The Lakers once again won the Western Conference and made it to their third straight finals. The championship series got off to a disastrous start for the Lakers, losing Game 1 of the Finals by a lopsided score of 148–114, in what is now remembered as the "Memorial Day Massacre". [citation needed], In the off-season, the Lakers' most significant player personnel moves had been acquiring Kwame Brown from Washington in exchange for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins, and drafting center Andrew Bynum straight from high school. On May 18, 2015, Los Angeles Football Club announced its intentions to build a privately funded 22,000-seat soccer-specific stadium at the site for $250 million. Entering the 2012–13 season, the Lakers made key changes in their roster, trading several draft picks to the Phoenix Suns for two time MVP Steve Nash, and trading Andrew Bynum and a first round draft pick in a four team deal that netted them three time defensive player of the year Dwight Howard. After the Celtics won a decisive game 5, the series moved back to Los Angeles where the Lakers would win in a rout. The Lakers-Spurs series in the conference finals was the most lopsided conference finals series in NBA History, with the Lakers winning by an average of 22 points per game. [56][57] D'Antoni predicted that the Lakers, then 3–5 and ranked 20th in scoring with 96.5 points per game, should instead be scoring "110–115 points a game". The team's late season surge was enough to secure a playoff berth and allay some of their fans' immediate concerns about the team. The new philosophy proved to be potent, as the Lakers started off strong, winning 31 of their first 36 games. Rotating billboards eventually became standard at all NBA arenas until the mid-2000s, when LED billboard/scorer's tables were introduced. To the roar of the crowd, Reed scored the first two baskets and the Knicks were off and running. [citation needed], Rather than rejoicing in another last-second victory that would have given them a 3–2 series lead and a chance to finish the Spurs off back home in Los Angeles, the Lakers instead faced the dejection of having been so close, but now facing a 3–2 deficit and now being on the brink of elimination. the late 1940s and early 1950s to the "Showtime" era of the Earvin. The following season saw a 47–35 record and third in the division. A brief video which talks about the Lakers vs Celtics rivalry that began in the early 1960s and continues today. The fan reaction to Johnson for having triggered his head coach's firing was immediate and Johnson found himself roundly booed, even by the Lakers' home crowd in Los Angeles. There were two additional meeting rooms on site which could be used for administrative or hospitality functions. Two weeks before the 2011–12 NBA season began, the Lakers traded Lamar Odom along with a 2012 2nd round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks for a 2014 1st round draft pick. In addition, a 6-foot-wide (1.8 m) catwalk was suspended from the ceiling and circled the arena for cameras or spotlights. [31] For a week he tiraded and the situation escalated when a videotape about him was released. Instinctively thinking that he was going to be attacked, Washington turned and landed a devastating blow to Tomjanovich's face, with the unsuspecting Tomjanovich running headlong directly into the punch. Ahead of the Warriors' final regular season game at Oracle Arena, look back at the most exciting moments in Oracle Arena history. It was Los Angeles' seventh NBA Finals failure in the last nine years. After a 1–4 start to the season, Brown was fired as head coach. [citation needed], After storming through the number one seed Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers were expected to run roughshod over their NBA Finals opponents, the Detroit Pistons. Baylor was called to active military duty during the 1961–62 season following the Berlin crisis and was only available on weekends. Jackson's year off, including vacationing in Australia, left him rejuvenated, whereas the Lakers' struggle in 2004–05 caused Jerry Buss to reconsider his willingness to meet Jackson's salary demands. [38], On July 3, 2009, the Lakers signed Houston Rockets forward Ron Artest to a five-year contract to replace Lakers forward Trevor Ariza who signed with the Rockets. Print, radio and television media was serviced on each side of the arena by installation of any kind of portable facilities. Although the Showtime Lakers were famous for their scoring, they were also a great defensive team. Nevertheless, they pulled together and were able to edge Sacramento for the division title. [83] On July 6, the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and three first-round picks, including the number four overall in the 2019 draft.

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