1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1987–88 season saw the Lakers win their eleventh NBA championship, defeating the Detroit Pistons in a hard-fought seven games in the NBA Finals to become the NBA's first repeat champions since the Boston Celtics did it in the 1968–69 NBA season. In doing so, the Lakers made good on Pat Riley's famous promise to repeat as champions. "I'm guaranteeing everybody here," Riley said at the civic celebrations following the Lakers’ 1987 championship win, "next year we’re gonna win it again." Before the Lakers could make good on Riley's guarantee, they swept the San Antonio Spurs in the opening round of the playoffs. The following two rounds however would not be as easy for the Lakers, but they still managed to get through a tough seven-game series against both the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semis and the Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals.

By the time the Lakers had finished their season they had played an NBA record 106 games including another record 24 playoff games, winning 77 and losing 29. The Lakers went 62–20 in the regular season and 15–9 in the playoffs, en route to their sixth NBA Championship in Los Angeles, and their 11th overall in franchise history. HoopsHype would later rank this squad as the team with the 13th easiest route to the NBA Finals championship (in terms of team records of their opponents), primarily due to the record that the Spurs had this season.

The 1988 Finals was the last time the Showtime-era Lakers won an NBA championship. It was also the final time that the franchise won a championship at The Forum. They did not win another league title until 2000, when they were playing at the Staples Center (now known as the Crypto.com Arena).

Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were all selected to play in the 1988 NBA All-Star Game held in Chicago. Pat Riley was chosen to coach the Western Conference All-Stars.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
3	69	Willie Glass	Forward	United States	St. John's
4	92	Ralph Tally	Point Guard	United States	Norfolk State
6	115	Kenny Travis		United States	New Mexico State
6	138	Frank Ford	Guard-Forward	United States	Auburn University
7	161	Ron Vanderschaaf	Center	Netherlands	Central Washington University

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	From
C	33	Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	UCLA
G/F	19	Campbell, Tony	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Ohio State
G/F	21	Cooper, Michael	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	New Mexico
	45	Green, A.C.	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Oregon State
G	32	Johnson, Magic	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Michigan State
G/F	3	Lamp, Jeff	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Virginia
G	1	Matthews, Wes	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Wisconsin
F	31	Rambis, Kurt	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	213 lb (97 kg)	Santa Clara
G	4	Scott, Byron	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Arizona State
C	52	Smrek, Mike	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Canisius
F	55	Thompson, Billy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Louisville
F/C	43	Thompson, Mychal	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	226 lb (103 kg)	Minnesota
F	34	Tolbert, Ray	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Indiana
G	20	Wagner, Milt	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Louisville
F	00, 42	Worthy, James	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	North Carolina

Head coach

Pat Riley (Kentucky)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–	36–5	26–15	23–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	53	29	.646	9	33–8	20–21	23–7
x-Seattle SuperSonics	44	38	.537	18	32–9	12–29	19–11
Phoenix Suns	28	54	.341	34	22–19	6–35	11–19
Golden State Warriors	20	62	.244	42	16–25	4–37	7–23
Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45	14–27	3–38	7–23

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Los Angeles Lakers	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	54	28	.659	8
3	x-Dallas Mavericks	53	29	.646	9
4	x-Portland Trail Blazers	53	29	.646	9
5	x-Utah Jazz	47	35	.573	15
6	x-Houston Rockets	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Seattle SuperSonics	44	38	.537	18
8	x-San Antonio Spurs	31	51	.378	31

