# 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.

## Draft picks

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

## 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, 1982. He seriously considered quitting basketball.
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, 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, he was booed across the league, even by Lakers' fans. 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.
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.

### Season standings

| Pacific Divisionvte | 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 Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | 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 | NJN | 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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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
### 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