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Los Angeles Lakers: Ranking the best teams that didn’t win the title

By Jason Reed

Kobe Bryant (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers moves the ball before Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics during the Game One of the 2008 NBA Finals, in Boston, Massachusetts, June 5, 2008. Pierce shrugged off a right knee sprain to score 22 points, sparking the Boston Celtics past the Los Angeles Lakers 98-88 to open the National Basketball Association Finals. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)
Kobe Bryant (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers moves the ball before Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics during the Game One of the 2008 NBA Finals, in Boston, Massachusetts, June 5, 2008. Pierce shrugged off a right knee sprain to score 22 points, sparking the Boston Celtics past the Los Angeles Lakers 98-88 to open the National Basketball Association Finals. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

Best Los Angeles Lakers team to not win a championship: 1. 1983-1984 Los Angeles Lakers

  • Record: 54-38
  • Playoffs result: Defeated by Boston Celtics (3-4) in NBA Finals
  • SRS: 3.32

The advanced metrics do not love the 1983-1984 Los Angeles Lakers and they stick out like a sore thumb compared to the other teams on this list in terms of SRS. The reason? The team’s margin of victory that season, as well as the strength of schedule, was much lower than the other teams.

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They also have the most losses of any team on this list, which seemingly might not make the most sense. Why put this team as the best Lakers team to never win a championship if they are last compared to the other four teams? Well, because, the talent on this team is absolutely undeniable and they were one game away from actually being champions.

This served as Magic Johnson’s first truly legendary season. While he was already an all-star at this point, he averaged 13.1 assists per game, leading the league for the second year in a row and setting a career-high in the process.

Kareem was still on the outskirts of his prime as well and while he only averaged 21.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game (low for his standards), he still finished fourth in MVP voting, one spot behind Magic.

It was not just Magic and Kareem, though, as this team was stacked with legendary talent.

James Worthy was in the second year of his career and while he was not yet an all-star, he was a solid role player.

Hall of Famer Jamaal Wilkes served as the team’s third-best player and averaged 19.6 points per game in his last of three all-star seasons. Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo may have been near the end of his career but was a solid role player and Michael Cooper got the second-most minutes of his career as the defensive ace in the hole on the bench.

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This team had five Hall of Famers with some sort of impactful role. They were one win away from winning the NBA Championship and have to be regarded as the best team in Los Angeles Lakers history to not win the title.

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