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2018–19 Los Angeles Lakers season
NBA professional basketball team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2018–19 Los Angeles Lakers season was the franchise's 71st season, its 70th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and its 59th in Los Angeles.
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Following the signing of LeBron James on July 1, 2018, the Lakers hoped to finish with a winning record and playoff appearance for the first time since the 2012–13 season. However, after an improved 20–14 start to the season, several injuries accumulated throughout the season including James, Rajon Rondo, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram, and the Lakers fell below .500 by the All-Star break. By March, the Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention, extending the team's postseason drought to a franchise record six seasons, and a sixth straight losing season, even after improving from their 2017–18 campaign by two games. It is the first time that James missed the playoffs since 2005 and first time he did not appear in the NBA Finals since 2010. This was the last time until 2022 that the Lakers missed the playoffs.
On April 9, the conclusion of the Lakers' season, Magic Johnson stepped down as president of basketball operations. Three days later, Luke Walton and the team agreed to part ways.
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Roster Notes
- Point guard Lonzo Ball played 47 games (his last game being on January 19, 2019) but missed the rest of the season due to a Grade 3 left ankle sprain.[2]
- Shooting guard Josh Hart played 67 games (his last game being on March 19, 2019) but missed the remainder of the season after having an ultrasonic debridement procedure on the patella tendon in his right knee.[3]
- Small forward Brandon Ingram played 52 games (his last game being on March 2, 2019) but missed the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a deep venous thrombosis in his right arm.[4] He underwent successful thoracic outlet decompression surgery on his right arm on March 16, 2019.[5]
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Standings
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Player statistics
After all games.[6]
‡Waived during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
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Signing of LeBron James
On July 9, 2018, superstar LeBron James signed a four-year, $154 million contract with the Lakers after playing a second stint with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. He led the team to their first championship title in 2016, and led them to the NBA Finals 4 other times (2007, 2015, 2017, and 2018). This marked his second time leaving the Cavs, after controversially doing so in 2010 to join the Miami Heat, where he led the team to 4 consecutive NBA Finals appearances, winning back-to-back in 2012 and 2013. The signing also briefly intensified the Celtics–Lakers rivalry, as his former Cavs teammate Kyrie Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics the year before, and former Celtics star Rajon Rondo joined LeBron in Los Angeles. Irving played 2 seasons for the Celtics before signing with the Brooklyn Nets during the 2019 offseason.
Trades
| July 6, 2018[7] | To Los Angeles Lakers Draft rights to Isaac Bonga |
To Philadelphia 76ers 2019 second round pick Cash considerations |
| February 6, 2019[8] | To Los Angeles Lakers Reggie Bullock |
To Detroit Pistons Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk 2021 second round pick |
| February 7, 2019[9] | To Los Angeles Lakers Mike Muscala |
To Los Angeles Clippers Michael Beasley Ivica Zubac |
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References
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