9	Phoenix Suns	28	54	.341	34
10	Sacramento Kings	24	58	.293	38
11	Golden State Warriors	20	62	.244	42
12	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1987-88 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	2–4	2–3	5–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	0–2	3–3	5–0	3–3	6–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–3
Boston	4–2	–	3–3	2–3	2–0	0–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	5–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	5–1
Chicago	3–2	3–3	–	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–0	2–0	3–3	2–0	1–1	5–1	5–1	3–2	4–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3
Cleveland	1–5	3–2	3–3	–	1–1	1–1	1–5	0–2	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	5–1	2–4	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	6–0
Dallas	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	–	3–3	1–1	4–1	4–2	2–0	5–0	1–4	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0	3–2	5–1	5–1	3–2	3–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–3	–	1–1	4–1	4–2	1–1	5–0	3–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–3	4–2	5–1	4–1	2–4	2–0
Detroit	4–2	3–3	4–2	5–1	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	4–2	5–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2
Golden State	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–4	1–4	0–2	–	0–5	0–2	3–3	0–6	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–5	2–3	3–2	1–5	1–4	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–4	1–1	5–0	–	2–0	3–2	1–4	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	4–1	4–2	2–4	3–2	3–3	2–0
Indiana	2–4	0–5	3–3	2–4	0–2	1–1	3–3	2–0	0–2	–	1–1	1–1	3–3	6–0	2–3	2–4	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	0–5	1–1	3–3	2–3	1–1	–	1–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–4	0–6	3–2	0–5	1–5	1–4	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–3	2–0	6–0	4–1	1–1	5–1	–	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–1	3–3	4–1	5–0	4–2	4–1	1–1
Milwaukee	3–3	3–3	1–5	4–2	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–0	0–2	3–3	2–0	2–0	–	3–2	3–3	2–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1
New Jersey	0–5	1–5	1–5	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–2	1–1	0–6	2–0	0–2	2–3	–	3–3	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–6
New York	3–3	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	–	3–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–3
Philadelphia	0–6	2–4	2–4	2–3	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	0–2	4–2	4–2	3–3	–	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3
Phoenix	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	2–3	0–2	4–2	1–4	0–2	4–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	–	0–6	3–2	2–3	2–4	2–3	0–2
Portland	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	1–1	5–1	1–4	2–0	6–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	6–0	–	4–1	5–0	3–3	1–4	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–4	0–2	3–2	2–4	0–2	2–3	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–4	–	3–3	1–4	1–5	0–2
San Antonio	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	1–5	1–1	2–3	4–2	0–2	5–0	0–5	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–5	3–3	–	3–2	3–3	0–2
Seattle	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–4	1–1	5–1	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–4	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–2	3–3	4–1	2–3	–	1–4	2–0
Utah	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–3	4–2	0–2	4–1	3–3	1–1	4–1	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–2	4–1	5–1	3–3	4–1	–	2–0
Washington	3–3	1–5	3–3	0–6	1–1	0–2	2–3	2–0	0–2	4–2	2–0	1–1	1–4	6–0	3–3	3–3	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Regular season

1987–88 game log
Total: 62–20 (Home: 36–5; Road: 26–15)

November: 9–2 (home: 7–1; road: 2–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	November 6 7:30 p.m. PST	Seattle	W 113–109	Johnson (26)	Green (12)	Johnson (8)	The Forum 17,505	1–0
2	November 8 7:30 pm PST	Houston	W 101–92	Johnson & Scott (23)	A.C. Green (18)	Magic Johnson (12)	The Forum 17,505	2–0
3	November 10 5:30 pm PST	@ San Antonio	W 133–124	A.C. Green (32)	A.C. Green (10)	Magic Johnson (13)	HemisFair Arena 13,751	3–0
4	November 12 7:30 pm PST	L.A. Clippers	W 111–82	James Worthy (20)	Abdul-Jabbar & M. Thompson (10)	Magic Johnson (11)	The Forum 15,569	4–0
5	November 14 7:30 pm PST	@ Golden State	W 118–110	Byron Scott (27)	Mychal Thompson (9)	Magic Johnson (12)	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 15,025	5–0
6	November 15 7:30 pm PST	San Antonio	W 147–130	Magic Johnson (25)	A.C. Green (13)	Johnson & Worthy (10)	The Forum 17,505	6–0
7	November 17 7:30 p.m. PST	Portland	W 142–115	Mychal ThompsonM Thompson (24)	Green, Rambis (10)	Johnson (14)	The Forum 16,347	7–0
8	November 20 7:30 p.m. PST	Dallas	W 119–116	Scott (25)	Green (11)	Johnson (15)	The Forum 17,505	8–0
9	November 22 7:30 p.m. PST	Milwaukee	L 116–124 (OT)	Johnson (26)	Green (11)	Johnson (11)	The Forum 17,505	8–1
10	November 24 7:30 p.m. PST	@ Seattle	L 85–103	Johnson (23)	Green (10)	Johnson (6)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,634	8–2
11	November 27 7:30 p.m. PST	Denver	W 127–119	Green (28)	Green (16)	Johnson (16)	The Forum 17,505	9–2

