2019–20 Los Angeles Lakers season
American professional basketball season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2019–20 Los Angeles Lakers season was the franchise's 72nd season, its 71st season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and its 60th in Los Angeles. The Lakers were coached by Frank Vogel in his first year as team head coach. The team played its home games at Staples Center as members of the Western Conference's Pacific Division.
2019–20 Los Angeles Lakers season | |||
---|---|---|---|
NBA champions | |||
Conference champions | |||
Division champions | |||
Head coach | Frank Vogel | ||
General manager | Rob Pelinka | ||
President | Jeanie Buss | ||
Owners | Jerry Buss family trust (primary owner being Jeanie Buss since March 27, 2017) | ||
Arena | Staples Center | ||
Results | |||
Record | 52–19 (.732) | ||
Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western) | ||
Playoff finish | NBA Champions (Defeated Heat 4–2) | ||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||
Local media | |||
Television | Spectrum SportsNet | ||
Radio | ESPN LA 710 (English) 1020 Radio AM (Spanish) | ||
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The team dedicated the season to retired Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. On March 6, 2020, the Lakers clinched their first playoff berth since the 2012–13 season. Five days later, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the season was suspended.[1] On July 5, the NBA announced a return of the season in the NBA Bubble, with 22 teams playing eight seeding games followed by a full postseason.[2] Play resumed on July 30, with all games being played in Orlando, Florida.[3] On August 3, the Lakers clinched the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs for the first time since the 2009–10 season.[4]
The Lakers finished the season 52–19. They defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and Denver Nuggets to advance to the NBA Finals. There, they defeated the Miami Heat (LeBron James' former team) in six games to earn the franchise's 17th NBA championship. Despite pundits doubting the legitimacy of the Lakers' championship that season due to the Playoffs taking place in the NBA Bubble,[5] HoopsHype would rank this championship team as the team with only the 18th easiest NBA Finals run overall (in terms of team records of opponents, at least) in 2024,[6] with others claiming this championship was the hardest to win and the most special one won by the Lakers because of the circumstances the Lakers and other teams in general had to deal with for this season.[7][8]