1981–82 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1981–82 NBA season saw the Lakers win the NBA Finals for their third NBA championship in Los Angeles, and their eighth overall in franchise history.

1981–82 Los Angeles Lakers season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach	Paul Westhead (fired) Pat Riley
General manager	Bill Sharman
Owner(s)	Jerry Buss
Arena	The Forum
Results
Record	57–25 (.695)
Place	Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA champions (Defeated 76ers 4–2)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KHJ
Radio	AM 570 KLAC
< 1980–81 1982–83 >

Championship parade, June 1982

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
8	179	Jay Triano		Canada	Simon Fraser University

^[1]

Roster

1981–82 Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1947-04-16 UCLA PF 8 Jim Brewer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-12-03 Minnesota SG 21 Michael Cooper 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1956-04-15 New Mexico G 34 Clay Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1956-07-18 Missouri SG 32 Magic Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1959-08-14 Michigan State PG 5 Eddie Jordan 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955-01-29 Rutgers F 25 Mitch Kupchak 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1954–05–24 North Carolina PF 54 Mark Landsberger 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1955-05-21 Arizona State C 11 Bob McAdoo 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-09-25 North Carolina F 40 Mike McGee 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1959-07-29 Michigan G 30 Kevin McKenna 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1959–01–08 Creighton PG 10 Norm Nixon 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955-10-11 Duquesne F 31 Kurt Rambis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1958-02-25 Santa Clara SF 52 Jamaal Wilkes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1953-05-02 UCLA

Head coach Paul Westhead (first 11 games; fired Nov. 19) Pat Riley Assistant(s) Mike Thibault Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Soon before the start of training camp, Jamaal Wilkes' eight-day-old daughter died, his second child to die as a baby. He started the season slowly, culminating with a 1-for-10 shooting performance in a 128–102 loss to San Antonio on November 10, 1981. He seriously considered quitting basketball.^[2]

On November 18, 1981, at halftime while on the road at Utah, Magic Johnson and coach Paul Westhead had a verbal altercation in the locker room. It was stated by teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that Johnson had offered input on the game, which resulted in Westhead twice telling him to "Shut up." Johnson then told reporters after this game that he would like to be traded anywhere,^[3] resulting in a barrage of media coverage. One day after these events, Lakers owner Jerry Buss held a press conference at The Forum, where he announced the firing of Westhead, with his replacement being Pat Riley as "coach" and general manager Jerry West as "offensive coach". West came to the podium and clarified to media that Riley was indeed the head coach and that West himself would simply provide him support on the bench, which lasted for a period of 12 games. Although Johnson denied responsibility for Westhead's firing,^[4] he was booed across the league, even by Lakers' fans.^[5] However, Buss was also unhappy with the Lakers offense and had intended on firing Westhead days before the Westhead–Johnson altercation, but assistant GM West and GM Bill Sharman had convinced Buss to delay his decision.^[6]

Wilkes recovered to average 21.1 points and shoot 52.5% as Los Angeles advanced to the NBA Finals, where they faced Philadelphia. Wilkes scored a team-high 27 points in game 6 as the Lakers won the series 4–2. Johnson had a triple-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists and four steals and was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.^[2]

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	57	25	.695	–	30–11	27–14	21–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	5.0	31–10	21–20	18–12
x-Phoenix Suns	46	36	.561	11.0	31–10	15–26	14–16
Golden State Warriors	45	37	.549	12.0	28–13	17–24	15–15
Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	15.0	27–14	15–26	15–15
San Diego Clippers	17	65	.207	40.0	11–30	6–35	7–23

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	57	25	.695	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	48	34	.585	9
3	x-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	5
4	x-Denver Nuggets	46	36	.561	11
5	x-Phoenix Suns	46	36	.561	11
6	x-Houston Rockets	46	36	.561	11
7	Golden State Warriors	45	37	.549	12
8	Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	15
9	Kansas City Kings	30	52	.366	27
10	Dallas Mavericks	28	54	.341	29
11	Utah Jazz	25	57	.305	32
12	San Diego Clippers	17	65	.207	40

