The Best Scorer For The Los Angeles Lakers In The Last 40 Seasons

Over the last 40 years, the Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the winningest franchises in the NBA. Over that time, they have won nine of their 17 total NBA championships and have been led by some of the most notable names in basketball history. Magic, Kareem, Shaq, Kobe, and LeBron. These are the stars who have helped lead the Lakers to the promised land over and over again for the duration of the last four decades.  

Today, we will focus solely on the offensive side of the ball when it comes to the Lakers, and, even more specifically, scoring. As the late Bill Russell once said, “This game has always been and will always be about buckets”. Scoring is still the most important part of basketball, and over the last 40 seasons, there have been many Lakers who represented the purple and gold with pride as the team’s most lethal offensive player.

As we venture through these 40 seasons, take note of the consistency from these stars as we also mention their contributions to other parts of the game but, more importantly, how their scoring impacted success on a team level. As far as legendary franchises go, the Lakers may not be alone, but they are certainly at the top of the NBA hierarchy, so there was simply no better way to kick this series off.

These are the best scorers for the Los Angeles Lakers in the last 40 seasons.

1983-84 Season – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 21.5 PPG

In the 1983-84 season, the Los Angeles Lakers were coming off a sweep in the NBA Finals at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers. The team would respond in typical Laker fashion by rattling off 54 wins led by their big man in the middle, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson.

Kareem would lead the Lakers in scoring that season with 21.5 PPG on 57.8% shooting from the field overall. He would be the only 20.0 PPG scorer for Los Angeles in 1983-84, but Johnson added 17.6 PPG and 13.1 APG. Kareem would finish fourth in MVP voting and be selected to the All-NBA First Team, as had come to be expected.

In the NBA playoffs, Kareem would once again lead the Lakers in scoring with 23.9 PPG and help them advance to the NBA Finals, as they had done numerous times in the 80s already. This time, the Lakers would fall in seven games in the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics, who were led by the trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish.

1984-85 Season – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 22.0 PPG

After a heartbreaking loss in the NBA Finals, the Lakers returned with a vengeance in 1984-85. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was once again the team’s leading scorer with 22.0 PPG on 59.9% shooting from the floor. Kareem’s 22.0 PPG helped the Lakers reach an overall record of 62-20 on the season as they cruised toward the NBA playoffs looking for their first championship since 1982.

Kareem’s season had him land fourth in MVP voting once again while his teammate Magic Johnson finished runner-up to Larry Bird. In the end, the Lakers would end up getting the last laugh. Kareem and the Lakers stormed through the NBA playoffs behind 21.9 PPG from Kareem and an added bonus of 21.5 PPG from James Worthy.

The Lakers would advance to the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics once again with a much different outcome. The Lakers would take down the Celtics in six games to capture the NBA championship for the third time during the 1980s. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would take home Finals MVP honors with 25.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 5.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, and 1.5 BPG in the series. 

1985-86 Season – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 23.4 PPG

For the third season in a row, and coming off his second Finals MVP win, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the Lakers in scoring once again for the 1985-86 season. Kareem would average 23.4 PPG on 56.4% shooting. James Worthy joined Kareem as another 20.0 PPG scorer for the team, and they went on to win 62 games, just as they did in 1985.

Kareem would finish fifth in MVP voting and be selected to the All-NBA First Team for his performance during the season, but the Lakers had bigger things on their minds. After sweeping the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs and getting by the Mavericks in the following round, the Lakers would meet their match in the Western Conference Finals. Against Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets, Kareem would average 27.0 PPG, but it was not enough to stop Houston from taking them down in five games.

It was the first time that the Lakers had failed to reach the NBA Finals since 1981, and the last time during the 1980s, they would fail to reach them as well. It was back to the drawing board for Kareem and the Lakers as they headed into an offseason of questions and issues that needed to be addressed.

1986-87 Season – Magic Johnson – 23.9 PPG

For the first time during the time period we are talking about, Magic Johnson led the Lakers in scoring for a season in 1986-87. Johnson was a force to be reckoned with, as he averaged 23.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 12.2 APG, and 1.7 SPG. Johnson shot the ball at 52.2% overall as he led the Lakers to 65 wins and was named the MVP, nearly 300 points ahead of the Bulls’ Michael Jordan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABC66DY_e8o

The Lakers would then storm through the NBA playoffs, losing just one game in the first three rounds of the playoffs. They swept the Nuggets in the first round and the Seattle SuperSonics in the Western Conference Finals to match up with a familiar foe once again in the Boston Celtics. Magic and the Lakers would dominate Boston in six games, with Johnson taking home the third Finals MVP of his career behind 26.2 PPG, which led the team, as well as 8.0 RPG, 13.0 APG, and 2.3 SPG. The Lakers were back on top thanks to a trio of 20.0 PPG scorers in the NBA Finals, as James Worthy and Kareem each averaged over 20.0 PPG to add to Johnson’s performance.

