The 1997–98 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 50th season for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association, and their 38th season in Los Angeles, California.
Season summary
Off-season During the off-season, the Lakers signed free agents Rick Fox, and three-point specialist Jon Barry.
Regular season With the addition of Fox, the Lakers got off to a fast start to the regular season by winning their first eleven games, before losing Shaquille O'Neal to a strained stomach muscle that forced him to sit out 20 games; in his absence, the team posted a 13–7 record. In January, Nick Van Exel suffered a knee injury missing 18 games, and was replaced with second-year guard Derek Fisher as the team's starting point guard for the remainder of the season. The Lakers held a 34–11 record at the All-Star break, and won 22 of their final 25 games to tie the Pacific Division title with the Seattle SuperSonics with a 61–21 record, earning the third seed in the Western Conference. It was the team's best record since the 1989–90 season.
O'Neal averaged 28.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, while Eddie Jones averaged 16.9 points and 2.0 steals per game, led the Lakers with 143 three-point field goals, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and second-year guard Kobe Bryant emerged as a star in his second season, playing an increased role as the team's sixth man off the bench, averaging 15.4 points per game. In addition, Van Exel provided the team with 13.8 points and 6.9 assists per game, and contributed 123 three-point field goals, while Fox contributed 12.0 points per game, and Robert Horry averaged 7.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Elden Campbell provided with 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, Fisher contributed 5.8 points and 4.1 assists per game, and Corie Blount averaged 3.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, four members of the team, O'Neal, Bryant, Jones and Van Exel, were all selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was Bryant's first ever All-Star appearance, and the first and only All-Star appearance for Van Exel. Despite playing a sixth man role off the bench, Bryant was voted by the fans as the starting shooting guard for the Western Conference at the age of 19; he scored 18 points in 22 minutes, despite the Western Conference losing to the Eastern Conference, 135–114. In addition, Bryant also participated in the inaugural NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Lisa Leslie of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. O'Neal finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Bryant finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, behind Danny Manning of the Phoenix Suns, and also finished in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting.
The Lakers finished 15th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 676,101 at the Great Western Forum during the regular season.
NBA playoffs In the Western Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Lakers faced off against the 6th–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, a team that featured Isaiah Rider, Arvydas Sabonis and Rasheed Wallace. The Lakers won the first two games over the Trail Blazers at home at the Great Western Forum, before losing Game 3 on the road, 99–94 at the Rose Garden Arena. The Lakers won Game 4 over the Trail Blazers on the road, 110–99 to win the series in four games.
In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Pacific Division champion SuperSonics, who were led by the All-Star trio of Gary Payton, Vin Baker and Detlef Schrempf. Despite both teams finishing with the same regular-season record, the SuperSonics had home-court advantage in the series. The Lakers lost Game 1 to the SuperSonics on the road, 106–92 at the KeyArena at Seattle Center, but managed to win Game 2 on the road, 92–68. The Lakers won their next two home games at the Great Western Forum, before winning Game 5 over the SuperSonics at the KeyArena at Seattle Center, 110–95 to win the series in five games.
In the Western Conference Finals, and also for the second consecutive year, the Lakers faced off against the top–seeded, and Midwest Division champion Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Hornacek. The Lakers lost the first two games to the Jazz on the road, which included a 35-point margin loss in Game 1, 112–77 at the Delta Center; the Lakers struggled only shooting .295 in field-goal percentage in Game 1. The Lakers lost the next two games at home, including a Game 4 loss to the Jazz at the Great Western Forum, 96–92, thus losing the series in a four-game sweep.
The Jazz would go on to lose in six games to the 2-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls in the 1998 NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.
Aftermath Following the season, Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets on draft day after five seasons with the Lakers, and after feuding with head coach Del Harris, and Barry signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 2 52 DeJuan Wheat PG Louisville 2 54 Paul Rogers C Gonzaga
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Game log Preseason
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | October 9 | Denver | W 135-102 | Kobe Bryant (31) | Corie Blount (7) | Jon Barry (6) | San Diego Sports Arena (San Diego, CA)10,754 | 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | October 10 | @ Phoenix | L 91-93 | Shaquille O'Neal (27) | Shaquille O'Neal (15) | Shaquille O'Neal (4) | American West Arena19,023 | 1-1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | October 17 | L.A. Clippers | W 116-85 | Shaquille O'Neal (28) | Shaquille O'Neal (10) | Fisher & Van Exel (5) | Kiel Center (St. Louis, MO)17,398 | 2–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | October 18 | Cleveland | W 117-107 | Shaquille O'Neal (34) | Shaquille O'Neal (9) | Rick Fox (7) | Great Western Forum18,123 | 3–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 5 | October 21 | @ Denver | L 92-101 | Bryant & Campbell (15) | Mario Bennett (11) | Kobe Bryant (4) | McNichols Sports Arena7,121 | 3–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 6 | October 22 | Washington | W 124-113 (OT) | Elden Campbell (33) | Elden Campbell (13) | Barry & Horry (4) | Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, NV)10,771 | 4–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 7 | October 24 | Atlanta | W 93-89 | Rick Fox (18) | Elden Campbell (12) | Nick Van Exel (9) | Great Western Forum11,814 | 5–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | October 25 | Seattle | W 85-79 | Nick Van Exel (15) | Corie Blount (9) | Derek Fisher (5) | Great Western Forum13,862 | 6–2
