The 2021–22 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 75th season of the franchise, its 74th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 62nd season in Los Angeles, and its 23rd season playing home games at Crypto.com Arena. The team was coached by Frank Vogel. The Lakers competed as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific Division, finishing the season with a 33–49 record.
The Lakers, who had acquired veteran All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony during the offseason, were widely considered by experts as favorites to win the Western Conference. Despite LeBron James' strong individual performance, the Lakers fared poorly and were eliminated from both playoff and play-in contention on April 5, 2022. The team's failure to secure playoff berth was widely regarded as one of the biggest disappointments in franchise history. Following the conclusion of the season, head coach Frank Vogel was fired.
Previous season
The Lakers concluded the 2020–21 season with a 42–30 record, finishing with the third seed in the Pacific Division and the seventh seed in the Western Conference, which was not enough for a direct playoff spot. In the NBA play-in tournament, they defeated the Golden State Warriors to earn them the seventh seed in the 2021 NBA playoffs. The Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round in six games despite being up 2–1, making it the first time that LeBron James lost in the first round of the playoffs. Anthony Davis suffered a strained left groin in Game 4, and he was also sidelined in Game 5, when the Suns took a 3–2 lead. He returned in Game 6, but played only five minutes after reaggravating the injury. The Lakers were eliminated 4–2.
Offseason In June 2021, longtime minority owner and team landlord Philip Anschutz sold his 27% stake in the team to Los Angeles Dodgers co-owners Mark Walter and Todd Boehly for an estimated $1.35 billion. The NBA approved the sale that July. Shortly before the sale, the team extended its Crypto.com Arena lease with Anschutz Entertainment Group until 2041, and upgrades to the arena worth "nine figures" were promised.
In August 2021, the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook in a trade that also sent two future 2nd round draft picks (2024 and 2028) to the Lakers and Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the 22nd pick of the 2021 NBA draft to the Washington Wizards. This trade formed a new superteam of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Westbrook in the Western Conference. In 2022, Claire de Lune of The Guardian described the Westbrook trade as a "'disaster'". In 2023, Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report named the Lakers' acquisition of Westbrook as the worst trade in the NBA over the past five years.
Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School / club team 1 22 Isaiah Jackson C/PF Kentucky (Fr.)
Preseason Game log
|-style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | October 3 | Brooklyn | | Malik Monk (15) | Kendrick Nunn (7) | Bazemore, Horton-Tucker (3) | Staples Center16,000 | 0–1 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | October 6 | @ Phoenix | | Malik Monk (18) | Anthony Davis (8) | Rajon Rondo (5) | Footprint Center12,434 | 0–2 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | October 8 | @ Golden State | | Dwight Howard (23) | Dwight Howard (12) | Rajon Rondo (6) | Chase Center18,064 | 0–3 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | October 10 | Phoenix | | Anthony Davis (19) | DeAndre Jordan (5) | Anthony Davis (6) | Staples Center13,844 | 0–4 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 5 | October 12 | Golden State | | Anthony Davis (20) | Russell Westbrook (10) | Russell Westbrook (6) | Staples Center11,526 | 0–5 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 6 | October 14 | @ Sacramento | | LeBron James (30) | Anthony Davis (12) | Austin Reaves (7) | Golden 1 CenterAttendance not reported | 0–6
Regular season The regular season was the 75th season of the franchise, its 74th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 62nd season in Los Angeles, and its 23rd season playing home games at Crypto.com Arena. The team was coached by Frank Vogel in his third and final year as Lakers head coach. They competed as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific Division, finishing the season 11th with a 33–49 record, one game behind the last spot for the NBA play-in tournament. It was the team's worst record since 2016–17, slightly better than the Lakers' worst five seasons.
After the acquisitions of Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony in the offseason, the Lakers were widely considered by experts to be the favorites to win the Western Conference. The team remained stable with a .500 percentage for the last direct playoff access spot until January 7, and remained within play-in contention until March 30. Despite LeBron James' best points per game average since 2005–06, and a number of scoring and age-related records, the Lakers disappointed, with a combination of injuries and underperformances. Following the season, Sam Quinn of CBS News stated that an aged and mismanaged roster was also responsible for the disappointing outcome.
On April 5, the Lakers were eliminated from both playoff and play-in contention for the first time since 2018–19 and the seventh time in nine years after a 121–110 loss to the Phoenix Suns. It was the fourth time in James' career that he missed the NBA playoffs and the second time in his four years with the Lakers. It was also the third time and first since 2015 that Westbrook missed the playoffs when he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, having previously only missed the playoffs in his debut in 2009. The Lakers' failure to make the play-in/playoffs was widely regarded to be one of the biggest disappointments in franchise history, if not one of the greatest underachievements in NBA history. James, Davis, Westbrook, and Anthony were selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, the Lakers being the team with the most active players.
James was the only Laker to make the All-Star cut, with Anthony Davis having a second consecutive injury-laden season. Due to injuries, the Lakers used 41 different starting lineups, and the trio of James, Davis, and Westbrook played only 21 games together, compiling an 11–10 record; the Lakers were just 20–33 when only two of the three were playing together. Due to an ankle injury in March, James fell out of a close three-player race for the NBA scoring title, finishing with only 56 games played, two less than necessary to qualify.
Following the season, head coach Frank Vogel was fired on April 11, 2022. Vogel had led the team to an NBA championship in 2020 and to a first-round loss in the 2021 NBA playoffs. His overall record with the team was 127–98.