1987-88 Season – Byron Scott – 21.7 PPG

Byron Scott isn’t typically a name you will see on the top of NBA scoring lists, but in 1987-88, he made his presence known offensively. As a top 10 scorer in Lakers history, Scott averaged over 21.5 PPG in 1987-88, shooting 52.7% from the field on 16.6 shot attempts. Scott also added 4.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, and 1.9 SPG to help the Lakers win 62 games and head toward the NBA playoffs.

After a sweep of the Spurs in the first round, each of the next three series went to seven games for the Lakers. They escaped scares from both the Jazz and Mavericks to advance to yet another NBA Finals. The Finals would go seven games, with the Lakers claiming their second straight NBA championship and fifth NBA championship of the 1980s. James Worthy took home Finals MVP honors, while Scott averaged 19.6 PPG for the playoffs trailing only Magic Johnson and James Worthy.

1988-89 Season – Magic Johnson – 22.5 PPG

After repeating as NBA champions in both 1987 and 1988, the Lakers started to feel the pressure a bit with having the chance to three-peat as NBA champions. Magic Johnson once again stepped in as the team’s leading scorer as Kareem was at the tail end of his career, but James Worthy stepped up as another 20.0 PPG scorer once again as the team went on to win 57 games, and Magic walked away with another MVP award.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tn2kYAqVag

The Lakers would not lose a single game in the Western Conference playoffs that season, sweeping the Trail Blazers, SuperSonics, and Suns in consecutive series. Worthy led the team in scoring with 24.8 PPG in the playoffs, but none of that mattered in the NBA Finals. In a rematch from 1988 against the Pistons, Detroit simply dominated the Lakers with a 4-0 series sweep and their first NBA championship in Detroit history.

This would also be the season that Los Angeles Lakers fans bid farewell to their captain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem had announced his retirement before the season, and after 20 seasons of greatness, his time in the NBA was up as a player. It is still one of the greatest farewell tours for a player the NBA has ever seen.

1989-90 Season – Magic Johnson – 22.3 PPG

In their first season without Kareem since 1974, the Lakers fared extremely well. Magic Johnson took over as their leading scorer once again with 22.3 PPG while also dishing out 11.5 APG and grabbing 6.6 RPG. As the Lakers won 63 games, Magic was named MVP once again despite earning fewer first-place votes than runner-up Charles Barkley but finishing with 20 more points overall to win the award.

Johnson and the Lakers had bigger things on their minds, which was to avenge the loss they suffered in 1989 to the Pistons. Los Angeles would take care of the Rockets in the first round, defeating them in four games to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals against the Suns. Unfortunately, that is where their story ends for 1989-90, as the Lakers would fall to the Suns in five games. Magic would lead the Lakers in scoring with over 25.0 PPG while Worthy added over 24.0 PPG, but the duo was not enough to get the Lakers to the next level.

1990-91 Season – James Worthy – 21.4 PPG

The 1990-91 season would be one of ups and downs for the Los Angeles Lakers, ending in heartbreaking fashion once more. James Worthy took over as the Lakers’ leading scorer with 21.4 PPG on 49.2% shooting. Worthy would earn All-NBA Third Team honors for his performance that season, and teammate Magic Johnson would finish runner-up to Michael Jordan for MVP as the Lakers won 58 games and once again headed toward the NBA playoffs.

In the playoffs, Worthy and the Lakers would bend but not break as they advanced to the NBA Finals. Magic would be their leading scorer with 21.8 PPG in the playoffs, but Worthy was not far behind at 21.1 PPG. In the end, the Lakers would fall to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls as their reign atop the NBA was officially over, and Chicago’s run was just starting. The next few seasons would be a difficult time in the Lakers’ history, but ultimately, they made it through.

1991-92 Season – James Worthy – 19.9 PPG

Before the 1991-92 season began, Magic Johnson announced his retirement from the game of basketball due to his contraction of the HIV. This left James Worthy to take over for the team as their main offensive weapon, and he was with 19.9 PPG on 44.7% shooting from the field. As the Lakers struggled, Worthy could only lead them to a 43-39 record which just barely qualified them for the NBA playoffs.

