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 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 (their fourth in Los Angeles), 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 first team to have defeated the Celtics in the NBA Finals while on the road, a feat that has since only been accomplished one other time by the Golden State Warriors in 2022. In 2024, HoopsHype would rank this squad as the team with the 22nd-easiest route to the NBA Finals championship (ahead of that year's Boston Celtics squad in terms of higher combined winning percentage of their opponents), with their first two opponents docking the overall percentage from the season there.
NBA draft
Transactions
The Lakers have been involved in the following transactions during the 1984–1985 season.
Free Agent Additions
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Regular season
Playoffs
Player statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
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
References
External links
- "Return to Glory" – Documentary on the 1984–85 Los Angeles Lakers on YouTube
