The 2020–21 Los Angeles Lakers season was the franchise's 74th season, its 73rd season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 61st season in Los Angeles, and their 22nd season playing home games at Staples Center. The Lakers were coached by Frank Vogel[1][2] in his second year as head coach. The Lakers played their home games at Staples Center as members of the Western Conference's Pacific Division. The Lakers entered the season as the defending Pacific Division, Western Conference, and NBA champions.
2020–21 Los Angeles Lakers season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Frank Vogel |
General manager | Rob Pelinka |
President | Jeanie Buss |
Owners | Jerry Buss family trust (primary owner being Jeanie Buss as of March 27, 2017) |
Arena | Staples Center |
Results | |
Record | 42–30 (.583) |
Place | Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 7th (Western) |
Playoff finish | First round (Lost to Suns 2–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Local media | |
Television | Spectrum SportsNet |
Radio | ESPN LA 710 (English) 1020 Radio AM (Spanish) |
On November 10, 2020, the NBA announced that the 2020–21 season would begin on December 22, 2020, following the delayed finish to the 2019–20 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Each team was to play a shortened 72-game schedule.[3] A week later, the NBA announced the format for the season which would include a play-in tournament to determine the seventh and eighth seeds in each conference.[4] The second half of the schedule would not be announced until a later date to allow for the makeup of any games postponed due to COVID-19 issues.
The season began just 72 days after the completion of the 2020 finals, giving the Lakers and the Miami Heat the shortest off-season in league history.[5] In February 2021, the Lakers had the second best record in the West at 21–7,[6] two games behind the Utah Jazz,[7] when Anthony Davis suffered a strained calf that sidelined him for 30 games.[8] One game after Davis was injured, Dennis Schröder missed a span of four games, in which the Lakers were winless, due to the league's health and safety protocols.[9] LeBron James missed 26 of the team's final 30 games with a sprained ankle.[10] After Davis returned from his nine-week absence, the Lakers were 35–23, going 14–16 without him,[11] including 6–10 with James out as well.[7] Schröder also missed seven games in the final weeks of the season, again due to health and safety protocols.[12]
In an injury-laden season, the Lakers finished with a 42–30 record (roughly the equivalent of 48–34), the same as the No. 5 Mavericks and No. 6 Trail Blazers; they fell to 7th place due to tiebreakers, resulting in the Lakers having to face the No. 8 Warriors in the play-in tournament, whom they defeated to secure the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. This was the first time in James's career that he did not have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Against the second-seeded Phoenix Suns in the opening round, they were up 2–1 when Davis suffered a strained groin in Game 4. The Lakers were eliminated in six games, the first time in James's career that his team exited in the first round of the playoffs and the first defending NBA champion that was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs since the 2014–15 San Antonio Spurs.[13]
Previous season
editThe Lakers finished the 2019–20 season 52–19 to finish in 1st place in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference. In the playoffs, they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and Denver Nuggets each in five games to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. There they defeated the Miami Heat (LeBron's former team) in six games to earn the franchise's 17th NBA championship.
Offseason
editDraft
editRound | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School / club team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 28 | Jaden McDaniels | SF | United States | Washington (Fr.) |
- This was a traded pick with the Oklahoma City Thunder that sent Danny Green and the draft rights to Jaden McDaniels to the Thunder in return for Dennis Schröder.[14]
- Before the start of the 2020 NBA draft period, the Lakers' first-round selection was held stuck as the 29th pick of the draft with their record being the second-best of all NBA teams behind the Milwaukee Bucks the prior season at 49–14 before the NBA suspended their season on March 12, 2020.[15] However, the Lakers did resume their season in the 2020 NBA Bubble, eventually winning their 17th championship there against the Miami Heat, leaving them a chance to move their first-round pick up or down for the 2020 draft. In the bubble, the Toronto Raptors ended up finishing with a better overall record than the Lakers, moving their first-round pick to the 28th selection instead, though still finishing as the best Western Conference team that season. The Lakers only held one first-round selection for this draft, as they traded their second-round pick to the Orlando Magic for the draft rights to Talen Horton-Tucker in last season's draft.[16]
Preseason
editGame log
edit2020 preseason game log Total: (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)
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2020–21 season schedule |
Regular season
editStandings
editDivision
editPacific Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y – Phoenix Suns | 51 | 21 | .708 | – | 27–9 | 24–12 | 7–5 | 72 |
x – Los Angeles Clippers | 47 | 25 | .653 | 4.0 | 26–10 | 21–15 | 9–3 | 72 |