The first series of the playoffs did not go as planned for Los Angeles. Worthy would miss the entire series with an injury. The Lakers turned to Byron Scott and Sedale Threatt to try and defeat the Portland Trail Blazers, but it was simply not enough as Portland defeated the Lakers in four games and advanced to the NBA Finals later on that postseason. The Lakers had some tough decisions to make moving forward from here, but they would eventually right the ship.

1992-93 Season – Sedale Threatt – 15.1 PPG

The 1992-93 season was one the Lakers would like to forget about from their past history. Magic was gone, and Worthy was getting older, leaving the team in the hands of players such as Sedale Threatt, who led the team in scoring with just 15.1 PPG on 50.8% shooting. The Lakers had six other players average 10.0 PPG or more, with Worthy finishing just behind Threatt with 14.9 PPG in 82 games played.

With a record of 39-43 in the 1992-93 season, the Lakers were still able to make the playoffs. In the first round, they put up a fight against the Phoenix Suns but fell short in the series 3-2. Vlade Divac and Threatt would both lead the Lakers with 18.0 PPG, but it was not enough to slow down MVP Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, and the Suns. The Lakers were sent home in the first round for the second season in a row courtesy of Phoenix.

1993-94 Season – Vlade Divac – 14.2 PPG

The 1993-94 Los Angeles Lakers were bad, really bad, almost on a historic level. Fans in the L.A. area were not used to seeing their Lakers look this much like one of the worst teams in the NBA but in 1993-94, that was the reality for a Los Angeles team that had moved a 32-year-old James Worthy to the bench, and had a 25-year-old Vlade Divac as their leading scorer.

Divac was not even the player we would come to see during the Sacramento Kings in the early 2000s yet. Still, he led the Lakers with 14.2 PPG on 50.6% shooting, finishing just ahead of Anthony Peeler, who averaged 14.1 PPG in just 30 games played. The Lakers would go 33-49 on the season and fail to make the playoffs for the first time in what felt like forever. It could only get better from here, right?

1994-95 Season – Cedric Ceballos – 21.7 PPG

In the 1994 offseason, the Lakers knew they had to make a move to improve their team and recover from the 1994 disaster. They did just that when they acquired Cedric Ceballos from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a 1995 first-round pick. Ceballos would play just 58 games for the Lakers in 1995 but would become an All-Star for the only time in his career, averaging 21.7 PPG and 8.0 RPG.

With a record of 48-34, the Lakers were back in the NBA playoffs. Nick Van Exel would take over as the team’s leading scorer in the postseason, averaging 20.0 PPG as they took out the SuperSonics in the first round and faced off with the Spurs in the second round. Unfortunately for the Lakers, San Antonio would be eliminated by MVP David Robinson in six games during that series, who averaged 30.0 PPG and 15.7 RPG. The Lakers fought hard and were certainly back to contender status but still had some moves to make to get back to the NBA Finals.

1995-96 Season – Cedric Ceballos – 21.2 PPG

After injuries and playoff disappointment were the narratives surrounding Ceballos following their loss in 1995, he responded with another season averaging over 21.0 PPG for the Lakers in 1996. Ceballos would play 78 games averaging 21.2 PPG on 53.0% shooting to lead the Lakers to 53 wins and another trip to the NBA playoffs.

In the first round, the Lakers drew the unfortunate task of having to face the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets. In the series, Ceballos would lead them offensively once again with 19.0 PPG on 48.4% shooting, but it was not enough to combat the play of Hakeem Olajuwon. Hakeem dominated the Lakers with 26.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.5 SPG, and 2.3 BPG. The Rockets would advance with a series win in four games, while the Lakers were left wondering what was next for a franchise that once won championships regularly and now couldn’t get out of the first round.

1996-97 Season – Shaquille O’Neal – 26.2 PPG

The 1996-97 season marked the arrival of a new era in Los Angeles for the Lakers. In the offseason, they made the NBA’s biggest splash when they acquired Shaquille O’Neal, and although it wasn’t big news at the time, they also landed high school phenom turned pro, Kobe Bryant. Although it would be a few years before the move really paid off, it certainly helped in the short term as well.

Shaq would lead the Lakers in scoring with 26.2 PPG on 55.7% shooting from the field. He earned All-NBA Third Team honors as well as an All-Star selection for his efforts. The Lakers also earned a 56-26 record to advance to the playoffs once again. Shaq would lead the team in scoring in the playoffs with 26.9 PPG but depth became the main issue for the Lakers. Los Angeles would lose to the Jazz in the second round of the playoffs in five games, unable to slow down the fast-paced offense led by John Stockton and Karl Malone. As bleak as things seemed at the time, the Lakers were not far away from being on top of the NBA again.

