The 1986–87 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 41st season of the franchise, 39th in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 27th in Los Angeles. Coming from a shocking defeat to the Houston Rockets in the previous season's Western Conference Finals in five games, where they won the first game, but proceeded to drop the next four, the Lakers avenged their playoff upset by making the NBA Finals for the sixth time in the 1980s. Prior to reaching the NBA Finals, in the playoffs, the Lakers swept the Denver Nuggets in three games in the First Round, defeated the Golden State Warriors in five games in the Semi-finals, and swept the Seattle SuperSonics in four games in the Conference Finals. This team is widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NBA history.

The highlight of the season saw the Lakers winning the NBA Finals, and their tenth NBA title (fifth in Los Angeles) over the defending NBA champions and rivals, the Boston Celtics, in six games. This marked the third and final time the Lakers and Celtics faced off against each other in the NBA Finals in the 1980s, as well as the last time the Lakers and Celtics faced off against each other in the NBA Finals until 2008, where the Celtics defeated the Lakers 4–2 to win their 17th NBA championship. The two teams would then meet again in 2010, where the Lakers defeated the Celtics 4–3 to win their 16th NBA championship. HoopsHype would later rank this squad as the team with the seventh-easiest route to winning the NBA Finals in 2024 due to the fact that outside of the rivaling Celtics, two of their three opponents the Lakers faced off against had losing records in the Western Conference, with the only other team they played against in the Golden State Warriors holding a 42–40 record instead.

Draft picks Round Pick Player Nationality School/Club team 1 23 Ken Barlow Notre Dame 3 69 Andre Turner Memphis State

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Game log Regular season

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | November 1 | @ Houston | L 102-112 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) | Kurt Rambis (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Summit16,016 | 0–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | November 4 | @ Seattle | W 110-96 | James Worthy (26) | Kurt Rambis (17) | Magic Johnson (10) | Seattle Center Coliseum10,426 | 1-1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | November 7 | Denver | W 138-116 | James Worthy (30) | Abdul-Jabbar & Brickowski (9) | Magic Johnson (18) | The Forum15,872 | 2–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | November 9 | New York | W 111-88 | James Worthy (22) | Abdul-Jabbar & B. Thompson (6) | Magic Johnson (15) | The Forum17,505 | 3–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | November 12 | Seattle | W 122-97 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum13,694 | 4–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 6 | November 16 | Sacramento | W 113-111 | Magic Johnson (34) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum13,421 | 5–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 7 | November 18 | @ Dallas | W 114-110 | Magic Johnson (29) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) | Magic Johnson (9) | Reunion Arena17,007 | 6–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 19 | @ San Antonio | W 117-108 | Magic Johnson (25) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) | Magic Johnson (13) | HemisFair Arena10,581 | 7–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 9 | November 21 | New Jersey | W 111-95 | James Worthy (26) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum14,918 | 8–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 10 | November 23 | Milwaukee | W 127-117 | Magic Johnson (23) | Byron Scott (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum16,251 | 9–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 11 | November 25 | Atlanta | L 107-113 | Magic Johnson (22) | A.C. Green (7) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (8) | The Forum17,505 | 9–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 12 | November 26 | @ L.A. Clippers | W 126-92 | A.C. Green (19) | A.C. Green (7) | Magic Johnson (14) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena12,110 | 10–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 13 | November 28 | Chicago | W 110-103 | Magic Johnson (30) | A.C. Green (12) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum17,505 | 11–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 14 | November 30 | L.A. Clippers | W 137-115 | Byron Scott (26) | Billy Thompson (13) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum13,099 | 12–2

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 15 | December 4 | @ Golden State | L 106-116 | Magic Johnson (28) | James Worthy (12) | Johnson & Scott (6) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena15,025 | 12–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 16 | December 5 | Dallas | W 112-104 | Magic Johnson (27) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (8) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum15,896 | 13–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 17 | December 7 | Golden State | W 132-100 | Byron Scott (26) | A.C. Green (9) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum14,937 | 14–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 18 | December 9 | @ New York | W 113-87 | Magic Johnson (22) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (8) | Magic Johnson (15) | Madison Square Garden19,320 | 15–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 19 | December 10 | @ Milwaukee | L 93-116 | James Worthy (24) | James Worthy (6) | Wes Matthews (6) | MECCA Arena11,052 | 15–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 20 | December 12 | @ Boston | W 117-110 | Magic Johnson (31) | A.C. Green (11) | Magic Johnson (8) | Boston Garden14,890 | 16–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 21 | December 13 | @ Detroit | L 114-119 | Magic Johnson (34) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) | Magic Johnson (9) | Pontiac Silverdome33,447 | 16–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 22 | December 16 | @ Cleveland | W 121-116 | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (25) | Magic Johnson (11) | Magic Johnson (14) | Richfield Coliseum17,755 | 17–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 23 | December 18 | Portland | W 131-115 | Byron Scott (27) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (14) | Magic Johnson (18) | The Forum15,007 | 18–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 24 | December 20 | @ Dallas | L 119-130 | Magic Johnson (34) | A.C. Green (15) | Magic Johnson (15) | Reunion Arena17,007 | 18–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 25 | December 21 | @ Houston | W 103-96 | Magic Johnson (38) | A.C. Green (16) | Magic Johnson (16) | The Summit16,016 | 19–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 26 | December 23 | @ Sacramento | W 127-117 (OT) | Magic Johnson (46) | A.C. Green (16) | Magic Johnson (9) | ARCO Arena I10,333 | 20–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 27 | December 26 | Houston | W 134-111 | Magic Johnson (30) | Kurt Rambis (6) | Magic Johnson (15) | The Forum17,505 | 21–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | December 28 | Philadelphia | W 111-85 | Magic Johnson (28) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (9) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum17,505 | 22–6