x – Los Angeles Lakers | 42 | 30 | .583 | 9.0 | 21–15 | 21–15 | 4–8 | 72 |
pi – Golden State Warriors | 39 | 33 | .542 | 12.0 | 25–11 | 14–22 | 5–7 | 72 |
Sacramento Kings | 31 | 41 | .431 | 20.0 | 16–20 | 15–21 | 5–7 | 72 |
Conference
editWestern Conference | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
1 | z – Utah Jazz * | 52 | 20 | .722 | – | 72 |
2 | y – Phoenix Suns * | 51 | 21 | .708 | 1.0 | 72 |
3 | x – Denver Nuggets | 47 | 25 | .653 | 5.0 | 72 |
4 | x – Los Angeles Clippers | 47 | 25 | .653 | 5.0 | 72 |
5 | y – Dallas Mavericks * | 42 | 30 | .583 | 10.0 | 72 |
6 | x – Portland Trail Blazers | 42 | 30 | .583 | 10.0 | 72 |
7 | x – Los Angeles Lakers | 42 | 30 | .583 | 10.0 | 72 |
8 | pi – Golden State Warriors | 39 | 33 | .542 | 13.0 | 72 |
9 | x – Memphis Grizzlies | 38 | 34 | .528 | 14.0 | 72 |
10 | pi – San Antonio Spurs | 33 | 39 | .458 | 19.0 | 72 |
11 | New Orleans Pelicans | 31 | 41 | .431 | 21.0 | 72 |
12 | Sacramento Kings | 31 | 41 | .431 | 21.0 | 72 |
13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 23 | 49 | .319 | 29.0 | 72 |
14 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 22 | 50 | .306 | 30.0 | 72 |
15 | Houston Rockets | 17 | 55 | .236 | 35.0 | 72 |
Notes
- z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
- c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
- y – Clinched division title
- x – Clinched playoff spot
- pi – Clinched play-in spot
- o – Eliminated from playoff contention
- * – Division leader
Game log
edit2020–21 game log Total: 42–30 (home: 21–15; road: 21–15) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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December: 3–2 (home: 2–2; road: 1–0)
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January
: 11–4 (home: 2–2; road: 9–2)
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February: 9–5 (home: 7–3; road: 2–2)
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March: 6–7 (home: 5–4; road: 1–3)
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April: 6–9 (home: 1–3; road: 5–6)
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May: 6–3 (home: 4–1; road: 2–2)
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2020–21 season schedule |
Player stats
editGP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Regular season statistics
editPlayer | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LeBron James | 45 | 45 | 33.4 | .513 | .365 | .698 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 25.0 |
Anthony Davis | 36 | 36 | 32.3 | .491 | .260 | .738 | 7.9 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 21.8 |
Dennis Schröder | 61 | 61 | 32.1 | .437 | .335 | .848 | 3.5 | 5.8 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 15.4 |
Kyle Kuzma | 68 | 32 | 28.7 | .443 | .361 | .691 | 6.1 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 12.9 |
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | 67 | 67 | 28.4 | .431 | .410 | .866 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 9.7 |
Andre Drummond* | 21 | 21 | 24.8 | .531 | .000 | .605 | 10.2 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 11.9 |
Montrezl Harrell | 69 | 1 | 22.9 | .622 | .000 | .707 | 6.2 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 13.5 |
Alex Caruso | 58 | 6 | 21.0 | .436 | .401 | .645 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 6.4 |
Talen Horton-Tucker | 65 | 4 | 20.1 | .458 | .282 | .775 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 9.0 |
Markieff Morris | 61 | 27 | 19.7 | .405 | .311 | .720 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 6.7 |
Wesley Matthews | 58 | 10 | 19.5 | .353 | .335 | .854 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 4.8 |
Marc Gasol | 52 | 42 | 19.1 | .454 | .410 | .720 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 5.0 |
Ben McLemore* | 21 | 1 | 17.5 | .390 | .368 | .762 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 8.0 |
Damian Jones^ | 8 | 6 | 14.0 | .941 | .000 | .917 | 3.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 5.4 |
Jared Dudley | 12 | 0 | 6.8 | .222 | .333 | .000 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 3.1 |
Alfonzo McKinnie | 39 | 0 | 6.6 | .516 | .410 | .556 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 3.1 |
Devontae Cacok | 20 | 1 | 4.9 | .586 | .000 | .455 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.0 |
Quinn Cook* | 16 | 0 | 3.9 | .462 | .385 | .800 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2.1 |
Kostas Antetokounmpo | 15 | 0 | 3.7 | .300 | .000 | .462 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
*Total with the Lakers only
Play-in
edit2021 play-in game log Total: 1–0 (home: 1–0) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Play-in: 1–0 (home: 1–0; road: 0–0)
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Playoffs
editGame log
edit2021 playoff game log Total: 2–4 (home: 1-2; road: 1–2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First round: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2)
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2021 playoff schedule |
Roster
editPlayers | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Transactions
editOverview
editPlayers Added Via draft Via trade Via free agency |
Players Lost Via free agency Via retirement Waived |
Trades
editNovember 18, 2020[17] | To Los Angeles Lakers Dennis Schröder |
To Oklahoma City Thunder Danny Green Draft rights to Jaden McDaniels (#28) |
November 23, 2020[18] | To Los Angeles Lakers Alfonzo McKinnie Jordan Bell |
To Cleveland Cavaliers Javale McGee 2026 LAL second-round pick |
Free agency
editRe-signed
editDate | Player | Contract terms | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