1997-98 Season – Shaquille O’Neal – 28.3 PPG

The Lakers would be extremely fortunate to have Shaquille O’Neal just hitting his prime as the most dominant player in the game during the late 1990s. The support was yet to arrive around him enough for a run at the NBA championship, but O’Neal made them a serious threat in the West. In 1998, O’Neal would average 28.3 PPG, which not only led the team but was second to only Michael Jordan in the entire NBA on an NBA-leading 58.4% shooting from the floor.

With 61 wins in the regular season, the Lakers were primed for a run at the NBA championship. Behind Shaq’s 30.5 PPG in the playoffs, the Lakers advanced to the Western Conference by dismissing Portland and Seattle in easy fashion. Unfortunately for L.A., the Utah Jazz were once again waiting for them in the Western Conference Finals. The series would not even be close as Utah would sweep the Lakers in four games to advance to the NBA Finals. It was one of the years of Shaq’s prime that fans truly felt was wasted, but it was a stepping stone to something much greater.

1998-99 Season – Shaquille O’Neal – 26.3 PPG

The 1998-99 season was a toss-up for all 30 NBA teams due to the lockout that shortened its length to 50 games, benefiting younger teams to the fullest extent. Once again, Shaq was the leading scorer for the Lakers with 26.3 PPG, which was good for second in the NBA behind only Allen Iverson. With 31 wins, the Lakers qualified for the playoffs under coach Del Harris.

The Lakers looked great in their first-round win over the Houston Rockets behind 29.5 PPG from Shaq, along with 10.3 RPG and 4.0 BPG. Things were much different in the next round against the Spurs. O’Neal would average 23.8 PPG, and Kobe Bryant would add 21.3 PPG, but the Spurs were just too much led by a young Tim Duncan and swept them in four games convincingly. The Spurs would go on to win the championship, but Lakers fans were in store for a real treat moving forward.

1999-00 Season – Shaquille O’Neal – 29.7 PPG

The 1999-00 season is one of the greatest single seasons by any player in NBA history. Shaquille O’Neal would not only lead the Lakers in scoring with 29.7 PPG, but it also landed him his second scoring title as well. O’Neal would finish off the regular season with an MVP award as well as the Lakers won 67 games to just 15 losses behind the dominance of the game’s best big man.

The Lakers would find themselves in a couple of serious series during the playoffs but ended up dismissing the Kings, Suns, and Trail Blazers to advance to the NBA Finals behind 30.7 PPG in the playoffs from Shaq. In the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, O’Neal would not be denied his first NBA championship as he led the Lakers to victory in six games. Shaq would be named Finals MVP for the first time with an incredible 38.0 PPG, 16.7 RPG, and 2.7 BPG. It is still one of the highest-scoring NBA Finals by a Finals MVP in NBA history.

The scary thing is, he and Kobe Bryant were just getting started.

2000-01 Season – Shaquille O’Neal – 28.7 PPG

The race for the Lakers’ leading scorer got a whole lot more interesting in 2000-01. Shaq once again led the team with 28.7 PPG but teammate Kobe Bryant was right behind him with 28.5 PPG to lead the Lakers to 56 wins and a division title. O’Neal would finish third in MVP voting and earn All-NBA First Team honors, while Bryant was named to the All-NBA Second Team and finished ninth in MVP voting. The team had bigger things on their mind than individual awards, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9VxhjAAUDk

In the NBA playoffs, the Lakers were so dominant, they wouldn’t lose their first game until they reached the NBA Finals. O’Neal led the way again in the playoffs with 30.4 PPG, but right behind him again was Bryant with 29.4 PPG. In the NBA Finals, after losing Game 1 to Allen Iverson and the 76ers, it would be all about the big man as O’Neal averaged 33.0 PPG, 15.8 RPG, and 3.4 BPG while destroying Defensive Player of the Year Dikembe Mutombo. O’Neal earned his second straight Finals MVP award as the Lakers earned their second straight NBA championship with no end to their dominance in sight.

2001-02 Season – Shaquille O’Neal – 27.2 PPG

The duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had officially taken over the NBA as one of the best duos anybody had ever seen. The regular season scoring race for the Lakers came down to them again, with O’Neal averaging 27.2 PPG and Bryant putting in 25.2 PPG. O’Neal had the edge once more, but it didn’t really matter. The Lakers would win 58 games and head toward the playoffs as the heavy favorites to win their third straight NBA title.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDLKNT5njb0

In the playoffs, things looked scary easy again for O’Neal and the Lakers as they defeated Portland and San Antonio in the first two rounds. They then eked out a seven-game series in the Conference Finals against the Kings, a series many believe the Kings were robbed of due to poor and dirty officiating.