Regular season
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | October 31 | Utah | W 104-87 | Kobe Bryant (23) | Robert Horry (13) | Horry & Van Exel (7) | Great Western Forum16,234 | 1–0
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | November 4 | @ Sacramento | W 101-98 | Eddie Jones (35) | Corie Blount (7) | Nick Van Exel (6) | ARCO Arena17,317 | 2–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | November 7 | New York | W 99-94 | Horry & O'Neal (17) | Robert Horry (10) | Nick Van Exel (6) | Great Western Forum17,505 | 3–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | November 9 | Golden State | W 132-97 | Shaquille O'Neal (27) | Shaquille O'Neal (19) | Derek Fisher (10) | Great Western Forum14,623 | 4–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | November 11 | @ Dallas | W 118-96 | Shaquille O'Neal (37) | Shaquille O'Neal (12) | Robert Horry (9) | Reunion Arena13,722 | 5–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 6 | November 13 | @ San Antonio | W 109-100 (OT) | Shaquille O'Neal (34) | Shaquille O'Neal (15) | Eddie Jones (7) | Alamodome20,557 | 6–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 7 | November 14 | @ Houston | W 113-103 (2OT) | Nick Van Exel (35) | Shaquille O'Neal (13) | Shaquille O'Neal (8) | Compaq Center16,285 | 7–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 16 | Vancouver | W 121-95 | Eddie Jones (28) | Robert Horry (12) | Nick Van Exel (8) | Great Western Forum17,139 | 8–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 9 | November 18 | @ Utah | W 97-92 | Bryant & Van Exel (19) | Shaquille O'Neal (9) | Nick Van Exel (5) | Delta Center19,911 | 9–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 10 | November 19 | Minnesota | W 118-93 | Eddie Jones (31) | Shaquille O'Neal (12) | Derek Fisher (9) | Great Western Forum17,505 | 10–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 11 | November 23 | L.A. Clippers | W 119-102 | Eddie Jones (28) | Corie Blount (9) | Nick Van Exel (11) | Great Western Forum17,505 | 11–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 12 | November 25 | @ Miami | L 86-103 | Nick Van Exel (21) | 3 players tied (7) | Eddie Jones (6) | Miami Arena15,200 | 11–1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 13 | November 26 | @ Boston | W 118-103 | Elden Campbell (22) | Robert Horry (9) | Nick Van Exel (9) | Fleet Center18,624 | 12–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 14 | November 28 | @ Philadelphia | L 95-105 | Bryant & Campbell (19) | Robert Horry (9) | Nick Van Exel (6) | CoreStates Center20,714 | 12–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 15 | November 30 | Toronto | W 105-99 | Eddie Jones (32) | Blount & Horry (8) | Nick Van Exel (10) | Great Western Forum14,940 | 13–2
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 16 | December 3 | @ Denver | W 107-89 | Elden Campbell (25) | Elden Campbell (12) | Kobe Bryant (5) | McNichols Sports Arena14,503 | 14–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 17 | December 5 | San Antonio | W 98-88 | Nick Van Exel (25) | Corie Blount (10) | Nick Van Exel (6) | Great Western Forum17,505 | 15–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 18 | December 7 | Cleveland | L 84-94 | Kobe Bryant (21) | Robert Horry (10) | Nick Van Exel (4) | Great Western Forum16,945 | 15–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 19 | December 8 | @ Portland | L 99-105 | Nick Van Exel (24) | Elden Campbell (12) | Nick Van Exel (12) | Rose Garden20,721 | 15–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 20 | December 10 | @ Golden State | L 92-93 | Kobe Bryant (20) | Elden Campbell (9) | Nick Van Exel (8) | The Arena in Oakland13,414 | 15–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 21 | December 12 | Houston | W 119-102 | Rick Fox (30) | Robert Horry (8) | Nick Van Exel (8) | Great Western Forum17,505 | 16–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 22 | December 14 | Dallas | W 119-89 | Kobe Bryant (30) | Elden Campbell (8) | Fisher & Van Exel (7) | Great Western Forum15,893 | 17–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 23 | December 16 | @ Minnesota | W 109-96 | Eddie Jones (32) | 4 players tied (6) | Nick Van Exel (14) | Target Center16,874 | 18–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 24 | December 17 | @ Chicago | L 83-104 | Kobe Bryant (33) | Robert Horry (6) | Nick Van Exel (5) | United Center24,119 | 18–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 25 | December 19 | @ Atlanta | W 98-96 | Kobe Bryant (19) | Robert Horry (8) | Nick Van Exel (7) | Georgia Dome25,288 | 19–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 26 | December 20 | @ Charlotte | W 109-100 | Nick Van Exel (24) | Corie Blount (11) | Nick Van Exel (8) | Charlotte Coliseum24,042 | 20–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 27 | December 22 | @ Houston | W 94-83 | Kobe Bryant (19) | Elden Campbell (14) | Nick Van Exel (10) | Compaq Center16,285 | 21–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | December 26 | L.A. Clippers | W 118-114 (OT) | Nick Van Exel (30) | Elden Campbell (11) | Nick Van Exel (12) | Great Western Forum17,505 | 22–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 29 | December 28 | Boston | L 102-108 | Rick Fox (27) | 3 players tied (9) | Nick Van Exel (10) | Great Western Forum17,505 | 22–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 30 | December 30 | Sacramento | W 93-80 | Elden Campbell (23) | Elden Campbell (9) | Nick Van Exel (11) | Great Western Forum16,283 | 23–7
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 31 | January 2 | Atlanta | W 116-106 | Eddie Jones (23) | Shaquille O'Neal (9) | Nick Van Exel (13) | Great Western Forum17,505 | 24–7 |- style="background:#fcc;"