c - clinched homecourt advantage

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1981-82 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NYN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	0–2	2–0	4–2	1–1	0–2	3–3	3–2	5–1	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–4
Boston	5–1	–	4–2	5–0	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	5–1	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	6–0
Chicago	3–2	2–4	–	5–1	1–1	1–1	0–6	0–2	1–1	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–5	2–4	3–2	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4
Cleveland	2–4	0–5	1–5	–	2–0	0–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	0–6	0–6	0–6	0–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–5
Dallas	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	–	1–5	1–1	0–5	2–4	1–1	4–2	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–3	2–3	1–5	2–3	1–4	3–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	5–1	–	1–1	3–2	5–1	0–2	4–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–3	2–4	5–0	2–3	3–3	2–0
Detroit	4–2	0–6	6–0	5–1	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	2–0	2–4	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–4	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–4
Golden State	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–3	0–2	–	1–4	2–0	3–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–2	2–4	3–2	5–1	1–5	3–2	1–1
Houston	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–5	0–2	4–1	–	2–0	3–3	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	4–1	3–3	4–1	2–3	6–0	2–0
Indiana	2–4	1–5	3–3	5–1	1–1	2–0	4–2	0–2	0–2	–	1–1	0–2	0–6	4–2	3–2	0–6	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5
Kansas City	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–4	0–2	2–3	3–3	1–1	–	1–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–3	0–5	1–5	4–1	2–3	3–3	0–2
Los Angeles	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–1	4–1	2–0	3–3	4–1	2–0	4–1	–	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–2	5–1	2–3	5–1	4–2	5–0	2–0
Milwaukee	3–3	3–3	5–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	4–2	0–2	1–1	6–0	1–1	2–0	–	4–1	3–3	4–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
New Jersey	2–3	1–5	4–2	6–0	0–2	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	1–4	–	4–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–2
New York	1–5	1–5	2–3	6–0	1–1	1–1	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	2–0	3–3	2–4	–	1–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–5
Philadelphia	3–3	2–4	5–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	6–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	3–3	5–1	–	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	6–0
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–2	3–2	2–0	2–4	2–3	1–1	3–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	–	3–3	4–1	4–2	3–3	3–2	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	3–2	2–0	4–2	1–4	1–1	5–0	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3	–	3–2	4–2	3–3	4–1	0–2
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	5–1	4–2	2–0	2–3	3–3	0–2	5–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–4	2–3	–	3–2	4–1	3–3	1–1
San Diego	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–2	0–5	0–2	1–5	1–4	0–2	1–4	1–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–4	2–4	2–3	–	1–5	1–4	0–2
Seattle	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–1	3–2	1–1	5–1	3–2	1–1	3–2	2–4	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–4	5–1	–	5–0	1–1
Utah	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–1	2–3	0–6	1–1	3–3	0–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3	1–4	3–3	4–1	0–5	–	1–1
Washington	4–2	0–6	4–2	5–1	1–1	0–2	4–1	1–1	0–2	5–1	2–0	0–2	2–3	2–4	5–1	0–6	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	—