The NBA Finals would be a cakewalk for the Lakers after the Kings series as they cruised to a 4-0 sweep of the Nets. Becoming the first team to three-peat since the Bulls was a special feat itself, but three straight Finals MVPs put O’Neal in rare air as well. He averaged 36.3 PPG in the series to win the award, while Bryant added 26.8 PPG. While things looked great on the outside, little did we know that the dynasty was about to fall apart over the next few seasons, leaving the team in a hole for quite some time.

2002-03 Season – Kobe Bryant – 30.0 PPG

The 2002-03 season saw a passing of the torch in a way with the Lakers. Kobe Bryant exploded to lead the team with 30.0 PPG and finished fifth in MVP voting, while O’Neal averaged 27.5 PPG and finished third in MVP voting. Little did we know, a rift between the duo was beginning to come to a head behind the scenes that would see them torn apart by the end of 2004.

In the regular season, the 57.5 PPG combined from the duo led to 50 wins and a trip to the NBA playoffs. They would defeat the Timberwolves in the first round in six games to set up a date with the Spurs in the next round. Unfortunately, even Bryant’s 32.3 PPG and O’Neal’s 25.3 PPG were not enough to take down the Spurs, and they would proceed to fall in six games. After a disappointing end to the season, reports came to light that the duo’s beef had come to a head, setting up for an awkward 2003-04 campaign.

2003-04 Season – Kobe Bryant – 24.0 PPG

The 2003-04 season saw the Lakers add both Gary Payton and Karl Malone to their roster in a quest for their first NBA championship toward the end of their careers. Meanwhile, the feud between Kobe and Shaq was at its height, and both parties seemed to be at an impasse on the topic, especially publicly. Despite this, the Lakers would go on to win 56 games led by Bryant’s 24.0 PPG which was fourth in the NBA, and O’Neal’s 21.5 PPG which was 11th.

They were a clear favorite to win the NBA championship in spite of the internal issue and would have their chance against a hungry Pistons team in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1990. Shaq would lead the team in scoring in the Finals with 26.6 PPG despite Ben Wallace’s swarming defense, but Bryant struggled mightily. He averaged just 22.6 PPG on 38.1% shooting from the field as the Pistons would win the series in five games.

After the Finals loss in 2004, the Lakers organization could not move ahead with their two stars and made the decision to trade O’Neal to the Miami Heat. What followed would be some of the lowest days in the history of the team but only for a short time, thanks to Bryant.

2004-05 Season – Kobe Bryant – 27.6 PPG

With O’Neal, Malone, and Payton all headed elsewhere after the 2004 season, the 2005 team was ready to take the Lakers into the next era of basketball. Bryant would lead the Lakers with 27.6 PPG on the season, which also finished second in the NBA behind Allen Iverson. The Lakers also had two other 15.0 PPG scorers in Lamar Odom and Caron Butler, but outside of those three, little to no production led to an awful 34-38 finish.

With just 34 wins, Bryant did not receive a single MVP vote on the year but did wind up with All-NBA Third Team honors. The roster he was working with could have never won an NBA championship, to be fair to Bryant, but the pressure to deliver without O’Neal for the first time could clearly be seen as something that was bothering him heading into the season and lingered for its entirety.

2005-06 Season – Kobe Bryant – 35.4 PPG

After such an awful finish and overall season in 2005, Kobe and the Lakers came back on a mission in 2006. With virtually the same roster and not another 15.0 PPG scorer to be seen, Bryant won his first career scoring title by averaging 35.4 PPG on 45.0% shooting from the floor which led to 45 wins for the Lakers and a spot back in the playoffs. Many would say Bryant was robbed of MVP after finishing fourth in the voting yet receiving the second-most first-place votes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syaXep_G9Ig

Regardless of his MVP finish, Bryant had bigger fish to fry as the Lakers went back to the NBA playoffs. In the first round, the Lakers got to square off against MVP Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. While going up against the most potent offense in the league, Bryant put up an admirable fight that ended in a loss in seven games. Bryant would average 27.9 PPG on 49.7% shooting and 40.0% from three but once again have no teammates average over 11.0 PPG.

2006-07 Season – Kobe Bryant – 31.6 PPG

Another season, another scoring title for the Black Mamba as Kobe Bryant once again took the reins of a very poor Lakers roster and made the most of it. In 2006-07, Bryant would take home the second and final scoring title of his career with 31.6 PPG on 46.3% shooting from the field and 34.4% from three. The Lakers would go 42-40 despite Bryant’s support consisting of 15.9 PPG from Lamar Odom and just over 11.0 PPG from both Luke Walton and Smush Parker.

