The 1995–96 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 48th season for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association, and their 36th season in Los Angeles, California. It was also the highlight of retired All-Star guard, and Lakers legend Magic Johnson making a comeback at the age of 36; Johnson had retired from the NBA early into the 1991–92 season due to his HIV infection.
Season summary
Off-season During the off-season, the team signed free agents Corie Blount and Derek Strong.
Regular season The Lakers got off to a slow start by losing three of their first four games of the regular season, and played around .500 in winning percentage with a 17–17 start to the season. The team soon recovered holding a 24–18 record before Johnson's arrival on January 30, 1996, in a 128–118 home win over the Golden State Warriors at the Great Western Forum; Johnson scored 19 points along with 8 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals in 27 minutes off the bench. The Lakers won ten of their twelve games in February, which included an eight-game winning streak, and held a 28–19 record at the All-Star break. The Lakers finished in second place in the Pacific Division with a 53–29 record, and earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference; it was their first 50-win season since the 1990–91 season.
Cedric Ceballos averaged 21.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while Nick Van Exel provided the team with 14.9 points and 6.9 assists per game, and led them with 144 three-point field goals, and Johnson played a sixth man role off the bench, moving into the power forward position, averaging 14.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game in 32 games, starting in just nine of them. In addition, Elden Campbell averaged 13.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, while Vlade Divac provided with 12.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and second-year guard Eddie Jones contributed 12.8 points, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Also off the bench, Anthony Peeler contributed 9.7 points per game and 105 three-point field goals, while Sedale Threatt provided with 7.3 points and 3.3 assists per game, and George Lynch averaged 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Johnson finished in fifth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and also finished tied in twelfth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Campbell finished in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting. Johnson also reached a milestone during the regular season, by passing his 10,000 career assist in a 102–89 road win over the Sacramento Kings, at the ARCO Arena II on March 7, 1996.
The Lakers finished 21st in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 649,634 at the Great Western Forum during the regular season.
NBA playoffs In the Western Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Lakers faced off against the 5th–seeded, and 2-time defending NBA champion Houston Rockets, a team that featured All-Star center Hakeem Olajuwon, All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, and Robert Horry. The Lakers lost Game 1 to the Rockets at home, 87–83 at the Great Western Forum, but managed to win Game 2 at home, 104–94 to even the series. However, the Lakers lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the Rockets at The Summit, 102–94, thus losing the series in four games.
Notable incidents This season was not without controversy. In March, after a home game against the Seattle SuperSonics, Ceballos missed the team's charter flight to Seattle, Washington without explanation, as the Lakers were scheduled to play the SuperSonics again; Ceballos went missing for a few days, but later on returned to the team, and was suspended without pay. Their troubles continued when Van Exel shoved a referee, during a road game against the Denver Nuggets at the McNichols Sports Arena on April 9, and was suspended for the final seven games of the regular season. Johnson was also suspended for three games for bumping into a referee during a home game against the Phoenix Suns on April 14.
Aftermath Following the season, Johnson decided to retire for the second and final time, after the Lakers' loss to the Rockets in the opening round of the NBA playoffs. Meanwhile, Divac was traded to the Charlotte Hornets after seven seasons with the Lakers, Peeler and Lynch were both traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies, Strong signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic, and Threatt was released to free agency.
NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 2 37 Frankie King Guard Western Carolina
Roster
Regular season
Magic's Comeback In the 1995–96 NBA season, Johnson made a short-lived second comeback as a player from January 1996 to May 1996. In this time, he had bulked up from his self-reported weight of 235 lb in 1992,NY Times, Johnson, Unbowed by H.I.V., Will Return to Pro Basketball , accessed June 1, 2007. to 255 lb in order to play power forward, a much more physical position than his usual point guard role. At age 36, Johnson played the last 32 games of the season, averaging 14.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game. The Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, and Johnson retired for good. Johnson explained his comeback with the words: "I'm going out on my terms, something I couldn't say when I aborted a comeback in 1992."