December: 11–4 (home: 5–1; road: 6–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
12	December 1 7:30 pm PST	@ Sacramento	W 125–120 (OT)	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27)	A.C. Green (15)	Magic Johnson (10)	ARCO Arena I 10,333	10–2
13	December 2 7:30 pm PST	Portland	L 104–117	Michael Cooper (17)	A.C. Green (13)	Cooper & Johnson (9)	The Forum 17,505	10–3
14	December 4 5:00 p.m. PST	@ Milwaukee	L 83–85	Johnson (22)	Johnson (10)	Johnson (12)	MECCA Arena 11,052	10–4
15	December 5 4:30 p.m. PST	@ Cleveland	L 95–97	Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Scott (19)	Green, Johnson (9)	Johnson (9)	Richfield Coliseum 20,015	10–5
16	December 8 4:30 pm PST	@ New Jersey	W 98–81	Byron Scott (21)	Magic Johnson (13)	Magic Johnson (14)	Brendan Byrne Arena 18,008	11–5
17	December 9 4:30 p.m. PST	@ Washington	L 112–120 (OT)	Johnson (30)	Cooper (12)	Johnson (14)	Capital Centre 18,643	11–6
18	December 11 5:00 p.m. PST	@ Boston	W 115–114	Abdul-Jabbar (23)	Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson (8)	Johnson (17)	Boston Garden 14,890	12–6
19	December 13 7:30 p.m. PST	Cleveland	W 90–89	Worthy (20)	Green (11)	Johnson (8)	The Forum 17,505	13–6
20	December 15 7:30 pm PST	Phoenix	W 122–97	Byron Scott (31)	A.C. Green (14)	Johnson & Scott (9)	The Forum 17,371	14–6
21	December 17 7:30 pm PST	@ Golden State	L 113–106	Magic Johnson (31)	A.C. Green (12)	Magic Johnson (17)	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 15,025	15–6
22	December 19 7:30 pm PST	@ L.A. Clippers	W 108–97	Magic Johnson (28)	A.C. Green (12)	Cooper & Johnson (7)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 14,417	16–6
23	December 20 7:30 p.m. PST	Seattle	W 103–94	M. Thompson (22)	Green (9)	Johnson (12)	The Forum 17,505	17–6
24	December 23 7:30 pm PST	Sacramento	W 117–103	Magic Johnson (26)	Green & M. Thompson (9)	Michael Cooper (9)	The Forum 17,505	18–6
25	December 26 1:00 p.m. PST	@ Utah	W 117–109	Scott (26)	Abdul-Jabbar (9)	Johnson (14)	Salt Palace 12,212	19–6
26	December 29 7:30 pm PST	Philadelphia	W 131–115	Byron Scott (37)	Kurt Rambis (10)	Magic Johnson (17)	The Forum 17,505	20–6