Once again, this set up a matchup with the Phoenix Suns who were led by Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire. The series would not be as close as the previous matchup in 2006, as the Suns walked away fairly unscathed in five games. Bryant would average 32.8 PPG in the series, while Odom surprisingly went for 19.4 PPG. Outside of those two, no other Lakers player would reach 9.0 PPG for the series, leaving the Lakers helpless against Phoenix’s relentless attack. Another all-time great season by Bryant had gone out to pasture in the first round.

2007-08 Season – Kobe Bryant – 28.3 PPG

After years of struggle, the Los Angeles Lakers would finally get back to their winning ways in 2007-08. Kobe had gone into a different mode at the height of the season, just as the organization made a stunning move to bring in Pau Gasol via trade. The deal sparked a run that led to 28.3 PPG from Bryant and 57 wins for the Lakers, their best year since their last championship victory. The resurgent season resulted in Kobe’s first and only MVP award, which gave the Lakers all the momentum they needed going forward.

In the NBA playoffs, Bryant would lead the Lakers with 30.1 PPG in convincing wins over the Nuggets, Jazz, and Spurs to capture their first Western Conference title since 2004. In the Finals, Bryant and the Lakers would meet the newly-formed Big 3 of the Boston Celtics led by Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce.

Bryant would go for just 25.7 PPG on less than 41.0% shooting, and the Celtics battled to a 4-2 series win and the NBA championship. While the loss clearly stung for Bryant and the Lakers, what followed would be two of the greatest seasons of his career and some of my personal favorites in Lakers history.

2008-09 Season – Kobe Bryant – 26.8 PPG

The 2008-09 seasons marked the first time we would get a true glimpse of the Mamba Mentality. After years of hearing that he didn’t have what it took to lead a team, or that he was selfish, or his past legal issues, Kobe Bryant went berserk. Bryant would lead the Lakers to 65 wins averaging 26.8 PPG on 46.7% shooting from the field and 35.1% from three. The Lakers were back, and Bryant had reached another gear which spelled trouble for the rest of the NBA.

In the NBA playoffs, Bryant would average 30.2 PPG on 45.7% shooting as he led the Lakers all the way back to the NBA Finals. This time, it would be the Orlando Magic who stood in their way, but Bryant was not to be denied. In a five-game drubbing of the Magic, Bryant would lead the Lakers to an NBA championship in five games behind a Finals MVP performance of 32.4 PPG on 43.0% shooting. Everything they said he couldn’t do had finally been done in one of the most emotional moments you’ll ever see in Kobe Bryant’s career.

2009-10 Season – Kobe Bryant – 27.0 PPG

Just as the elation from the championship began to subside, so too did questions about Bryant’s ability to do it again. This led to yet another mountain he had to climb as a player and a mountain he had to lead his team up in order to get there. Bryant would do that with 27.0 PPG on 45.6% shooting in the 2009-10 season which led to 57 wins for the Lakers and another pathway to the NBA playoffs.

The playoffs would be another masterclass from Kobe as he navigated the Thunder, Jazz, and Suns, all in six games or less, averaging 29.2 PPG on 45.8% from the field. In the NBA Finals, Bryant would finally get his chance at revenge on the Boston Celtics and seized the moment perfectly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85nBQ_AoRwk

The battle for NBA supremacy would rage on for seven games as the Celtics and Lakers fought as hard and honorably as they could. In the end, it was the Lakers who would prevail with another Finals MVP performance from Kobe. The Lakers would win their second straight NBA championship with 28.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 2.1 SPG from Bryant as he now had his fifth championship and second Finals MVP award, cementing him as one of the greatest players in NBA history.

2010-11 Season – Kobe Bryant – 25.3 PPG

While the quest for a three-peat is often derailed at some point, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers believed they had a legitimate chance at doing it in 2010-11. Bryant would lead the team with 25.3 PPG, which ranked fifth in the NBA and led to 57 wins for his team. Bryant would finish fourth in MVP voting while shooting 45.1% from the field and getting 18.8 PPG from Pau Gasol.

Things looked great for the team heading into the NBA playoffs as they took out the Hornets in six games to open the postseason. Their plans for a three-peat would meet an unexpected end, however, in the second round against the Dallas Mavericks. Bryant would struggle, averaging 23.3 PPG against Dallas, and the team would be swept in four games in somewhat embarrassing fashion. No other member of the Lakers reached 14.0 PPG for the series, which emphasized Kobe’s struggles even more.