Game log

Regular season

1981–82 game log Total: 57-25 (Home: 30-11; Road: 27-14)
October: 0–1 (home: 0–1; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 30 Houston L 112-113 (2OT) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) Magic Johnson (14) Magic Johnson (12) The Forum 15,884 0–1
November: 12–4 (home: 5–2; road: 7–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 November 3 @ Portland L 100-102 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) Magic Johnson (12) Magic Johnson (10) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 0–2 3 November 4 @ Seattle W 106-103 Norm Nixon (22) Magic Johnson (12) Norm Nixon (7) Kingdome 14,536 1–2 4 November 6 Phoenix L 99-101 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (14) Magic Johnson (16) The Forum 13,665 1–3 5 November 8 Dallas W 121-111 Magic Johnson (24) Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (10) Magic Johnson (15) The Forum 9,870 2–3 6 November 10 @ San Antonio L 102-128 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) Magic Johnson (7) HemisFair Arena 11,365 2–4 7 November 11 @ Houston W 95-93 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (21) Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (9) Norm Nixon (11) The Summit 15,535 3–4 8 November 13 Portland W 119-115 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) Mitch Kupchak (12) Magic Johnson (15) The Forum 17,505 4-4 9 November 14 @ Phoenix W 98-97 Norm Nixon (24) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (17) Magic Johnson (9) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,068 5–4 10 November 15 Indiana W 124-123 (2OT) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (20) Norm Nixon (10) The Forum 14,140 6–4 11 November 18 @ Utah W 113-110 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) Cooper & Johnson (8) Magic Johnson (9) Salt Palace 10,802 7–4 12 November 20 San Antonio W 136-116 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) Mitch Kupchak (17) Magic Johnson (16) The Forum 17,505 8–4 13 November 21 @ San Diego W 119-117 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (12) Magic Johnson (10) San Diego Sports Arena 11,057 9–4 14 November 24 @ Dallas W 125-110 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25) Mark Landsberger (10) Johnson & Nixon (9) Reunion Arena 14,266 10–4 15 November 25 @ San Antonio W 117-96 Jamaal Wilkes (26) Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (13) Magic Johnson (9) HemisFair Arena 13,653 11–4 16 November 27 San Diego L 129-138 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) Norm Nixon (16) The Forum 14,586 11–5 17 November 29 Houston W 122-104 Abdul-Jabbar & Nixon (23) Magic Johnson (11) Johnson & Nixon (11) The Forum 13,247 12–5
December: 12–2 (home: 8–0; road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 18 December 1 Utah W 117-86 Magic Johnson (19) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) Magic Johnson (8) The Forum 11,384 13–5 19 December 2 @ Seattle L 96-104 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) Norm Nixon (8) Kingdome 20,021 13–6 20 December 4 @ Denver W 126-117 Norm Nixon (25) Mitch Kupchak (13) Magic Johnson (11) McNichols Sports Arena 14,562 14–6 21 December 6 Kansas City W 119-106 Johnson & Wilkes (22) Mitch Kupchak (12) Norm Nixon (10) The Forum 15,321 15–6 22 December 8 Washington W 102-98 Norm Nixon (24) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) Magic Johnson (10) The Forum 10,459 16–6 23 December 11 Portland W 124-116 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) Magic Johnson (12) Johnson & Nixon (10) The Forum 15,658 17–6 24 December 13 Golden State W 122-118 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) Magic Johnson (13) Abdul-Jabbar & Nixon (8) The Forum 13,103 18–6 25 December 17 @ Golden State L 115-120 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) Norm Nixon (7) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,239 18–7 26 December 19 @ San Diego W 106-100 Jamaal Wilkes (33) Magic Johnson (13) Magic Johnson (7) San Diego Sports Arena 6,563 19–7 27 December 20 Atlanta W 112-94 Jamaal Wilkes (36) Jim Brewer (15) Norm Nixon (12) The Forum 12,460 20–7 28 December 22 @ Portland W 124-110 Norm Nixon (27) Magic Johnson (10) 3 players tied (6) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 21–7 29 December 25 @ Phoenix W 104-101 Michael Cooper (30) Jim Brewer (15) Magic Johnson (8) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,056 22–7 30 December 27 San Diego W 139-117 Mike McGee (27) Mark Landsberger (12) Magic Johnson (11) The Forum 14,951 23–7 31 December 29 Utah W 121-114 Jamaal Wilkes (34) Brewer & Wilkes (9) Magic Johnson (12) The Forum 14,392 24–7
January: 7–5 (home: 3–2; road: 4–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 32 January 3 Seattle L 90-110 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (16) Magic Johnson (14) The Forum 17,505 24–8 33 January 8 @ Chicago L 113-119 Magic Johnson (32) Mark Landsberger (8) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) Chicago Stadium 18,947 24–9 34 January 9 @ Detroit W 130-127 Magic Johnson (40) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) Norm Nixon (10) Pontiac Silverdome 21,045 25–9 35 January 10 @ Milwaukee L 107-118 Magic Johnson (28) Jamaal Wilkes (9) Norm Nixon (9) MECCA Arena 11,052 25–10 36 January 12 @ Cleveland W 114-100 Jamaal Wilkes (33) Magic Johnson (14) Norm Nixon (11) Richfield Coliseum 8,259 26–10 37 January 15 @ Indiana W 97-92 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) Magic Johnson (15) Eddie Jordan (6) Market Square Arena 11,029 27–10 38 January 17 @ Kansas City W 109-97 Magic Johnson (29) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) Magic Johnson (9) Kemper Arena 9,879 28–10 39 January 19 @ Denver L 139-140 3 players tied (22) Magic Johnson (16) Magic Johnson (14) McNichols Sports Arena 15,272 28–11 40 January 20 New Jersey W 132-113 Jamaal Wilkes (30) Kurt Rambis (9) Magic Johnson (12) The Forum 11,323 29–11 41 January 22 Detroit W 123-111 Magic Johnson (26) Johnson & Rambis (16) Magic Johnson (12) The Forum 14,955 30–11 42 January 26 Milwaukee L 94-96 Jamaal Wilkes (18) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15) Norm Nixon (13) The Forum 16,042 30–12 43 January 28 Phoenix W 97-87 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) Magic Johnson (6) Magic Johnson (11) The Forum 14,623 31–12 All-Star Break