January: 13–2 (home: 7–0; road: 6–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
27	January 3 5:00 pm PST	@ Portland	W 98–81	Byron Scott (31)	A.C. Green (10)	Magic Johnson (9)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	21–6
28	January 4 7:30 pm PST	San Antonio	W 133–115	James Worthy (23)	Magic Johnson (8)	Magic Johnson (13)	The Forum 17,505	22–6
29	January 6 7:30 p.m. PST	Dallas	W 103–89	Scott (28)	Green (9)	Johnson (15)	The Forum 17,505	23–6
30	January 8 5:00 p.m. PST	@ Detroit	W 106–104	Scott (35)	Worthy (8)	Johnson (9)	Pontiac Silverdome 40,278	24–6
31	January 9 4:30 pm PST	@ Indiana	W 101–98	Johnson & Worthy (21)	A.C. Green (12)	Magic Johnson (13)	Market Square Arena 16,912	25–6
32	January 12 7:30 pm PST	Golden State	W 117–113	Byron Scott (30)	A.C. Green (11)	Magic Johnson (14)	The Forum 17,505	26–6
33	January 13 7:30 pm PST	@ L.A. Clippers	L 109–110 (OT)	Magic Johnson (27)	Magic Johnson (11)	Magic Johnson (13)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 14,906	26–7
34	January 16 6:30 pm PST	@ Phoenix	W 107–96	James Worthy (25)	A.C. Green (8)	Magic Johnson (9)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,471	27–7
35	January 18 2:00 pm PST	Houston	W 121–110	Magic Johnson (39)	A.C. Green (9)	Magic Johnson (17)	The Forum 17,505	28–7
36	January 21 6:30 p.m. PST	@ Denver	L 113–115	Worthy (22)	Green, Johnson (10)	Johnson (14)	McNichols Sports Arena 17,022	28–8
37	January 22 7:30 pm PST	New York	W 113–112	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24)	A.C. Green (9)	Johnson & Scott (8)	The Forum 17,505	29–8
38	January 24 12:30 p.m. PST	@ Seattle	W 116–109	Johnson (34)	Worthy (12)	Worthy (7)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,739	30–8
39	January 26 7:30 p.m. PST	Utah	W 111–100	Johnson (22)	Worthy (10)	Johnson (11)	The Forum 17,505	31–8
40	January 28 7:30 pm PST	@ Sacramento	W 115–94	James Worthy (26)	A.C. Green (13)	Magic Johnson (9)	ARCO Arena I 10,333	32–8
41	January 29 7:30 p.m. PST	Atlanta	W 117–107	Worthy (29)	Green (8)	Johnson (13)	The Forum 17,505	33–8

February: 12–1 (home: 7–1; road: 5–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
42	February 2 7:30 p.m. PST	Chicago	W 110–101	Worthy (25)	Abdul-Jabbar (8)	Johnson (11)	The Forum 17,505	34–8
43	February 4	@ L.A. Clippers	W 117–86	Byron Scott (21)	Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (10)	Magic Johnson (11)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 15,371	35–8
All-Star Break
44	February 9 7:30 pm PST	Indiana	L 108–110	James Worthy (30)	Green & Worthy (8)	Magic Johnson (11)	The Forum 17,505	35–9
45	February 11 6:30 p.m. PST	@ Denver	W 120–108	Johnson (26)	Green (14)	Cooper (9)	McNichols Sports Arena 17,022	36–9
46	February 12 5:30 pm PST	@ San Antonio	W 133–132	Scott & Worthy (23)	Magic Johnson (9)	Magic Johnson (13)	HemisFair Arena 15,770	37–9
47	February 14 12:30 p.m. PST	Boston	W 115–106	Scott (38)	M. Thompson (11)	Johnson (14)	The Forum 17,505	38–9
48	February 16 7:30 pm PST	L.A. Clippers	W 119–100	Byron Scott (30)	Mychal Thompson (9)	Magic Johnson (12)	The Forum 17,505	39–9
49	February 18 5:30 pm PST	@ Houston	W 111–96	Byron Scott (27)	A.C. Green (10)	Magic Johnson (13)	The Summit 16,611	40–9
50	February 19 5:00 p.m. PST	@ Atlanta	W 126–119 (OT)	Worthy (38)	Green (11)	Johnson (19)	The Omni 16,451	41–9
51	February 21 12:30 p.m. PST	Detroit	W 117–110	Worthy (24)	Scott, M. Thompson (8)	Johnson (13)	The Forum 17,505	42–9
52	February 23 7:30 p.m. PST	Washington	W 111–100	Worthy (23)	M. Thompson (9)	Johnson (12)	The Forum 17,505	43–9
53	February 26 7:30 p.m. PST	Utah	W 112–105	Johnson (27)	M. Thompson (10)	Johnson (17)	The Forum 17,505	44–9
54	February 28 7:30 pm PST	Phoenix	W 111–97	Byron Scott (30)	Mychal Thompson (7)	Magic Johnson (15)	The Forum 17,505	45–9