2011-12 Season – Kobe Bryant – 27.9 PPG

The Lakers and Kobe Bryant looked to get back on track during the 2011-12 season, even as age came into play. With the season shortened to 66 games, the room for error was very little for Los Angeles, and everybody knew it. Bryant led the team again with 27.9 PPG on 43.0% shooting from the field to help them win 41 games and earn a high seed for the playoffs.

Things did not look good as Los Angeles had to battle in a seven-game series with the Nuggets in the first round. Again, the Lakers found themselves in a tough matchup in the second round that resulted in an early exit. With 31.2 PPG, Bryant was the only hope against the Thunder, who had two 25.0 PPG scorers in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The series lasted just five games, with the Thunder winning and Kobe’s 30.0 PPG in the playoffs meant nothing but another second-round exit.

2012-13 Season – Kobe Bryant – 27.3 PPG

As things looked dire for the Lakers to make some moves and improve their roster, they went out and acquired both Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to add into the mix. In what was supposed to be a superteam, Bryant feuded with a young Dwight Howard quite regularly while leading them in scoring once again with 27.3 PPG. Even as the two remained All-Stars, the Lakers would win just 45 games and struggle mightily when playoff time came around.

That is because Bryant would miss the entire series with an Achilles injury suffered at the end of the season, and the Lakers would be left embarrassed by the Western Conference champions. Howard led the Lakers with 17.8 PPG against the Spurs, and Gasol dropped in 14.0 PPG, but they were completely outmatched, leading to a sweep in four games and an uncertain future for their franchise as a whole.

2013-14 Season – Nick Young – 17.9 PPG

With Bryant clearly going to miss extended time recovering from his injury, the Lakers were left with one of their worst rosters ever to try and make some noise. Nick Young would be the Lakers’ leading scorer with 17.9 PPG while shooting 43.5% from the field overall and 38.6% from three. The only problem was, Nick Young was primarily a sixth man and had no effect on winning basketball games.

The Lakers would finish 27-55 on the year with Pau Gasol as their only other player to reach the 17.0 PPG mark. Even in the six games he attempted to play that season, Bryant could only muster just over 13.5 PPG, which did not make any difference one way or the other. The Lakers were now looking at a grim future in which Bryant was on the last legs of his career, and they had to start thinking about a rebuild.

2014-15 Season – Kobe Bryant – 22.3 PPG

Now, if you thought 2014 was bad, 2015 gets far worse. The Lakers had now moved on from Pau Gasol, and Kobe Bryant continued to break down physically. Despite leading the team with 22.3 PPG, Kobe would play just 35 games that season due to another injury that left the team in shambles. Nick Young was second on the team with 13.4 PPG, while no other player reached 12.0 PPG for the season.

This led to an atrocious 21 wins on the year, which was close to the bottom of the barrel in the NBA as far as the worst teams go. Bryant’s injury and an incredibly bad roster build for Los Angeles had led to one of the worst seasons in franchise history, but it was about to get a whole lot worse for the boys in purple and gold.

2015-16 Season – Kobe Bryant – 17.6 PPG

You know it is a bad sign when your team’s leading scorer is only at 17.6 PPG, and that scorer is pushing 38 years old. Nevertheless, this season was more of a celebration rather than competitive in any way simply due to the fact that Kobe announced his intention to retire at the end of it. Bryant had reached his breaking point physically and knew he could not perform at a high level anymore, leading to him walking away.

Bryant would admirably play 66 games that season and averaged 17.6 PPG on 35.8% shooting. The Lakers would win 17 games, having the worst season in franchise history. Despite this, the most memorable moment for Kobe that season came in his final game at the Staples Center. Bryant would end his career with one last performance with 60 points against the Jazz in their season finale. It was the perfect way for him to leave the court he helped build forever and the only way a legend like Kobe knew how to say goodbye.

2016-17 Season – Lou Williams – 18.6 PPG

As the Lakers looked to rebuild with the departure of Bryant, things did not get much better on a team level for them in 2016-17. Lou Williams would be their leading scorer with 18.6 PPG in 58 games off the bench. Williams shot 44.4% from the field that season, as well as 38.5% from three. 

As for the starters, D’Angelo Russell led all starters with 15.6 PPG as the Lakers went on to win just 26 games and failed to make the playoffs for the fifth season in a row.

2017-18 Season – Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Julius Randle – 16.1 PPG

As the Lakers kept adding to their young core through the NBA Draft, three players began to emerge as leading scorers for their team. Rookie Brando Ingram tied for the team lead with 16.1 PPG on 47.0% shooting from the field and 39.0% from three on 1.8 attempts. Kyle Kuzma also joined in the fun with 16.1 PPG in 77 games played and on 45.0% shooting.