Season standings
Game log Regular season
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | November 3 | Denver | W 98-96 | Cedric Ceballos (26) | Vlade Divac (10) | Nick Van Exel (7) | Great Western Forum16,345 | 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | November 4 | @ Seattle | L 89-103 | Elden Campbell (24) | Elden Campbell (14) | 3 players tied (2) | KeyArena17,102 | 1-1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | November 7 | @ Minnesota | L 92-93 | Cedric Ceballos (27) | 3 players tied (6) | Nick Van Exel (10) | Target Center14,756 | 1–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | November 8 | @ Utah | L 98-108 | Cedric Ceballos (26) | Cedric Ceballos (10) | Nick Van Exel (7) | Delta Center19,911 | 1–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | November 10 | Seattle | W 100-97 | Cedric Ceballos (32) | Cedric Ceballos (12) | Sedale Threatt (7) | Great Western Forum15,542 | 2–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 6 | November 11 | @ Golden State | L 105-123 | Cedric Ceballos (25) | Cedric Ceballos (15) | Nick Van Exel (6) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena15,025 | 2–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 7 | November 14 | @ Sacramento | W 106-100 | Cedric Ceballos (31) | Elden Campbell (12) | Sedale Threatt (8) | ARCO Arena17,317 | 3–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 15 | Dallas | W 114-97 | Cedric Ceballos (31) | Cedric Ceballos (13) | Nick Van Exel (12) | Great Western Forum11,381 | 4-4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 9 | November 17 | @ Vancouver | W 114-91 | Nick Van Exel (25) | Cedric Ceballos (8) | Sedale Threatt (7) | General Motors Place19,193 | 5–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 10 | November 19 | L.A. Clippers | W 109-88 | Cedric Ceballos (25) | Cedric Ceballos (13) | Nick Van Exel (9) | Great Western Forum15,617 | 6–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 11 | November 21 | Portland | L 108-109 | Cedric Ceballos (38) | Vlade Divac (16) | Nick Van Exel (15) | Great Western Forum10,836 | 6–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 12 | November 24 | Sacramento | L 98-99 | Cedric Ceballos (23) | Cedric Ceballos (11) | Nick Van Exel (8) | Great Western Forum16,343 | 6-6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 13 | November 25 | @ Phoenix | L 113-114 | Cedric Ceballos (34) | Elden Campbell (10) | Nick Van Exel (7) | American West Arena19,023 | 6–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 14 | November 29 | Phoenix | W 107-96 | Cedric Ceballos (24) | 3 players tied (9) | 3 players tied (6) | Great Western Forum13,484 | 7-7
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 15 | December 1 | Vancouver | W 113-100 | Cedric Ceballos (22) | Vlade Divac (13) | Nick Van Exel (16) | Great Western Forum12,426 | 8–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 16 | December 3 | Indiana | W 104-96 | Nick Van Exel (26) | Elden Campbell (10) | Threatt & Van Exel (5) | Great Western Forum14,223 | 9–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 17 | December 5 | @ San Antonio | L 89-117 | Cedric Ceballos (16) | Cedric Ceballos (7) | 3 players tied (4) | Alamodome14,551 | 9–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 18 | December 6 | @ Houston | L 99-112 | Cedric Ceballos (27) | Cedric Ceballos (17) | Sedale Threatt (9) | The Summit16,285 | 9-9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 19 | December 8 | Toronto | W 120-103 | Jones & Threatt (27) | Elden Campbell (12) | Eddie Jones (11) | Great Western Forum12,982 | 10–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 20 | December 10 | Detroit | W 87-82 | Cedric Ceballos (22) | Vlade Divac (13) | Divac & Van Exel (6) | Great Western Forum16,176 | 11–9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 21 | December 12 | @ New York | L 82-97 | Cedric Ceballos (26) | Cedric Ceballos (9) | Nick Van Exel (9) | Madison Square Garden19,763 | 11–10 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 22 | December 13 | @ Detroit | W 101-98 | Nick Van Exel (30) | Campbell & Ceballos (8) | Nick Van Exel (7) | The Palace of Auburn Hills14,579 | 12–10 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 23 | December 15 | @ Washington | L 114-122 | Cedric Ceballos (33) | Elden Campbell (8) | Nick Van Exel (9) | US Airways Arena18,756 | 12–11 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 24 | December 16 | @ Chicago | L 88-108 | Cedric Ceballos (27) | Cedric Ceballos (9) | Sedale Threatt (4) | United Center23,824 | 12-12 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 25 | December 19 | @ Milwaukee | W 109-105 | Nick Van Exel (24) | Elden Campbell (9) | Nick Van Exel (7) | Bradley Center14,488 | 13–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 26 | December 20 | @ Indiana | L 98-109 | Nick Van Exel (20) | Vlade Divac (12) | Nick Van Exel (7) | Market Square Arena15,870 | 13-13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 27 | December 22 | Sacramento | W 116-83 | Cedric Ceballos (27) | Elden Campbell (12) | Threatt & Van Exel (9) | Great Western Forum16,189 | 14–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | December 23 | @ Portland | W 102-99 | Cedric Ceballos (24) | Cedric Ceballos (11) | Peeler & Threatt (5) | Rose Garden21,401 | 15–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 29 | December 26 | Boston | W 102-91 | Eddie Jones (19) | Vlade Divac (11) | Nick Van Exel (9) | Great Western Forum14,324 | 16–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 30 | December 28 | San Antonio | L 99-107 | Elden Campbell (25) | Elden Campbell (9) | Eddie Jones (9) | Great Western Forum17,505 | 16–14 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 31 | December 30 | @ Utah | L 82-99 | Cedric Ceballos (18) | Derek Strong (11) | Eddie Jones (7) | Delta Center19,911 | 16–15
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 32 | January 2 | Philadelphia | L 89-90 | Nick Van Exel (27) | Vlade Divac (14) | Nick Van Exel (9) | Great Western Forum11,874 | 16-16 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 33 | January 5 | Utah | W 116-100 | Cedric Ceballos (28) | Divac & Jones (7) | Jones & Van Exel (8) | Great Western Forum16,369 | 17–16 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 34 | January 7 | Denver | L 93-96 | Vlade Divac (21) | Campbell & Divac (9) | Nick Van Exel (10) | Great Western Forum13,845 | 17-17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 35 | January 9 | Minnesota | W 106-104 | Cedric Ceballos (29) | Corie Blount (9) | Nick Van Exel (9) | Great Western Forum10,755 | 18–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 36 | January 12 | Houston | W 101-100 | Vlade Divac (25) | Vlade Divac (11) | Nick Van Exel (11) | Great Western Forum17,505 | 19–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 37 | January 15 | Miami | W 96-88 | Eddie Jones (20) | Vlade Divac (17) | Nick Van Exel (6) | Great Western Forum14,109 | 20–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 38 | January 19 | @ L.A. Clippers | W 106-100 | Cedric Ceballos (25) | George Lynch (7) | 3 players tied (4) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena14,018 | 21–17 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 39 | January 20 | Cleveland | L 82-93 | Nick Van Exel (17) | George Lynch (9) | Nick Van Exel (5) | Great Western Forum15,380 | 21–18 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 40 | January 24 | @ Boston | W 124-107