1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers season
The 1987–88 season saw the Lakers win their eleventh NBA championship, defeating the Detroit Pistons in a hard-fought seven games in the NBA Finals to become the NBA's first repeat champions since the Boston Celtics did it in the 1968–69 NBA season. In doing so, the Lakers made good on Pat Riley's famous promise to repeat as champions. "I'm guaranteeing everybody here," Riley said at the civic celebrations following the Lakers’ 1987 championship win, "next year we’re gonna win it again." Before the Lakers could make good on Riley's guarantee, they swept the San Antonio Spurs in the opening round of the playoffs. The following two rounds however would not be as easy for the Lakers, but they still managed to get through a tough seven-game series against both the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semis and the Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals.
| 1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers season | |
|---|---|
NBA champions | |
Conference champions | |
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Pat Riley |
| General manager | Jerry West |
| Owners | Jerry Buss |
| Arena | The Forum |
| Results | |
| Record | 62–20 (.756) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | NBA Champions (Defeated Pistons 4–3) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Prime Ticket, KHJ (Chick Hearn, Stu Lantz) |
| Radio | AM 570 KLAC (Chick Hearn, Stu Lantz) |
By the time the Lakers had finished their season they had played an NBA record 106 games including another record 24 playoff games, winning 77 and losing 29. The Lakers went 62–20 in the regular season and 15–9 in the playoffs, en route to their sixth NBA Championship in Los Angeles, and their 11th overall in franchise history.
The 1988 Finals was the last time the Showtime-era Lakers won an NBA championship. It was also the final time that the franchise won a championship at The Forum. They did not win another league title until 2000, when they were playing at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena).
Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were all selected to play in the 1988 NBA All-Star Game held in Chicago. Pat Riley was chosen to coach the Western Conference All-Stars.