February: 10–5 (home: 5–3; road: 5–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 44 February 2 @ Golden State L 117-119 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) Magic Johnson (14) Magic Johnson (10) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,329 31–13 45 February 3 New York L 94-98 Jamaal Wilkes (26) Jamaal Wilkes (10) Norm Nixon (10) The Forum 12,913 31–14 46 February 5 @ Washington W 90-87 Magic Johnson (22) Kurt Rambis (10) Norm Nixon (7) Capital Centre 19,035 32–14 47 February 7 @ Boston W 119-113 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (35) Jamaal Wilkes (8) Norm Nixon (13) Boston Garden 15,320 33–14 48 February 9 @ Atlanta W 130-117 Bob McAdoo (22) Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (8) Norm Nixon (10) Omni Coliseum 12,913 34–14 49 February 10 @ Kansas City L 102-125 Jamaal Wilkes (24) Jamaal Wilkes (7) Jordan & Nixon (4) Kemper Arena 9,580 34–15 50 February 12 San Antonio L 94-100 Jamaal Wilkes (23) Magic Johnson (15) Johnson & Nixon (8) The Forum 17,505 34–16 51 February 14 Boston L 103-108 Jamaal Wilkes (25) Magic Johnson (10) Magic Johnson (8) The Forum 17,505 34–17 52 February 16 Seattle W 108-101 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) Jim Brewer (12) Magic Johnson (18) The Forum 15,047 35–17 53 February 19 Golden State W 126-106 Magic Johnson (26) Magic Johnson (14) Norm Nixon (10) The Forum 17,505 36–17 54 February 21 @ Denver W 132-131 Norm Nixon (26) Mark Landsberger (9) Magic Johnson (8) McNichols Sports Arena 17,337 37–17 55 February 23 Denver W 145-129 Jamaal Wilkes (31) Abdul-Jabbar & Rambis (7) Norm Nixon (16) The Forum 14,072 38–17 56 February 25 @ Seattle W 104-98 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) Magic Johnson (12) Norm Nixon (12) Kingdome 26,209 39–17 57 February 26 Philadelphia W 116-114 (2OT) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (41) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19) Magic Johnson (10) The Forum 17,505 40–17 58 February 28 Cleveland W 102-101 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) Kurt Rambis (17) Norm Nixon (10) The Forum 14,882 41–17
March: 8–6 (home: 4–2; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 59 March 3 @ New Jersey L 103-111 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) Magic Johnson (8) Norm Nixon (8) Brendan Byrne Arena 15,623 41–18 60 March 4 @ New York L 119-129 (OT) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (39) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (14) Magic Johnson (9) Madison Square Garden 14,937 41–19 61 March 7 @ Philadelphia L 113-119 Abdul-Jabbar & Nixon (26) Magic Johnson (11) Magic Johnson (8) The Spectrum 18,364 41–20 62 March 9 Kansas City W 105-99 Magic Johnson (27) Kurt Rambis (12) Norm Nixon (5) The Forum 11,614 42–20 63 March 12 Chicago L 105-111 Magic Johnson (30) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) Magic Johnson (8) The Forum 17,505 42–21 64 March 14 Dallas W 138-116 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) Magic Johnson (11) Magic Johnson (13) The Forum 13,809 43–21 65 March 16 @ Portland W 120-108 Jamaal Wilkes (27) Mark Landsberger (14) Johnson & Nixon (9) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 44–21 6 March 17 @ Utah W 120-112 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) Magic Johnson (10) Magic Johnson (9) Salt Palace 12,076 45–21 67 March 19 @ Dallas W 112-106 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) Magic Johnson (10) Reunion Arena 17,134 46–21 68 March 21 Houston W 107-102 Magic Johnson (25) Magic Johnson (16) Magic Johnson (7) The Forum 17,505 47–21 69 March 23 Dallas L 116-118 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) Magic Johnson (15) Magic Johnson (14) The Forum 13,516 47–22 70 March 26 @ San Antonio L 105-110 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) Magic Johnson (10) HemisFair Arena 14,850 47–23 71 March 28 @ Kansas City W 116-111 Bob McAdoo (30) Bob McAdoo (10) Magic Johnson (8) Kemper Arena 9,521 48–23 72 March 30 San Diego W 143-120 Magic Johnson (29) Bob McAdoo (9) Norm Nixon (13) The Forum 12,109 49–23
April: 8–2 (home: 5–1; road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 73 April 1 @ San Diego W 117-100 Jamaal Wilkes (25) Kurt Rambis (9) Magic Johnson (17) San Diego Sports Arena 7,064 50–23 74 April 2 Phoenix L 99-109 Jamaal Wilkes (23) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (9) Johnson & Nixon (14) The Forum 17,505 50–24 75 April 4 Portland W 129-111 Jamaal Wilkes (32) Kurt Rambis (9) Norm Nixon (13) The Forum 13,230 51–24 76 April 6 @ Houston W 108-97 Magic Johnson (23) Magic Johnson (11) Magic Johnson (10) The Summit 15,676 52–24 77 April 9 Denver W 153-128 Jamaal Wilkes (25) Mark Landsberger (14) Magic Johnson (16) The Forum 16,433 53–24 78 April 11 Seattle W 107-104 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) Magic Johnson (12) Johnson & Nixon (8) The Forum 17,505 54–24 79 April 13 @ Golden State L 101-106 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) Johnson & Nixon (9) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,239 54–25 80 April 14 Utah W 128-115 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22) Magic Johnson (11) Magic Johnson (10) The Forum 11,488 55–25 81 April 16 Golden State W 125-109 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) Kurt Rambis (12) Magic Johnson (13) The Forum 17,505 56–25 82 April 18 @ Phoenix W 120-115 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (34) Magic Johnson (15) Magic Johnson (12) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,660 57–25
1981–82 schedule

