LeBron Not Alone: ​​The 10 Worst Seasons in Lakers History | Israel today

10th place: 2004-05 season

Balance:

48:34;

41.5;

11 in the west

Coach:

Rudy Tomyanovich (19:24), Frank Hamblan (29:10)

Leading player:

Kobe Bryant (27.6 points in 66 games)

What really happened there:

The jarring loss in the 2004 NBA Finals marked the end of the legendary team that won the Tri-Pete (2000-2002) and especially the end of the Shaq-Kobe duo.

The Lakers once again found themselves with a huge space left behind by an extraordinary superstar, who chose to take his skills to South Beach and collaborate with promising rookie Dwayne Wade.

Bryant had a hard time with aging Vlada Debatz as his leading chin in place of Shaq, and new coach Rudy Tomyanovic left in the middle of the season due to health issues.

Shaquille O'Neal, Photo: AP

9th place: 1993-94 season

Balance:

49:33;

40.2;

9 in the west

Coach:

Randy Pond (37:27), Magic Johnson (11: 5)

Leading player:

Vlada Debatz (14.2 points in 79 games)

What really happened there:

In 1991, Magic Johnson declared that he had contracted AIDS and was retiring from active play, and the Lakers had not yet recovered.

The season opened with 9 losses in 12 games which caused the Magic to go down to the lines as head coach, but that was not enough for the Lakers.

Although Vlada Debatz averaged a double-double of 14.2 and 10.8 rebounds, this was only enough for ninth place at the end of the regular season.

8th place: 2021-22 season

Balance:

48:31;

39.2;

11 West (Currently)

Coach:

Frank Vogel

Leading Player:

LeBron James (30.3 points in 56 games)

What really happened there:

Instead of signing Damar Drusen as a free agent and keeping Alex Caruso, Kyle Cosma and KCP, LeBron James and Anthony Davis pushed GM Rob Plinka into a trade no less than the hallucinatory one that landed the troubled Russell Westbrook in the City of Angels.

But worse, the Lakers were left with a short roster, no defensive stoppers and one LeBron who focused mostly on his personal stats and less on how to turn that roster into a winning team.

Russell Westbrook, Photo: USA TODAY Sports

7th place: 1974-75 season

Balance:

52:30;

36.6;

9 in the west (out of 9)

Coach:

Bill Sherman

Leading player:

Gail Goodrich (22.6 points in 72 games)

What really happened there:

Similar to the first season of the post-Kobe Bryant era, even in 74-75 the Lakers faced a huge void left behind by Jerry West - the man from the logo - after his retirement.

Pat Riley and his teammates struggled a lot and after 17 consecutive playoff appearances, the Lakers finished the season earlier than usual.

The following season came from Milwaukee Karim Abdul-Jaber who was to win 5 championships and 4 MVP titles in the City of Angels.

Place 6: 1959-60 season

Balance:

50:25;

33.3;

3 in the west (out of 4)

Coach:

John Castellani (25:11), Jim Pollard (25:14)

Leading player:

Elgin Baylor (29.6 points in 70 games)

What really happened there:

With a five-man lineup made up of the first five draft picks, led by the wonderful Elgin Baylor, the Lakers last season in Minneapolis found themselves in the playoffs despite only 33 percent success in the regular season.

That was enough for them to reach the Western Conference Finals (after a win over Detroit), where they lost 4-3 to the Hawks.

5th place: 2013-14 season

Balance:

55:27;

32.9;

 14 in the west

Coach:

Mike D'Antoni

Leading player:

Pau Gasol (17.4 points and 9.7 rebounds in 60 games)

What really happened there:

Kobe Bryant returned from an Achilles tendon injury, suffered another knee injury and managed to play in just 6 games all season.

By the way, in November 2013 Bryant became the most expensive player in the league when he extended his contract by two years for $ 48.5 million even though he was entitled to $ 32 million this season.

Either way, the new contract sparked a polarizing debate over whether Bryant should have given up a larger sum to allow the Lakers to build a competitive team around him.

Pau Gasol, Photo: Getty Images

4th place: 2016-17 season

Balance:

56:26;

31.7;

14 in the west

Coach:

Luke Walton

Leading player:

Lou Williams (18.6 points in 58 games)

What really happened there:

The Lakers opened a first season since 1995 without Kobe Bryant.

Byron Scott was replaced by Luke Walton.

Brandon Ingram, who was selected second in the draft, joined DiAngelo Russell, Julius Randall, Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams, en route to a pre-determined failure.

None of them are left in the Lakers anymore.

By the way, Tariq Black has played 67 games this season and started in 16 of them in what could indicate the great professional distress.

3rd place: 1957-58 season

Balance:

53:19;

26.4;

4 in the west (out of 4)

Coach:

George Miken (30: 9), John Candela (23:10)

Leading player:

Vern Mickelsen (17.3 points in 72 games)

What really happened there:

Those were the days when the Lakers really played near Lakes, in Minneapolis, and not really in Los Angeles.

George Miken, who finally retired in 1956, was appointed coach on the eve of the season opener, but a 30: 9 balance led to his early resignation.

It was the first season in its 10 years of existence that the Lakers stayed out of the playoffs.

2nd place:

2014-15 season

Balance:

61:21;

25.6;

14 in the west

Coach:

Byron Scott

Leading player:

Kobe Bryant (22.3 points in 35 games)

What really happened there:

Dunk with both hands after penetrating the baseline actually doomed this season’s fate to failure on January 21st.

Following that drowning against New Orleans Bryant tore his right shoulder rotators and underwent surgery that sidelined him until the end of the season.

Up until that injury Kobe had scored just 37.3 percent from the field - the lowest percentage in his career at the time.

Kobe Bryant, Photo: AP

1st place: 2015-16 season

Balance:

65:17;

20.7;

15 in the west

Coach:

Byron Scott (replaced by Walton at the end of the season)

Leading player:

Kobe Bryant (17.6 points in 66 games)

What really happened there:

Bryant's farewell season to the best league in the world was also the worst season in the history of the glorious club from City of Angels.

The only thing they will want to remember from this season is the final game of the regular season, in which Kobe Bryant became the oldest player in history to score 60 points or more.

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