• "Return to Glory" – Documentary on the 1984–85 Los Angeles Lakers on YouTube