Playoffs

1982 playoff game log Total: 12–2 (Home: 7–0; Road: 5–2)
Conference Semi-finals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 27 Phoenix W 115–96 Jamaal Wilkes (28) Bob McAdoo (12) Magic Johnson (10) The Forum 13,623 1–0 2 April 28 Phoenix W 117–98 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24) Magic Johnson (12) Magic Johnson (12) The Forum 15,558 2–0 3 April 30 @ Phoenix W 114–106 Jamaal Wilkes (26) Magic Johnson (14) Magic Johnson (9) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,660 3–0 4 May 2 @ Phoenix W 112–107 Jamaal Wilkes (24) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) Magic Johnson (12) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,932 4–0
Western Conference Finals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 9 San Antonio W 128–117 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) Magic Johnson (16) Magic Johnson (14) The Forum 15,700 1–0 2 May 11 San Antonio W 110–101 Nixon & Wilkes (22) Kurt Rambis (15) Johnson & Nixon (9) The Forum 17,505 2–0 3 May 14 @ San Antonio W 118–108 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (10) Johnson & Nixon (10) HemisFair Arena 15,800 3–0 4 May 15 @ San Antonio W 128–123 Norm Nixon (30) Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (9) Norm Nixon (10) HemisFair Arena 15,800 4–0
NBA Finals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 27 @ Philadelphia W 124–117 Nixon & Wilkes (24) Magic Johnson (14) Norm Nixon (10) The Spectrum 18,364 1–0 2 May 30 @ Philadelphia L 94–110 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) Magic Johnson (11) Norm Nixon (10) The Spectrum 18,364 1–1 3 June 1 Philadelphia W 129–108 Norm Nixon (29) Magic Johnson (9) Magic Johnson (8) The Forum 17,505 2–1 4 June 3 Philadelphia W 111–101 Johnson & Wilkes (24) Abdul-Jabbar & Rambis (11) Norm Nixon (14) The Forum 17,505 3–1 5 June 6 @ Philadelphia L 102–135 Bob McAdoo (23) Magic Johnson (10) Norm Nixon (13) The Spectrum 18,364 3–2 6 June 8 Philadelphia W 114–104 Jamaal Wilkes (27) Magic Johnson (13) Magic Johnson (13) The Forum 17,505 4–2
1982 schedule

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

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards and records

Awards

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

Records

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team

Subtractions Player Left New team