The 1973-74 Los Angeles Lakers season was a transitional period for the franchise. Following their championship win in 1972 and a strong performance in the 1972-73 season, the Lakers faced significant changes. The most notable shift was the departure of Wilt Chamberlain, who left for the San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA. This left a substantial void in the team’s lineup.
Under the guidance of head coach Bill Sharman, the Lakers navigated the regular season with a focus on maintaining competitiveness in the Western Conference. The team was led by the veteran presence of Jerry West, who continued to deliver strong performances despite being in the twilight of his career. Gail Goodrich played a crucial role, emerging as one of the league’s top scoring guards during the season.
The Lakers finished the regular season with a respectable 47-35 record, securing a spot in the playoffs. However, the absence of Chamberlain’s dominance in the paint was felt during the postseason. The Lakers faced the Milwaukee Bucks in the Western Conference Semifinals, a series that proved challenging. Ultimately, Los Angeles was eliminated in five games, marking the end of an era for the team.
Overall, the 1973-74 season highlighted the Lakers’ resilience in the face of roster changes and set the stage for future rebuilding efforts. The franchise remained a competitive force in the league, but it was clear that further adjustments would be necessary to return to championship contention.
- Regular Season Record: 47-35
- Playoff Result: Western Conference Semifinals: 1-4
Los Angeles Lakers Roster and Stats for 1973-74 Season
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% |
| Gail Goodrich | 82 | 25.3 | 3.0 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 5 | 19.6 | 3.2 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Jerry West | 31 | 20.3 | 3.7 | 6.6 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Jim Price | 82 | 15.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 5 | 11.8 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Happy Hairston | 77 | 14.5 | 13.5 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 5 | 9.2 | 10.4 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Connie Hawkins | 71 | 12.8 | 7.4 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 5 | 10.8 | 8.0 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Elmore Smith | 81 | 12.5 | 11.2 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 0.0 | 5 | 19.2 | 10.6 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| Pat Riley | 72 | 9.5 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 7.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Bill Bridges | 65 | 8.4 | 7.7 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Stan Love | 51 | 5.6 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Kermit Washington | 45 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 3 | 5.0 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Mel Counts | 45 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 4 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Nate Hawthorne | 33 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 3 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Travis Grant | 3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |||||||
Los Angeles Lakers in the 1974 NBA Playoffs
Playoffs Second Round vs. Milwaukee Bucks
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1974 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 99-95 | |
| Mar 31, 1974 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 109-90 | |
| Apr 02, 1974 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | W 98-96 | |
| Apr 04, 1974 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | L 112-90 | |
| Apr 07, 1974 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 114-92 |
Los Angeles Lakers 1973-74 Regular Season Game Log
Here is the game log for the 1973-74 season for the Los Angeles Lakers.
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 09, 1973 | @ Chicago Bulls | W 117-97 | |
| Oct 11, 1973 | @ Atlanta Hawks | L 129-102 | |
| Oct 13, 1973 | @ Buffalo Braves | W 125-122 | |
| Oct 19, 1973 | vs. Seattle SuperSonics | W 118-91 | |
| Oct 21, 1973 | vs. Atlanta Hawks | L 119-100 | |
| Oct 23, 1973 | @ Houston Rockets | W 107-98 | |
| Oct 24, 1973 | @ Kansas City-Omaha Kings | W 92-91 | |
| Oct 26, 1973 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 94-92 | |