Last but not least, Julius Randle was another Lakers young gun that averaged 16.1 PPG during the 2017-18 season and shot the ball 55.8% from the field while doing it. Despite the improvement from the young players, they won just 35 games and missed the playoffs once more. There was no need to fear however, help was on the way, and a lot of it.

2018-19 Season – LeBron James  – 27.4 PPG

In the 2018-19 offseason, the Lakers breathed a huge sigh of relief when free agent LeBron James opted to join the Lakers. Coming off incredible runs to the NBA Finals from 2011 through 2018, the Lakers were getting the piece that could get them back to championship contention. In his first season with the Lakers, LeBron led the team with 27.4 PPG on 51.0% from the field and 33.9% shooting from three.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, James would be injured on Christmas Day, and the team nor he would fully recover. The Lakers had two 18.0 PPG scorers without James as Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram continued to get better. However, it would be no help in winning games as the Lakers would go 37-45 and once again miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.

2019-20 – Anthony Davis – 26.1 PPG

In the offseason, the Lakers made another big splash when they traded a bunch of their young core for prized veteran big man Anthony Davis. The move made the Lakers instant NBA title contenders, and they would not disappoint. In his first season with the team, Davis led the Lakers in scoring with 26.1 PPG on 50.3% shooting. Right behind him was LeBron, who averaged 25.3 PPG on 49.1% shooting.

When the season was halted due to COVID-19, the Lakers were 52-19 and looked unstoppable. That would continue as they restarted the season in Orlando in the Bubble format. As the Lakers went through the NBA playoffs, both Davis and James looked incredible, with Davis leading the team again with 27.7 PPG and James right behind him with 27.6 PPG.

The Lakers would meet the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals led by Jimmy Butler. The Lakers would prevail in six games as James captured his fourth NBA championship and Davis captured his first in six games over Miami. James’ 29.8 PPG led the team and earned him Finals MVP honors, while Davis added 25.0 PPG in an incredible run the likes of which we may never see again.

2020-21 Season – LeBron James – 25.0 PPG

Despite a berth in the NBA playoffs, the 2020-21 season is one I am sure Lakers fans around the world would love to forget. As the Lakers set out to defend their NBA championship, both LeBron James and Anthony Davis struggled to stay healthy and on the court. James’ 25.0 PPG led the team, but he was limited to just 45 games due to injury. Davis’ 21.8 PPG was great, but he was limited to just 36 games.

These struggles continued into the NBA playoffs as both rushed back to try and help the Lakers win. David would barely see the court and averaged 17.4 PPG in their first-round series against the Suns. James would play every game far from 100 percent and lead the team with 23.3 PPG. It was not enough to take them past Phoenix, and one season after winning it all, they were going home early courtesy of both the injury bug as well as the Suns.

2021-22 – LeBron James – 30.3 PPG

After making yet another offseason splash in acquiring Russell Westbrook, the Lakers were in business to compete for an NBA championship again, or so they thought. Despite the hopes, everything came crashing down in a tragic and chaotic fashion. Sure, LeBron James averaged over 30.0 PPG on 52.4% shooting, but he was limited to just 56 games due to injury. Anthony Davis averaged 23.2 PPG but missed over half the season with injuries as well.

As for Russell Westbrook, his season was awful to watch as he failed to fit in with the Lakers’ system. The team watched as the season went down the drain, winning just 33 games and missing the playoffs for the second time in the LeBron James era.

2022-23 Season – LeBron James – 28.9 PPG

As the Lakers went into 2022-23, things did not get off to a good start. A 2-10 record in their first 12 games raised alarms right away, prompting the work they would soon do at the trade deadline. LeBron was incredible with 28.9 PPG at 38 years old, en route to becoming the NBA’s all-time scoring leader and willing his team to victory despite yet another foot injury. Davis stayed relatively healthy as well, with 56 games played of 25.9 PPG basketball.

After making a ton of moves at the trade deadline, the Lakers took back momentum with an insane finish to their season, going 43-39 and sneaking into the play-in tournament. After getting through that with a win over Minnesota, the playoff run was on. James would lead the team to the Western Conference Finals with 24.5 PPG on 49.8% shooting and only 26.4% from three. Davis was also stellar, with 22.6 PPG and incredible defensive play.

The run would soon come to an end in the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets. James would average 27.8 PPG in the series, and Davis would average 26.8 PPG, but it didn’t matter as the Lakers failed to win even one game and were swept by the NBA champions. Now, it was revealed James was playing hurt as he sparked retirement rumors upon elimination, and frustrations boiled over. Now we wait for free agency and a long offseason to see if the Lakers have more moves up their sleeves to get back into the championship conversation.  

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