The 1982–83 NBA season was the Lakers' 35th season in the NBA and the 23rd season in Los Angeles. The Lakers were attempting to become the first team since the Boston Celtics in 1969 to repeat as NBA Champions. However, on April 10, 1983, rookie and number one pick in the 1982 draft James Worthy injured his leg while attempting a putback in a home loss against Phoenix, ending his season. Even without Worthy for the playoffs, the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals, only to be swept in four games by the Julius Erving and Moses Malone led Philadelphia 76ers.

This was Pat Riley's first full season as Lakers head coach. Former Lakers star guard and coach Jerry West started his long and successful tenure as general manager. West's predecessor as coach and GM, Bill Sharman, was named team president.

NBA draft The Lakers were the defending league champions, which normally results in a low draft position, but the team had the top pick in the Draft thanks to a trade made years earlier. On February 15, 1980, the Lakers had sent Don Ford and their top pick in the 1980 NBA Draft (who turned out to be Chad Kinch) to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Butch Lee and the Cavs' top pick in the 1982 NBA Draft.James Worthy Bio at NBA.com Prior to the implementation of the NBA draft lottery in 1985, the teams with the two worst records from the previous season would flip a coin flip for the top pick. Cleveland finished last in 1981–82, and the Lakers won the coin flip with the San Diego Clippers. Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 1 James Worthy Forward North Carolina

Roster

Regular season

Season standings + Pacific Division Team W L PCT. GB Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 - Phoenix Suns 53 29 .646 5 Seattle SuperSonics 48 34 .585 10 Portland Trail Blazers 46 36 .561 12 Golden State Warriors 30 52 .366 28 San Diego Clippers 25 57 .305 33

Game log Regular season

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | October 29 | Golden State | L 117-132 | Magic Johnson (22) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum15,802 | 0–1

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | November 3 | @ Denver | W 135-134 (OT) | 3 players tied (22) | Magic Johnson (15) | Magic Johnson (13) | McNichols Sports Arena14,807 | 1-1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | November 4 | Denver | W 131-108 | Norm Nixon (21) | Kurt Rambis (11) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum12,815 | 2–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | November 6 | @ Utah | W 104-101 | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (22) | Magic Johnson (11) | Magic Johnson (8) | Salt Palace11,869 | 3–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | November 7 | Portland | W 103-89 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (11) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum13,526 | 4–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 6 | November 9 | Kansas City | W 139-117 | Norm Nixon (20) | Abdul-Jabbar & Worthy (7) | Norm Nixon (13) | The Forum12,402 | 5–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 7 | November 12 | Houston | W 127-96 | Magic Johnson (28) | Johnson & Wilkes (10) | Norm Nixon (10) | The Forum15,804 | 6–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 14 | Cleveland | W 111-98 | Jamaal Wilkes (30) | Magic Johnson (12) | Norm Nixon (12) | The Forum12,806 | 7–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 9 | November 16 | @ Phoenix | L 105-113 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15) | Magic Johnson (7) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum13,288 | 7–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 10 | November 17 | @ Dallas | L 117-118 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Norm Nixon (13) | Reunion Arena17,134 | 7–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 11 | November 19 | Washington | W 122-92 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | 3 players tied (9) | Norm Nixon (10) | The Forum14,945 | 8–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 12 | November 21 | Denver | W 143-129 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) | Kurt Rambis (16) | Norm Nixon (15) | The Forum17,505 | 9–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 13 | November 24 | @ Seattle | W 111-93 | James Worthy (26) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | Kingdome26,230 | 10–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 14 | November 26 | @ San Diego | W 117-115 | Magic Johnson (32) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Norm Nixon (8) | San Diego Sports Arena12,077 | 11–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 15 | November 28 | Golden State | W 142-127 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum16,125 | 12–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 16 | November 30 | @ San Antonio | L 114-117 | Norm Nixon (23) | James Worthy (10) | Norm Nixon (11) | HemisFair Arena12,115 | 12–4

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 17 | December 1 | @ Houston | W 106-95 | Johnson & McAdoo (19) | Abdul-Jabbar & Wilkes (8) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Summit8,786 | 13–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 18 | December 3 | Portland | W 115-100 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22) | 3 players tied (9) | Magic Johnson (14) | The Forum13,787 | 14–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 19 | December 5 | Philadelphia | L 104-114 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Bob McAdoo (9) | Johnson & Nixon (7) | The Forum | 14–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 20 | December 8 | Phoenix | W 89-86 | Jamaal Wilkes (20) | Kurt Rambis (13) | Magic Johnson (8) | The Forum13,763 | 15–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 21 | December 10 | @ Utah | W 128-122 | Bob McAdoo (26) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (13) | Salt Palace9,023 | 16–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 22 | December 11 | @ Golden State | W 128-107 | Kurt Rambis (20) | Kurt Rambis (14) | Cooper & Nixon (9) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena13,335 | 17–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 23 | December 14 | @ Portland | L 103-107 | Magic Johnson (24) | Magic Johnson (8) | Magic Johnson (12) | Memorial Coliseum | 17–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 24 | December 17 | New Jersey | W 117-106 | Jamaal Wilkes (27) | Johnson & Wilkes (8) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum15,786 | 18–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 25 | December 18 | @ Phoenix | L 100-126 | Jamaal Wilkes (20) | Bob McAdoo (8) | James Worthy (7) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,856 | 18–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 26 | December 19 | Dallas | W 110-108 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (17) | Magic Johnson (13) | The Forum14,094 | 19–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 27 | December 22 | Utah | W 124-100 | Bob McAdoo (22) | 3 players tied (7) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum12,358 | 20–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | December 23 | @ San Diego | W 120-115 | Magic Johnson (23) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (7) | Magic Johnson (9) | San Diego Sports Arena8,160 | 21–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 29 | December 26 | @ Houston | W 96-94 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (4) | The Summit10,833 | 22–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 30 | December 29 | @ Golden State | W 120-110 | Magic Johnson (27) | Kurt Rambis (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena13,335 | 23–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 31 | December 30 | Seattle | W 137-117 | Norm Nixon (24) | Magic Johnson (8) | Magic Johnson (16) | The Forum17,505 | 24–7