March: 8–7 (home: 4–2; road: 4–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
55	March 1 7:30 p.m. PST	@ Seattle	L 100–114	Scott (21)	Green (16)	Johnson (13)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,850	45–10
56	March 4 7:30 pm PST	Golden State	W 120–107	Byron Scott (30)	A.C. Green (11)	Magic Johnson (10)	The Forum 17,505	46–10
57	March 6 11:00 a.m. PST	@ Dallas	W 108–97	Scott (28)	Green (12)	Johnson (16)	Reunion Arena 17,007	47–10
58	March 7 4:30 pm PST	@ Philadelphia	W 110–104	Magic Johnson (24)	Magic Johnson (11)	Magic Johnson (17)	The Spectrum 18,168	48–10
59	March 9 5:00 pm PST	@ New York	W 104–99	Magic Johnson (26)	Magic Johnson (14)	Magic Johnson (9)	Madison Square Garden 19,591	49–10
60	March 10 5:30 p.m. PST	@ Chicago	L 107–128	James Worthy (21)	Green, M. Thompson (12)	Milt Wagner (6)	Chicago Stadium 18,676	49–11
61	March 12 8:00 p.m. PST	Dallas	L 101–110	Scott (35)	M. Thompson (11)	Scott (10)	The Forum 17,505	49–12
62	March 14 7:30 pm PST	New Jersey	W 115–105	Byron Scott (21)	Kurt Rambis (6)	Wes Matthews (11)	The Forum 17,505	50–12
63	March 15 7:30 pm PST	@ Portland	L 95–112	James Worthy (21)	A.C. Green (11)	Michael Cooper (5)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	50–13
64	March 19 6:30 pm PST	@ Phoenix	L 97–102	Mychal Thompson (21)	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (12)	Matthews & Scott (7)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,471	50–14
65	March 20 7:30 pm PST	@ Golden State	W 130–127	Byron Scott (29)	Mychal Thompson (10)	Wes Matthews (13)	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 15,025	51–14
66	March 22 7:30 pm PST	Houston	W 117–95	Byron Scott (21)	A.C. Green (10)	Magic Johnson (12)	The Forum 17,505	52–14
67	March 25 7:30 p.m. PST	Denver	L 119–120	Worthy (24)	Green (13)	Scott (10)	The Forum 17,505	52–15
68	March 26 7:30 pm PST	@ Sacramento	L 92–114	Byron Scott (26)	James Worthy (9)	Wes Matthews (5)	ARCO Arena I 10,333	52–16
69	March 29 7:30 p.m. PST	Utah	W 122–111	Worthy (31)	Rambis (12)	Matthews (13)	The Forum 17,505	53–16

April: 9–4 (home: 6–0; road: 3–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
70	April 2 6:30 p.m. PST	@ Utah	L 92–106	Scott (23)	M. Thomspn (10)	Matthews (7)	Salt Palace 12,444	53–17
71	April 3 7:30 pm PDT	Sacramento	W 108–104	James Worthy (24)	Mychal Thompson (7)	Wes Matthews (10)	The Forum 17,505	54–17
72	April 5 7:30 p.m. PDT	Seattle	W 94–90	Worthy (28)	Worthy (8)	Worthy (4)	The Forum 17,505	55–17
73	April 8 7:30 pm PDT	L.A. Clippers	W 126–107	Campbell & Scott (20)	Kurt Rambis (15)	Magic Johnson (9)	The Forum 17,505	56–17
74	April 9 7:30 pm PDT	@ Portland	L 109–119	James Worthy (22)	Kurt Rambis (6)	Magic Johnson (12)	Memorial Coliseum 12,666	56–18
75	April 12 7:30 pm PDT	Portland	W 109–103	Scott & Worthy (25)	Mychal Thompson (13)	Magic Johnson (13)	The Forum 17,505	57–18
76	April 13 6:30 p.m. PDT	@ Denver	L 106–120	Campbell (16)	Johnson (11)	Johnson (10)	McNichols Sports Arena 17,022	57–19
77	April 15 7:30 pm PDT	Phoenix	W 117–114	Magic Johnson (31)	Mychal Thompson (9)	Magic Johnson (15)	The Forum 17,505	58–19
78	April 17 10:00 am PDT	@ Houston	L 119–127	Scott & M. Thompson (22)	Magic Johnson (10)	Magic Johnson (12)	The Summit 16,611	58–20
79	April 19 5:30 pm PDT	@ San Antonio	W 133–126	James Worthy (28)	A.C. Green (10)	Magic Johnson (9)	HemisFair Arena 12,456	59–20
80	April 20 5:30 p.m. PDT	@ Dallas	W 114–107	Scott (31)	M. Thompson (11)	Johnson (23)	Reunion Arena 17,007	60–20
81	April 22 7:30 pm PDT	@ Phoenix	W 117–112	Mychal Thompson (24)	A.C. Green (11)	Magic Johnson (17)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,077	61–20
82	April 24 12:30 pm PDT	Golden State	W 136–100	Tony Campbell (28)	Kurt Rambis (11)	Wes Matthews (10)	The Forum 17,505	62–20

