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2021–22 Los Angeles Lakers season
American professional basketball season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2021–22 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 75th season of the franchise, its 74th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 62nd season in Los Angeles, and its 23rd season playing home games at Crypto.com Arena. The team was coached by Frank Vogel. The Lakers competed as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific Division, finishing the season with a 33–49 record.
The Lakers, who had acquired veteran All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony during the offseason, were widely considered by experts as favorites to win the Western Conference. Despite LeBron James' best points per game average since 2005–06, and a number of scoring and age-related records, the Lakers disappointed, with a combination of injuries and underperformances, as well as an aging roster. The Lakers were eliminated from both playoff and play-in contention on April 5, 2022, as their underperformance fell short of securing a direct playoff berth was widely regarded as one of the biggest disappointments in franchise history. Following the conclusion of the season, head coach Frank Vogel was fired.
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Previous season
The Lakers concluded the 2020–21 season with a 42–30 record, finishing with the third seed in the Pacific Division and the seventh seed in the Western Conference, which was not enough for a direct playoff spot. In the NBA play-in tournament, they defeated the Golden State Warriors to earn them the seventh seed in the 2021 NBA playoffs.[4] The Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round in six games despite being up 2–1,[5] making it the first time that LeBron James lost in the first round of the playoffs.[6] Anthony Davis suffered a strained left groin in Game 4, and he was also sidelined in Game 5, when the Suns took a 3–2 lead. He returned in Game 6, but played only five minutes after reaggravating the injury.[7][8] The Lakers were eliminated 4–2.[9]
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Offseason
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In June 2021, longtime minority owner and team landlord Philip Anschutz sold his 27% stake in the team to Los Angeles Dodgers co-owners Mark Walter and Todd Boehly for an estimated $1.35 billion.[10] The NBA approved the sale that July.[11] Shortly before the sale, the team extended its Crypto.com Arena lease with Anschutz Entertainment Group until 2041, and upgrades to the arena worth "nine figures" were promised.[10]
In August 2021, the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook in a trade that also sent two future 2nd round draft picks (2024 and 2028) to the Lakers and Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the 22nd pick of the 2021 NBA draft to the Washington Wizards.[12] This trade formed a new superteam of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Westbrook in the Western Conference.[13][14] In 2022, Claire de Lune of The Guardian described the Westbrook trade as a "'disaster'".[15] In 2023, Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report named the Lakers' acquisition of Westbrook as the worst trade in the NBA over the past five years.[16]
Draft
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Preseason
Game log
Regular season
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The regular season was the 75th season of the franchise, its 74th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 62nd season in Los Angeles, and its 23rd season playing home games at Crypto.com Arena.[A] The team was coached by Frank Vogel in his third and final year as Lakers head coach. They competed as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific Division, finishing the season 11th with a 33–49 record, one game behind the last spot for the NBA play-in tournament.[18] It was the team's worst record since 2016–17, slightly better than the Lakers' worst five seasons.[19]
After the acquisitions of Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony in the offseason,[20][21][22] the Lakers were widely considered by experts to be the favorites to win the Western Conference.[23][24] The team remained stable with a .500 percentage for the last direct playoff access spot until January 7,[25] and remained within play-in contention until March 30.[26][27] Despite LeBron James' best points per game average since 2005–06,[28] and a number of scoring and age-related records,[29][30][31] the Lakers disappointed,[32] with a combination of injuries and underperformances.[33][34] Following the season, Sam Quinn of CBS News stated that an aged and mismanaged roster was also responsible for the disappointing outcome.[35]
On April 5, the Lakers were eliminated from both playoff and play-in contention for the first time since 2018–19 and the seventh time in nine years after a 121–110 loss to the Phoenix Suns.[36] It was the fourth time in James' career that he missed the NBA playoffs and the second time in his four years with the Lakers.[37] It was also the third time and first since 2015 that Westbrook missed the playoffs when he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, having previously only missed the playoffs in his debut in 2009. The Lakers' failure to make the play-in/playoffs was widely regarded to be one of the most biggest disappointments in franchise history, if not one of the greatest underachievements in NBA history.[38][39] James, Davis, Westbrook, and Anthony were selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team,[40][41] the Lakers being the team with the most active players.[42]
James was the only Laker to make the All-Star cut, with Anthony Davis having a second consecutive injury-laden season.[43][44] Due to injuries, the Lakers used 41 different starting lineups, and the trio of James, Davis, and Westbrook played only 21 games together, compiling an 11–10 record; the Lakers were just 20–33 when only two of the three were playing together.[45] Due to an ankle injury in March, James fell out of a close three-player race for the NBA scoring title,[46][47][48] finishing with only 56 games played, two less than necessary to qualify.[49]
Following the season, head coach Frank Vogel was fired on April 11, 2022.[50][51][52] Vogel led the team in 2020 to their first title since 2010 and one first-round exit in 2021,[53] and he finished with an overall 127–98 record with the team.[54]
Standings
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Conference
Game log
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Player stats
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| 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 statistics
*Total with the Lakers only
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Roster
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Transactions
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Overview
| Players added Via trade Via free agency |
Players lost Via free agency Via trade Waived |
Trades
| August 6, 2021[55] | ||
| Five-team trade | ||
| To Brooklyn Nets 2024 second-round pick (from Washington) 2025 second-round pick swap right (from Washington) Draft rights to Nikola Milutinov (2015 No. 26) (from San Antonio) |
To Indiana Pacers Draft rights to Isaiah Jackson (No. 22) (from Los Angeles) | |
| To Los Angeles Lakers Russell Westbrook 2023 CHI second-round pick (from Washington) 2024 second-round pick (from Washington) 2028 WAS second-round pick (from Washington) |
To San Antonio Spurs Chandler Hutchison 2022 second-round pick (from Washington) | |
| To Washington Wizards Kyle Kuzma Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Montrezl Harrell Aaron Holiday Spencer Dinwiddie Draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31) Cash considerations | ||
| September 10, 2021[56][57] | To Los Angeles Lakers Draft rights to Wang Zhelin (2016, No. 57) |
To Memphis Grizzlies Marc Gasol 2024 second-round pick Cash considerations |
| January 3, 2022[58] | Three-team trade | |
| To Cleveland Cavaliers Rajon Rondo (from Los Angeles) |
To Los Angeles Lakers Draft rights to Louis Labeyrie (2014 No. 57) (from New York) | |
| To New York Knicks Denzel Valentine (from Cleveland) Draft rights to Brad Newley (2007 No. 54) (from Los Angeles) Draft rights to Wang Zhelin (2016 No. 57) (from Los Angeles) | ||
Free agency
Re-signed
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Notes
References
External links
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