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 32 | January 2 | Detroit | W 127-112 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) | Magic Johnson (7) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum15,343 | 25–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 33 | January 5 | @ Philadelphia | L 120-122 (OT) | Jamaal Wilkes (36) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (20) | The Spectrum18,482 | 25–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 34 | January 6 | @ Cleveland | W 125-107 | Norm Nixon (20) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Magic Johnson (8) | Richfield Coliseum11,270 | 26–8 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 35 | January 8 | @ New York | W 108-90 | McAdoo & Wilkes (20) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10) | Johnson & Nixon (8) | Madison Square Garden19,591 | 27–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 36 | January 11 | @ New Jersey | L 96-110 | Wilkes & Worthy (17) | Johnson & McAdoo (8) | Magic Johnson (11) | Brendan Byrne Arena20,149 | 27–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 37 | January 15 | @ Atlanta | W 120-101 | Jamaal Wilkes (21) | Magic Johnson (17) | Magic Johnson (21) | Omni Coliseum15,956 | 28–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 38 | January 19 | San Diego | W 107-104 | Jamaal Wilkes (26) | Kurt Rambis (10) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum | 29–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 39 | January 21 | San Antonio | W 119-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23) | Bob McAdoo (7) | Norm Nixon (15) | The Forum | 30–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 40 | January 23 | Indiana | W 105-102 | Jamaal Wilkes (28) | Bob McAdoo (9) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7) | The Forum14,139 | 31–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 41 | January 25 | @ Portland | W 125-120 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25) | Magic Johnson (9) | Magic Johnson (9) | Memorial Coliseum12,666 | 32–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 42 | January 26 | Milwaukee | W 115-113 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (29) | Magic Johnson (12) | Magic Johnson (20) | The Forum17,505 | 33–9 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 43 | January 28 | Atlanta | W 109-85 | Magic Johnson (21) | Kurt Rambis (12) | Magic Johnson (9) | The Forum17,505 | 34–9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 44 | January 30 | @ Boston | L 95-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) | Magic Johnson (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | Boston Garden15,320 | 34–10

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 45 | February 2 | @ Dallas | L 120-122 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (34) | Johnson & Rambis (9) | 3 players tied (6) | Reunion Arena17,134 | 34–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 46 | February 4 | @ Kansas City | W 143-125 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (28) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (15) | Checkerdome | 35–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 47 | February 6 | Kansas City | W 116-106 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (18) | James Worthy (8) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum17,505 | 36–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 48 | February 8 | @ Seattle | W 121-118 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30) | Magic Johnson (10) | Magic Johnson (11) | Kingdome19,726 | 37–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 49 | February 9 | Utah | W 113-99 | Jamaal Wilkes (22) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Magic Johnson (12) | The Forum13,656 | 38–11 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- style="background:#fcc;" | 50 | February 15 | San Antonio | L 103-124 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) | Abdul-Jabbar & McAdoo (10) | Norm Nixon (12) | The Forum15,111 | 38–12 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 51 | February 17 | @ Dallas | W 127-110 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Magic Johnson (11) | Reunion Arena17,134 | 39–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 52 | February 18 | @ Kansas City | L 118-124 | Jamaal Wilkes (26) | Johnson & Worthy (7) | Magic Johnson (15) | Kemper Arena15,116 | 39–13 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 53 | February 20 | @ Indiana | W 126-112 | Magic Johnson (27) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Norm Nixon (13) | Market Square Arena10,952 | 40–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 54 | February 23 | Boston | L 104-113 | Magic Johnson (20) | Magic Johnson (13) | Magic Johnson (10) | The Forum17,505 | 40–14 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 55 | February 26 | @ Utah | L 92-101 | Jamaal Wilkes (17) | 3 players tied (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | Salt Palace12,097 | 40–15 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 56 | February 27 | Denver | L 120-135 | Magic Johnson (28) | Kurt Rambis (14) | Magic Johnson (11) | The Forum17,505 | 40–16

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 57 | March 1 | @ Chicago | W 114-111 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31) | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (13) | Abdul-Jabbar & Johnson (8) | Chicago Stadium15,307 | 41–16 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 58 | March 2 | @ Milwaukee | W 127-117 | Magic Johnson (34) | 3 players tied (7) | Magic Johnson (15) | MECCA Arena11,052 | 42–16 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 59 | March 4 | @ Washington | L 93-96 | Norm Nixon (26) | Kurt Rambis (9) | Magic Johnson (10) | Capital Centre17,118 | 42–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 60 | March 5 | @ Detroit | W 122-108 | James Worthy (28) | Johnson & Worthy (10) | Magic Johnson (16) | Pontiac Silverdome25,278 | 43–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 61 | March 8 | @ Golden State | W 116-112 | Magic Johnson (31) | Magic Johnson (12)