1987–88 schedule

Playoffs

1988 playoff game log
Total: 15–9 (Home: 12–2; Road: 3–7)

First Round: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 29 7:30 pm PDT	San Antonio	W 122–110	James Worthy (22)	Mychal Thompson (14)	Magic Johnson (18)	The Forum 17,505	1–0
2	May 1 7:30 pm PDT	San Antonio	W 130–112	Mychal Thompson (29)	Mychal Thompson (16)	Magic Johnson (15)	The Forum 17,505	2–0
3	May 3 5:30 pm PDT	@ San Antonio	W 109–107	Magic Johnson (25)	James Worthy (11)	Magic Johnson (11)	HemisFair Arena 11,542	3–0

Western Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 8 12:30 p.m. PDT	Utah	W 110–91	Worthy (23)	Abdul-Jabbar (10)	Johnson (9)	The Forum 17,505	1–0
2	May 10 8:00 p.m. PDT	Utah	L 97–101	Scott (26)	M. Thompson (12)	Johnson (10)	The Forum 17,505	1–1
3	May 13 8:00 p.m. PDT	@ Utah	L 89–96	Scott (29)	M. Thompson (12)	Johnson (6)	Salt Palace 12,444	1–2
4	May 15 12:30 p.m. PDT	@ Utah	W 113–100	Worthy (29)	Abdul-Jabbar (11)	Johnson (9)	Salt Palace 12,444	2–2
5	May 17 7:30 p.m. PDT	Utah	W 111–109	Worthy (27)	M. Thompson (11)	Johnson (13)	The Forum 17,505	3–2
6	May 19 7:30 p.m. PDT	@ Utah	L 80–108	Scott (16)	M. Thompson (9)	Johnson (9)	Salt Palace 12,444	3–3
7	May 21 12:30 p.m. PDT	Utah	W 109–98	Scott (29)	Johnson (9)	Johnson (16)	The Forum 17,505	4–3

Western Conference Finals: 4–3 (home: 4–0; road: 0–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 23 7:30 p.m. PDT	Dallas	W 113–98	Worthy (28)	Green, Johnson, M Thompson (6)	Johnson (12)	The Forum 17,505	1–0
2	May 25 7:30 p.m. PDT	Dallas	W 123–101	Scott (30)	Abdul-Jabbar (7)	Johnson (19)	The Forum 17,505	2–0
3	May 27 5:00 p.m. PDT	@ Dallas	L 94–106	Worthy (19)	Johnson (8)	Johnson (10)	Reunion Arena 17,007	2–1
4	May 29 12:30 p.m. PDT	@ Dallas	L 104–118	Johnson (28)	Green (12)	Johnson (12)	Reunion Arena 17,007	2–2
5	May 31 8:30 p.m. PDT	Dallas	W 119–102	Worthy (28)	Green (10)	Johnson (20)	The Forum 17,505	3–2
6	June 2 6:00 p.m. PDT	@ Dallas	L 103–105	Scott, Worthy (27)	Worthy (11)	Johnson (12)	Reunion Arena 17,007	3–3
7	June 4 12:30 p.m. PDT	Dallas	W 117–102	Worthy (28)	Johnson (9)	Johnson (11)	The Forum 17,505	4–3