| Oct 28, 1973 | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | W 111-98 | |
| Oct 30, 1973 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | L 114-112 | |
| Nov 02, 1973 | vs. New York Knicks | L 106-91 | |
| Nov 04, 1973 | vs. Houston Rockets | W 106-93 | |
| Nov 06, 1973 | @ Cleveland Cavaliers | L 115-96 | |
| Nov 07, 1973 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 109-92 | |
| Nov 09, 1973 | @ Seattle SuperSonics | W 118-111 | |
| Nov 16, 1973 | vs. Chicago Bulls | W 118-102 | |
| Nov 17, 1973 | @ Phoenix Suns | W 130-110 | |
| Nov 18, 1973 | vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | W 102-100 | |
| Nov 20, 1973 | @ New York Knicks | L 105-89 | |
| Nov 21, 1973 | @ Capital Bullets | W 106-97 | |
| Nov 24, 1973 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | W 113-108 | |
| Nov 25, 1973 | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | W 137-109 | |
| Nov 30, 1973 | vs. Kansas City-Omaha Kings | W 123-107 | |
| Dec 01, 1973 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | L 134-115 | |
| Dec 02, 1973 | vs. Detroit Pistons | L 114-108 | |
| Dec 04, 1973 | vs. Phoenix Suns | W 120-103 | |
| Dec 07, 1973 | vs. Seattle SuperSonics | L 115-111 | |
| Dec 08, 1973 | @ Golden State Warriors | L 135-111 | |
| Dec 09, 1973 | vs. Capital Bullets | L 110-96 | |
| Dec 11, 1973 | @ Cleveland Cavaliers | L 101-100 | |
| Dec 12, 1973 | @ Detroit Pistons | L 114-96 | |
| Dec 14, 1973 | @ Chicago Bulls | W 100-97 | |
| Dec 16, 1973 | vs. Boston Celtics | L 115-110 | |
| Dec 18, 1973 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | W 109-107 | |
| Dec 21, 1973 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 116-107 | |
| Dec 25, 1973 | @ Phoenix Suns | L 135-100 | |
| Dec 26, 1973 | @ Seattle SuperSonics | L 129-105 | |
| Dec 28, 1973 | vs. Phoenix Suns | W 119-107 | |
| Dec 29, 1973 | @ Golden State Warriors | L 102-100 | |
| Dec 30, 1973 | vs. Buffalo Braves | W 108-105 | |
| Jan 04, 1974 | vs. Golden State Warriors | W 114-111 | |
| Jan 06, 1974 | vs. Kansas City-Omaha Kings | W 109-105 | |
| Jan 08, 1974 | @ Capital Bullets | L 94-92 | |
| Jan 09, 1974 | @ Detroit Pistons | L 123-94 | |
| Jan 11, 1974 | @ Boston Celtics | W 111-103 | |
| Jan 12, 1974 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | W 108-101 | |
| Jan 18, 1974 | @ Kansas City-Omaha Kings | W 116-115 | |
| Jan 20, 1974 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 94-90 | |
| Jan 22, 1974 | vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | L 111-110 | |
| Jan 25, 1974 | vs. Capital Bullets | W 143-124 | |
| Jan 27, 1974 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | W 99-92 | |
| Feb 01, 1974 | vs. Phoenix Suns | W 121-110 | |
| Feb 02, 1974 | @ Phoenix Suns | L 119-112 | |
| Feb 03, 1974 | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | W 124-91 | |
| Feb 05, 1974 | @ Houston Rockets | L 116-112 | |
| Feb 06, 1974 | @ Atlanta Hawks | L 107-103 | |
| Feb 10, 1974 | @ Chicago Bulls | L 96-86 | |
| Feb 12, 1974 | vs. Houston Rockets | L 129-119 | |
| Feb 15, 1974 | vs. Seattle SuperSonics | W 112-96 | |
| Feb 17, 1974 | vs. Atlanta Hawks | L 113-110 | |
| Feb 19, 1974 | @ Kansas City-Omaha Kings | L 92-86 | |
| Feb 20, 1974 | @ Detroit Pistons | L 112-110 | |
| Feb 22, 1974 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 104-103 | |
| Feb 23, 1974 | @ Seattle SuperSonics | W 118-116 | |
| Feb 24, 1974 | vs. Chicago Bulls | W 100-90 | |
| Feb 26, 1974 | @ Buffalo Braves | W 119-112 | |
| Feb 27, 1974 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | W 110-108 | |
| Mar 01, 1974 | vs. Kansas City-Omaha Kings | W 107-100 | |
| Mar 03, 1974 | vs. Golden State Warriors | W 108-104 | |
| Mar 05, 1974 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | L 107-102 | |
| Mar 06, 1974 | vs. Boston Celtics | W 116-111 | |
| Mar 08, 1974 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 129-113 | |
| Mar 10, 1974 | @ Boston Celtics | L 94-82 | |
| Mar 12, 1974 | @ New York Knicks | W 109-102 | |
| Mar 13, 1974 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | W 121-100 | |
| Mar 15, 1974 | vs. Golden State Warriors | L 112-107 | |
| Mar 16, 1974 | @ Golden State Warriors | L 135-105 | |
| Mar 17, 1974 | vs. New York Knicks | W 126-114 | |
| Mar 20, 1974 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | W 120-114 | |
| Mar 22, 1974 | vs. Chicago Bulls | W 99-93 | |
| Mar 24, 1974 | vs. Buffalo Braves | W 150-124 | |
| Mar 26, 1974 | vs. Seattle SuperSonics | L 121-115 |