November 22 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | 3 year $40 million deal | [19] |
November 23 | Markieff Morris | 1 year $1.4 million deal | [20] |
November 26 | Kostas Antetokounmpo | Two-way contract | [21] |
December 1 | Jared Dudley | 1 year $2.6 million deal | [22] |
December 2 | LeBron James | 2 year $85 million deal | [23] |
December 3 | Anthony Davis | 5 year $190 million deal | [24] |
December 4 | Quinn Cook | 1 year $1.7 million deal | [25] |
December 20 | Kyle Kuzma | 3 year $40 million deal | [26] |
Additions
editDate | Player | Contract terms | Former team | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
November 22 | Montrezl Harrell | 2 year $19 million deal | Los Angeles Clippers | [27] |
November 22 | Wesley Matthews | 1 year $3.6 million deal | Milwaukee Bucks | [28] |
November 24 | Marc Gasol | 2 year $5.3 million deal | Toronto Raptors | [29] |
March 28 | Andre Drummond | 1 year $794,536 deal | Cleveland Cavaliers | [30] |
April 6 | Ben McLemore | 1 year $455,000 deal | Houston Rockets | [31] |
Subtractions
editDate | Player | Reason | New team | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
November 21 | Dwight Howard | 1 year $2.6 million deal | Philadelphia 76ers | [32] |
November 23 | Avery Bradley | 2 year $11.6 million deal | Miami Heat | [33] |
November 23 | Rajon Rondo | 2 year $15 million deal | Atlanta Hawks | [34] |
February 22 | Quinn Cook | Waived | Cleveland Cavaliers |
References
edit- ^ "Lakers Announce Hiring of Frank Vogel as Head Coach". NBA.com. May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ Baer, Jack (May 11, 2019). "Lakers land on former Pacers coach Frank Vogel as next head coach". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ "NBA announces Dec. 22 return, 72-game season | CBC Sports". CBC. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ^ "NBA announces 2020–21 format, season to be played in two halves". Arizona Sports. November 18, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ^ Stein, Marc (February 5, 2021). "N.B.A. All-Star Game Would Be 'Slap in the Face,' LeBron James Says". The New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ Goon, Kyle (February 16, 2021). "Lakers' Anthony Davis gets MRI; report indicates he could miss weeks". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
- ^ a b Powell, Shaun (April 22, 2021). "Lakers stay afloat in West without LeBron James and Anthony Davis". NBA.com. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ Cohen, Ben (May 20, 2021). "The Lakers Won One Game. They Might Win the NBA Title". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
- ^ Buha, Jovan; Oram, Bill (May 4, 2021). "The 10 warning signs that the Lakers were in trouble this season". The Athletic. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
- ^ McMenamin, Dave (May 19, 2021). "LeBron James delivers in clutch as Los Angeles Lakers take 7th seed in NBA playoffs". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Anthony Davis plans to return to Lakers' lineup Thursday vs. Mavericks". Sportsnet.ca. AP. April 21, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ Turner, Broderick (May 15, 2021). "LeBron James, Anthony Davis return in Lakers' fourth straight win". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
- ^ Shelburne, Ramona (June 3, 2021). "A Los Angeles Lakers sequel that failed to live up to the original". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ "Lakers Acquire Dennis Schröder". Lakers.com. November 18, 2020.
- ^ "NBA Mock Draft 2020: March Sadness Edition". March 13, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers Acquire Talen Horton-Tucker". National Basketball Association. June 20, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers Acquire Dennis Schröder". NBA.com. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ "Cavaliers Acquire JaVale McGee from Los Angeles Lakers". NBA.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers re-sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers re-sign Markieff Morris". NBA.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers re-sign Kostas Antetokounmpo". NBA.com. November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers re-sign Jared Dudley". NBA.com. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
- ^ "LeBron James extends, reportedly for two years, with Lakers". NBA.com. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers re-sign Anthony Davis". NBA.com. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers re-sign Quinn Cook". NBA.com. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers' Kyle Kuzma signs 3-year, $40 million extension". NBA.com. December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers Sign Montrezl Harrell". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers Sign Wesley Matthews". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
- ^ "Veteran center Marc Gasol signs with Lakers | NBA.com". www.nba.com. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ "Lakers sign Andre Drummond". www.nba.com. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
- ^ "Lakers sign Ben McLemore". www.nba.com. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ "76ers sign Dwight Howard". NBA.com. November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "Avery Bradley signs with the Heat". NBA.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ "Atlanta Hawks sign free agent Rajon Rondo". NBA.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
Notes
editExternal links
edit- 2020–21 Los Angeles Lakers at Basketball-Reference.com