NBA Finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	June 7 6:00 p.m. PDT	Detroit	L 93–105	Johnson (28)	Green (12)	Johnson (10)	The Forum 17,505	0–1
2	June 9 6:00 p.m. PDT	Detroit	W 108–96	Worthy (26)	Green (13)	Johnson (11)	The Forum 17,505	1–1
3	June 12 12:30 pm PDT	@ Detroit	W 99–86	Worthy (24)	Worthy (9)	Johnson (14)	Pontiac Silverdome 39,188	2–1
4	June 14 6:00 p.m. PDT	@ Detroit	L 86–111	Johnson (23)	Green (10)	Johnson (6)	Pontiac Silverdome 34,297	2–2
5	June 16 6:00 p.m. PDT	@ Detroit	L 94–104	Abdul-Jabbar (26)	Abdul-Jabbar, Green, Johnson (6)	Johnson (17)	Pontiac Silverdome 41,372	2–3
6	June 19 12:30 p.m. PDT	Detroit	W 103–102	Worthy (28)	Green (10)	Johnson (19)	The Forum 17,505	3–3
7	June 21 6:00 p.m. PDT	Detroit	W 108–105	Worthy (36)	Worthy (16)	Johnson (14)	The Forum 17,505	4–3

1988 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

Los Angeles Lakers statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	80	80	28.9	.532	.000	.762	6.0	1.7	0.6	1.2	14.6
Tony Campbell	13	1	18.6	.564	.333	.718	2.1	1.1	0.8	0.2	11.0
Michael Cooper	61	8	19.4	.392	.320	.858	3.7	4.7	1.1	0.4	8.7
A.C. Green	82	64	32.1	.503	.000	.773	8.7	1.1	1.1	0.5	11.4
Magic Johnson	72	70	36.6	.492	.196	.853	6.2	11.9	1.6	0.2	19.6
Jeff Lamp	3	0	2.3	.000	.000	1.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7
Wes Matthews	51	8	13.8	.460	.233	.831	1.3	2.7	0.5	0.1	5.7
Kurt Rambis	70	20	12.1	.548	.000	.785	3.8	0.8	0.6	0.2	4.0
Byron Scott	81	81	37.6	.527	.346	.858	4.1	4.1	1.9	0.3	21.7
Mike Smrek	48	2	8.8	.427	.000	.667	1.8	0.2	0.1	0.9	2.8
Billy Thompson	9	0	4.2	.231	.000	.800	1.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	1.6
Mychal Thompson	80	0	25.1	.512	.000	.634	6.1	0.8	0.5	1.0	11.6
Ray Tolbert	14	0	5.9	.571	.000	.769	0.7	1.5	0.2	0.2	3.0
Milt Wagner	40	4	9.5	.422	.200	.897	0.7	1.5	0.2	0.1	3.8
James Worthy	75	72	35.4	.531	.125	.796	5.0	3.9	1.0	0.7	19.7

Playoffs

Los Angeles Lakers statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	24	24	29.9	.464	.000	.789	5.5	1.5	0.6	1.5	14.1
Tony Campbell	15	0	6.3	.429	.000	.688	0.7	0.3	0.2	0.0	3.1
Michael Cooper	24	0	24.5	.412	.403	.741	2.4	2.7	0.8	0.3	6.4
A.C. Green	24	18	30.3	.544	.000	.753	7.3	0.8	0.1	0.5	10.1
Magic Johnson	24	24	40.2	.514	.500	.852	5.4	12.6	1.4	0.1	19.9
Wes Matthews	10	0	2.7	.400	.000	.800	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.0	1.2
Kurt Rambis	19	6	9.8	.618	.000	.692	2.7	0.4	0.2	0.1	2.7
Byron Scott	24	24	37.4	.499	.436	.865	4.2	2.5	1.4	0.2	19.6
Mike Smrek	8	0	4.3	.200	.000	.333	0.8	0.0	0.1	0.3	0.4
Mychal Thompson	24	0	25.6	.513	.000	.581	7.1	0.5	0.7	0.8	9.7
Milt Wagner	5	0	2.8	.400	.000	1.000	0.4	0.6	0.0	0.2	1.2
James Worthy	24	24	37.3	.523	.111	.758	5.8	4.4	1.3	0.8	21.1