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 29 | January 1 | @ Portland | W 140-104 | Byron Scott (31) | A.C. Green (9) | Magic Johnson (18) | Memorial Coliseum12,666 | 23–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 30 | January 2 | Phoenix | W 155-118 | Magic Johnson (32) | A.C. Green (12) | Magic Johnson (14) | The Forum17,505 | 24–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 31 | January 4 | Utah | W 121-113 | Magic Johnson (26) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum17,505 | 25–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 32 | January 7 | Denver | W 147-109 | Byron Scott (23) | A.C. Green (10) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum15,777 | 26–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 33 | January 8 | @ Utah | L 101-107 | Magic Johnson (25) | A.C. Green (14) | Magic Johnson (9) | Salt Palace12,212 | 26–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 34 | January 10 | @ Golden State | L 109-124 | Magic Johnson (38) | Green & Rambis (7) | Magic Johnson (7) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena15,025 | 26–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 35 | January 11 | San Antonio | W 111-109 | James Worthy (30) | Kurt Rambis (6) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum15,294 | 27–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 36 | January 15 | Golden State | W 129-109 | Johnson & Worthy (31) | James Worthy (13) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum17,505 | 28–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 37 | January 18 | @ Washington | W 115-101 | Magic Johnson (26) | A.C. Green (10) | Magic Johnson (10) | Capital Centre19,411 | 29–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 38 | January 19 | @ New Jersey | W 126-115 | Magic Johnson (42) | Magic Johnson (11) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (7) | Brendan Byrne Arena14,197 | 30–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 39 | January 21 | @ Atlanta | W 112-109 | James Worthy (27) | Green & Worthy (11) | Magic Johnson (9) | Omni Coliseum16,522 | 31–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 40 | January 22 | @ Indiana | W 118-108 | Magic Johnson (29) | Johnson & Rambis (10) | Magic Johnson (11) | Market Square Arena16,912 | 32–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 41 | January 24 | @ Dallas | L 117-132 | Magic Johnson (25) | James Worthy (8) | Magic Johnson (12) | Reunion Arena17,007 | 32–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 42 | January 27 | Portland | W 107-100 | Byron Scott (21) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum15,989 | 33–9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 43 | January 28 | @ Seattle | L 101-125 | Magic Johnson (24) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) | Magic Johnson (11) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,634 | 33–10 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 44 | January 30 | @ Phoenix | W 114-102 | A.C. Green (24) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (9) | Magic Johnson (19) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum14,471 | 34–10

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 45 | February 2 | Dallas | L 99-103 | Byron Scott (21) | A.C. Green (9) | Michael Cooper (10) | The Forum17,505 | 34–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 46 | February 4 | Sacramento | W 128-92 | Byron Scott (21) | A.C. Green (11) | Magic Johnson (17) | The Forum14,729 | 35–11 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 47 | February 5 | @ Portland | L 104-105 | Magic Johnson (26) | A.C. Green (16) | Magic Johnson (10) | Memorial Coliseum12,666 | 35–12 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- style="background:#cfc;" | 48 | February 10 | @ Sacramento | W 114-98 | Byron Scott (30) | Kurt Rambis (11) | Magic Johnson (13) | ARCO Arena I10,333 | 36–12 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 49 | February 13 | Indiana | W 113-108 | Magic Johnson (40) | James Worthy (9) | Cooper & Johnson (7) | The Forum17,505 | 37–12 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 50 | February 15 | Boston | W 106-103 | Magic Johnson (39) | Johnson & Worthy (7) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum17,505 | 38–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 51 | February 17 | Washington | L 99-114 | James Worthy (21) | Kurt Rambis (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum17,505 | 38–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 52 | February 18 | @ Denver | W 128-122 | Magic Johnson (37) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) | Magic Johnson (16) | McNichols Sports Arena17,022 | 39–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 53 | February 20 | @ Chicago | W 110-100 | Magic Johnson (28) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) | Magic Johnson (16) | Chicago Stadium18,079 | 40–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 54 | February 22 | @ Philadelphia | W 112-110 (OT) | James Worthy (24) | A.C. Green (10) | Magic Johnson (18) | The Spectrum17,967 | 41–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 55 | February 24 | @ Phoenix | W 97-93 | Cooper & Scott (21) | A.C. Green (15) | Michael Cooper (7) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,686 | 42–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 56 | February 25 | Phoenix | W 99-91 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Abdul-Jabbar & Cooper (9) | Michael Cooper (8) | The Forum16,416 | 43–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 57 | February 27 | Golden State | W 121-109 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) | A.C. Green (11) | Magic Johnson (15) | The Forum17,505 | 44–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 58 | February 28 | @ Utah | L 100-107 | Magic Johnson (24) | A.C. Green (9) | Magic Johnson (14) | Salt Palace12,212 | 44–14

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 59 | March 3 | @ Golden State | W 114-109 | Byron Scott (26) | A.C. Green (12) | Magic Johnson (17) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena15,025 | 45–14 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 60 | March 4 | Seattle | W 138-124 | Magic Johnson (31) | A.C. Green (11) | Magic Johnson (19) | The Forum17,505 | 46–14 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 61 | March 7 | Cleveland