The 2005β06Los Angeles Lakers season was the 58th of the franchise in the
National Basketball Association (NBA) and the 60th overall. The Lakers finished in third place of the
Pacific Division and as the seventh seed of the
Western Conference. The season ended with the team being eliminated in seven games against the
Phoenix Suns in the First Round of the
playoffs after holding a 3β1 series lead. After a year absence, the Lakers rehired
Phil Jackson as their head coach. It was the final season that
Kobe Bryant wore jersey number 8 before changing it to 24 the
following season. Also memorable from this season was during a January 22, 2006 game vs. the
Toronto Raptors where Bryant dropped a record 81 points, only the 2nd highest total in NBA history behind
Wilt Chamberlain's
100-point game in 1962.
The Lakers had 3 picks going into the 2005 NBA draft. The Lakers picked seven footer
Andrew Bynum as the 10th pick of the draft. Los Angeles also picked
Ronny Turiaf and
Von Wafer as the 37th and 39th picks respectively.
Wednesday November 16, 2005: Slava Medvedenko was sidelined for the rest of the season after he suffered a herniated disc.[5]
Friday November 18, 2005: Kwame Brown strained his right hamstring and was sidelined for two weeks.[6]
Tuesday December 20, 2005: Laron Profit ruptured his Achilles' tendon during a game against the Dallas Mavericks.[7] He underwent surgery on December 23, 2005. He was unable to play for the rest of the season after the surgery.
The Lakers opened the season with an overtime victory against the
Denver Nuggets.[9] Despite dipping below .500 during the November, the team recovered and finished 2005 with a 15β14 record.[9] The team went into the All Star Break with a 26β26 record[9] The Lakers did not maintain any long winning streaks nor were they in long losing slumps; their longest winning streak of the season equalled their longest losing streak of 5 games.[10] The team finished the season with a 5-game winning streak, the longest of the season, and an overall 45β37 record.[10] The Lakers finished third in the Pacific Division and qualified for the playoffs as the 7th seed in the Western Conference.[10] In a January home game against the
Toronto Raptors, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, the second most in a single game in NBA history, behind
Wilt Chamberlain's 100.
The Lakers traded guard
Kareem Rush to the Charlotte Bobcats for two future second round draft picks (Ronny Turiaf and TBA). The Bobcats have acquired a second round pick (Ronny Turiaf) in the 2005 NBA draft from Atlanta in exchange for forward/center
Predrag Drobnjak. Atlanta Hawks acquired centers
Michael Doleac (from the New York Knicks) and
Joel Przybilla (from the
Milwaukee Bucks), along with a 2005 second-round pick from the Knicks (Ronny Turiaf), while sending center
Nazr Mohammed to the Knicks in the three-way trade. The 2005 selection will be the better of the two-second-rounders the Knicks currently own.[13]
On October 26, 2005, The Lakers traded
Jumaine Jones to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for a 2007 2nd round pick (
Sun Yue).[14]
The 2005β06Los Angeles Lakers season was the 58th of the franchise in the
National Basketball Association (NBA) and the 60th overall. The Lakers finished in third place of the
Pacific Division and as the seventh seed of the
Western Conference. The season ended with the team being eliminated in seven games against the
Phoenix Suns in the First Round of the
playoffs after holding a 3β1 series lead. After a year absence, the Lakers rehired
Phil Jackson as their head coach. It was the final season that
Kobe Bryant wore jersey number 8 before changing it to 24 the
following season. Also memorable from this season was during a January 22, 2006 game vs. the
Toronto Raptors where Bryant dropped a record 81 points, only the 2nd highest total in NBA history behind
Wilt Chamberlain's
100-point game in 1962.
The Lakers had 3 picks going into the 2005 NBA draft. The Lakers picked seven footer
Andrew Bynum as the 10th pick of the draft. Los Angeles also picked
Ronny Turiaf and
Von Wafer as the 37th and 39th picks respectively.
Wednesday November 16, 2005: Slava Medvedenko was sidelined for the rest of the season after he suffered a herniated disc.[5]
Friday November 18, 2005: Kwame Brown strained his right hamstring and was sidelined for two weeks.[6]
Tuesday December 20, 2005: Laron Profit ruptured his Achilles' tendon during a game against the Dallas Mavericks.[7] He underwent surgery on December 23, 2005. He was unable to play for the rest of the season after the surgery.
The Lakers opened the season with an overtime victory against the
Denver Nuggets.[9] Despite dipping below .500 during the November, the team recovered and finished 2005 with a 15β14 record.[9] The team went into the All Star Break with a 26β26 record[9] The Lakers did not maintain any long winning streaks nor were they in long losing slumps; their longest winning streak of the season equalled their longest losing streak of 5 games.[10] The team finished the season with a 5-game winning streak, the longest of the season, and an overall 45β37 record.[10] The Lakers finished third in the Pacific Division and qualified for the playoffs as the 7th seed in the Western Conference.[10] In a January home game against the
Toronto Raptors, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, the second most in a single game in NBA history, behind
Wilt Chamberlain's 100.
The Lakers traded guard
Kareem Rush to the Charlotte Bobcats for two future second round draft picks (Ronny Turiaf and TBA). The Bobcats have acquired a second round pick (Ronny Turiaf) in the 2005 NBA draft from Atlanta in exchange for forward/center
Predrag Drobnjak. Atlanta Hawks acquired centers
Michael Doleac (from the New York Knicks) and
Joel Przybilla (from the
Milwaukee Bucks), along with a 2005 second-round pick from the Knicks (Ronny Turiaf), while sending center
Nazr Mohammed to the Knicks in the three-way trade. The 2005 selection will be the better of the two-second-rounders the Knicks currently own.[13]
On October 26, 2005, The Lakers traded
Jumaine Jones to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for a 2007 2nd round pick (
Sun Yue).[14]