Standings Division
Conference
Game log
|-style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | October 19 | Golden State | | LeBron James (34) | Davis, James (11) | James, Rondo (5) | Staples Center18,997 | 0–1 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | October 22 | Phoenix | | LeBron James (25) | Anthony Davis (14) | Russell Westbrook (9) | Staples Center18,997 | 0–2 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | October 24 | Memphis | | Carmelo Anthony (28) | Davis, Jordan (8) | Russell Westbrook (13) | Staples Center 18,997 | 1–2 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | October 26 | @ San Antonio | | Anthony Davis (35) | Anthony Davis (17) | Russell Westbrook (8) | AT&T Center18,354 | 2–2 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 5 | October 27 | @ Oklahoma City | | Anthony Davis (30) | Russell Westbrook (14) | Russell Westbrook (13) | Paycom Center15,783 | 2–3 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 6 | October 29 | Cleveland | | LeBron James (26) | Anthony Davis (9) | LeBron James (8) | Staples Center18,997 | 3–3 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 7 | October 31 | Houston | | Carmelo Anthony (23) | Anthony Davis (13) | LeBron James (8) | Staples Center16,448 | 4–3
|-style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 2 | Houston | | LeBron James (30) | Davis, Westbrook (9) | LeBron James (10) | Staples Center18,997 | 5–3 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 9 | November 4 | Oklahoma City | | Anthony Davis (29) | Anthony Davis (18) | Davis, Westbrook (5) | Staples Center18,997 | 5–4 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 10 | November 6 | @ Portland | | Malik Monk (13) | Jordan, Westbrook (9) | Russell Westbrook (6) | Moda Center19,393 | 5–5 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 11 | November 8 | Charlotte | | Anthony Davis (32) | Davis, Westbrook (14) | Russell Westbrook (12) | Staples Center18,997 | 6–5 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 12 | November 10 | Miami | | Malik Monk (27) | Anthony Davis (13) | Russell Westbrook (14) | Staples Center18,997 | 7–5 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 13 | November 12 | Minnesota | | Anthony Davis (22) | Dwight Howard (10) | Rajon Rondo (8) | Staples Center18,997 | 7–6 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 14 | November 14 | San Antonio | | Anthony Davis (34) | Anthony Davis (15) | Rondo, Westbrook (7) | Staples Center18,997 | 8–6 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 15 | November 15 | Chicago | | Talen Horton-Tucker (28) | Horton-Tucker, Westbrook, Davis, Howard (6) | Russell Westbrook (8) | Staples Center18,997 | 8–7 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 16 | November 17 | @ Milwaukee | | Talen Horton-Tucker (25) | Talen Horton-Tucker (12) | Russell Westbrook (15) | Fiserv Forum17,341 | 8–8 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 17 | November 19 | @ Boston | | Anthony Davis (31) | Davis, James (6) | Russell Westbrook (6) | TD Garden19,156 | 8–9 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 18 | November 21 | @ Detroit | | Anthony Davis (30) | Anthony Davis (10) | Russell Westbrook (10) | Little Caesars Arena15,532 | 9–9 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 19 | November 23 | @ New York | | Russell Westbrook (31) | Russell Westbrook (13) | Russell Westbrook (10) | Madison Square Garden19,812 | 9–10 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 20 | November 24 | @ Indiana | | LeBron James (39) | DeAndre Jordan (11) | LeBron James (6) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse15,572 | 10–10 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 21 | November 26 | Sacramento | | LeBron James (30) | Russell Westbrook (10) | James, Westbrook (10) | Staples Center18,997 | 10–11 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 22 | November 28 | Detroit | | LeBron James (33) | Anthony Davis (10) | James, Westbrook (9) | Staples Center18,997 | 11–11 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 23 | November 30 | @ Sacramento | | Anthony Davis (25) | Dwight Howard (13) | Russell Westbrook (6) | Golden 1 Center12,459 | 12–11
|-style="background:#fcc;" | 24 | December 3 | L.A. Clippers | | Anthony Davis (27) | LeBron James (11) | Russell Westbrook (9) | Staples Center18,997 | 12–12 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 25 | December 7 | Boston | | LeBron James (30) | Anthony Davis (16) | Russell Westbrook (11) | Staples Center18,997 | 13–12 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 26 | December 9 | @ Memphis | | Anthony Davis (22) | LeBron James (10) | LeBron James (11) | FedExForum16,334 | 13–13 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 27 | December 10 | @ Oklahoma City | | LeBron James (33) | Russell Westbrook (9) | Russell Westbrook (7) | Paycom Center16,523 | 14–13 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | December 12 | Orlando | | LeBron James (30) | LeBron James (11) | LeBron James (10) | Staples Center18,997 | 15–13 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 29 | December 15 | @ Dallas | | LeBron James (24) | Anthony Davis (12) | Russell Westbrook (9) | American Airlines Center20,270 | 16–13 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 30 | December 17 | @ Minnesota | | Isaiah Thomas (19) | LeBron James (10) | Rajon Rondo (8) | Target Center17,136 | 16–14 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 31 | December 19 | @ Chicago | | LeBron James (31) | LeBron James (14) | Russell Westbrook (8) | United Center20,917 | 16–15 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 32 | December 21 | Phoenix | | LeBron James (34) | Russell Westbrook (10) | Russell Westbrook (5) | Staples Center18,997 | 16–16 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 33 | December 23 | San Antonio | | LeBron James (36) | Howard, James (9) | LeBron James (6) | Staples Center18,997 | 16–17 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 34 | December 25 | Brooklyn | | LeBron James (39) | Russell Westbrook (12)