The 1986–87Los Angeles Lakers season was the 41st season of the franchise, 39th in the National Basketball Association and 27th in Los Angeles. Coming from a shocking defeat to the Houston Rockets in the previous season'sWestern Conference Finals in five games, where they won the first game, but proceeded to drop the next four, the Lakers avenged their playoff upset by making the NBA Finals for the sixth time in the 1980s. Prior to reaching the NBA Finals, in the playoffs, the Lakers swept the Denver Nuggets in three games in the First Round, defeated the Golden State Warriors in five games in the Semifinals, and swept the Seattle SuperSonics in four games in the Conference Finals. This team was named one of the 10 greatest teams in NBA history. The highlight of the season saw the Lakers winning the NBA Finals, and their tenth NBA title over the defending NBA champions and rivals, the Boston Celtics, in six games. This marked the third and final time the Lakers and Celtics faced off against each other in the NBA Finals in the 1980s, as well as the last time the Lakers and Celtics faced off against each other in the NBA Finals until 2008, where the Celtics defeated the Lakers 4–2 to win their 17th NBA championship. The two teams would then meet again in 2010, where the Lakers defeated the Celtics 4–3 to win their 16th NBA championship.
Draft picks
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Playoffs
West First Round
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets: Lakers win series 3–0
Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 128, Denver 95
Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 139, Denver 127
Game 3 @ Denver: Los Angeles 140, Denver 103
West Conference Semifinals
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors: Lakers win series 4–1
Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 125, Golden State 116
Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 116, Golden State 101
Game 3 @ Golden State: Los Angeles 133, Golden State 108
Game 4 @ Golden State: Golden State 129, Los Angeles 121
Game 5 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 118, Golden State 106
West Conference Finals
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Seattle SuperSonics: Lakers win series 4–0
Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 92, Seattle 87
Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 112, Seattle 104
Game 3 @ Seattle: Los Angeles 122, Seattle 121
Game 4 @ Seattle: Los Angeles 133, Seattle 102
NBA finals
The Celtics remained competitive in 1986–87, going 59–23 and again winning the Eastern Conference Championship. The Lakersat home dominated the great Celtics team, in Boston the games were much more competitive. Eventually, the Celtics would lose 4 games to 2. Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics Lakers win series 4–2
Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 126, Boston 113
Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 141, Boston 122
Game 3 @ Boston: Boston 109, Los Angeles 103
Game 4 @ Boston: Los Angeles 107, Boston 106
Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 123, Los Angeles 108
Game 6 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 106, Boston 93
Player statistics
Note: GP= Games played; MPG= Minutes per Game; REB = Rebounds; AST = Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; PPG = Points per Game