Awards and records

Awards

All-Star

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named to his 18th consecutive NBA All-Star Game. He broke the All-Star scoring record during the game at Chicago Stadium
Magic Johnson was voted to his 6th consecutive NBA All-Star Game as a starter and 8th overall
James Worthy was voted to his 3rd consecutive NBA All-Star Game
Pat Riley was the NBA All-Star Games Western Conference coach for the 4th consecutive time and 6th overall

Transactions

Trades

Free Agents

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team

References

1987-88 Los Angeles Lakers
"Halfway Through A 2-Year Quest For Greatness". The New York Times. November 1, 1987.
"Ranking the easiest paths to an NBA title ever". June 18, 2024.

External links

"Back to Back" – Documentary on the 1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers on YouTube

v t e Los Angeles Lakers 1987–88 NBA champions
1 Matthews 3 Lamp 4 Scott 19 Campbell 20 Wagner 21 Cooper 31 Rambis 32 Johnson 33 Abdul-Jabbar 42 Worthy (Finals MVP) 43 M. Thompson 45 Green 52 Smrek 55 B. Thompson
Head coach: Riley
Assistant coaches: Bertka Pfund
Regular season Playoffs

v t e NBA champions
1940s	1947: Philadelphia Warriors 1948: Baltimore Bullets 1949: Minneapolis Lakers
1950s	1950: Minneapolis Lakers 1951: Rochester Royals 1952: Minneapolis Lakers 1953: Minneapolis Lakers 1954: Minneapolis Lakers 1955: Syracuse Nationals 1956: Philadelphia Warriors 1957: Boston Celtics 1958: St. Louis Hawks 1959: Boston Celtics
1960s	1960: Boston Celtics 1961: Boston Celtics 1962: Boston Celtics 1963: Boston Celtics 1964: Boston Celtics 1965: Boston Celtics 1966: Boston Celtics 1967: Philadelphia 76ers 1968: Boston Celtics 1969: Boston Celtics
1970s	1970: New York Knicks 1971: Milwaukee Bucks 1972: Los Angeles Lakers 1973: New York Knicks 1974: Boston Celtics 1975: Golden State Warriors 1976: Boston Celtics 1977: Portland Trail Blazers 1978: Washington Bullets 1979: Seattle SuperSonics
1980s	1980: Los Angeles Lakers 1981: Boston Celtics 1982: Los Angeles Lakers 1983: Philadelphia 76ers 1984: Boston Celtics 1985: Los Angeles Lakers 1986: Boston Celtics 1987: Los Angeles Lakers 1988: Los Angeles Lakers 1989: Detroit Pistons
1990s	1990: Detroit Pistons 1991: Chicago Bulls 1992: Chicago Bulls 1993: Chicago Bulls 1994: Houston Rockets 1995: Houston Rockets 1996: Chicago Bulls 1997: Chicago Bulls 1998: Chicago Bulls 1999: San Antonio Spurs
2000s	2000: Los Angeles Lakers 2001: Los Angeles Lakers 2002: Los Angeles Lakers 2003: San Antonio Spurs 2004: Detroit Pistons 2005: San Antonio Spurs 2006: Miami Heat 2007: San Antonio Spurs 2008: Boston Celtics 2009: Los Angeles Lakers
2010s	2010: Los Angeles Lakers 2011: Dallas Mavericks 2012: Miami Heat 2013: Miami Heat 2014: San Antonio Spurs 2015: Golden State Warriors 2016: Cleveland Cavaliers 2017: Golden State Warriors 2018: Golden State Warriors 2019: Toronto Raptors
2020s	2020: Los Angeles Lakers 2021: Milwaukee Bucks 2022: Golden State Warriors 2023: Denver Nuggets 2024: Boston Celtics

1987–88 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston New Jersey New York Philadelphia Washington
Central	Atlanta Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Sacramento San Antonio Utah
Pacific	Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Seattle

v t e Los Angeles Lakers
Founded in 1946 Played in Detroit (1946–1947) and Minneapolis (1947–1960) 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" 33 game win streak 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 Starting 5 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash Murals of Kobe Bryant