1995–96 Los Angeles Lakers season

1995–96 Los Angeles Lakers season
Magic Johnson's comeback season
Head coach	Del Harris
Owner(s)	Jerry Buss
Arena	Great Western Forum
Results
Record	53–29 (.646)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (eliminated 1–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Prime Sports West, KCAL
Radio	AM 570 KLAC

The 1995–96 NBA season was the Lakers' 48th season in the NBA and 36th in the city of Los Angeles. It was also the highlight of Magic Johnson making a comeback. In March, after a game against the Seattle Supersonics, scoring leader Cedric Ceballos missed the team's charter fight to Seattle without explanation. The Lakers were scheduled to play the Sonics again. Ceballos went missing for a few days, and was suspended without pay. The Lakers finished second in the Pacific Division with a 53–29 record. In the Western Conference First Round, the Lakers lost to the fifth seed Houston Rockets in four games. After the defeat, Magic decided to retire for the second time.

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	37	Frankie King	Guard	United States	Western Carolina

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PF 43 Blount, Corie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Cincinnati PF 41 Campbell, Elden 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Clemson SF 23 Ceballos, Cedric 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Cal State Fullerton C 12 Divac, Vlade 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 243 lb (110 kg) Yugoslavia PF 32 Johnson, Magic 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Michigan State SG 25 Jones, Eddie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Temple PG 4 King, Frankie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Western Carolina SF 34 Lynch, George 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) North Carolina PF 2 Miller, Anthony 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Michigan State SG 3 Peeler, Anthony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Missouri C 24 Roberts, Fred 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Brigham Young PF 7 Strong, Derek 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Xavier PG 1 Threatt, Sedale 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) West Virginia University Institute of Technology PG 9 Van Exel, Nick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Cincinnati	Head coach Del Harris Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Regular season

Magic’s Comeback

In the 1995–96 NBA season, Johnson made a short-lived second comeback as a player from January 1996 to May 1996. In this time, he had bulked up from his self-reported weight of 235 lb in 1992 to 255 lb in order to play power forward, a much more physical position than his usual point guard role. At age 36, Johnson played the last 32 games of the season, averaging 14.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game. The Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, and Johnson retired for good. Johnson explained his comeback with the words: "I am going out on my terms, something I couldn't say when I aborted a comeback in 1992."

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	64	18	.780	–	38–3	26–15	21–3
x-Los Angeles Lakers	53	29	.646	11	30–11	23–18	17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	44	38	.537	20	26–15	18–23	11–13
x-Phoenix Suns	41	41	.500	23	25–16	16–25	9–15
x-Sacramento Kings	39	43	.476	25	26–15	13–28	11–13
Golden State Warriors	36	46	.439	28	23–18	13–28	7–17
Los Angeles Clippers	29	53	.354	35	19–22	10–31	7–17

Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Seattle SuperSonics	64	18	.780	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	59	23	.720	5
3	x-Utah Jazz	55	27	.671	9
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	53	29	.646	11
5	x-Houston Rockets	48	34	.585	16
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	44	38	.537	20
7	x-Phoenix Suns	41	41	.500	23
8	x-Sacramento Kings	39	43	.476	25
9	Golden State Warriors	36	46	.439	28
10	Denver Nuggets	35	47	.427	29
11	Los Angeles Clippers	29	53	.354	35
12	Dallas Mavericks	26	56	.317	38
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	26	56	.317	38
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	15	67	.183	49

Playoffs

West First Round

(4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Houston Rockets Last Playoff Meeting: 1991 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3–1)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (LAL-HOU)	Venue	Recap	Television
1	April 25	Los Angeles	83	Houston	87	0–1	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	1	TNT 10:30et
2	April 27	Los Angeles	104	Houston	94	1–1	Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California	2	NBC 3:30et
3	April 30	Houston	104	Los Angeles	98	1–2	The Summit, Houston, Texas	3	TBS 9:00et
4	May 2	Houston	102	Los Angeles	94	1–3	The Summit, Houston, Texas	4	TNT 9:30et
Houston wins series 3–1

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Salaries

Player	Salary
Vlade Divac	$3,333,000
Sedale Threatt	$2,400,000
Cedric Ceballos	$2,245,000
Elden Campbell	$2,200,000
Nick Van Exel	$1,900,000
George Lynch	$1,760,000
Eddie Jones	$1,600,000
Anthony Peeler	$1,330,000
Corie Blount	$1,040,000
Derek Strong	$1,000,000
Anthony Miller	$550,000
Fred Roberts	$225,000
Frankie King	$200,000

References

• Lakers on Database Basketball
• Lakers on Basketball Reference