The Biggest Fails in Los Angeles Lakers History

Image via Complex Original

Date: 4/5/2012

In a late-season battle for Los Angeles, Lob City sheriff Blake Griffin bested Gasol twice, throwing down what may have been the two most incredible dunks of 2012 in the same game and on the same person. For Gasol, it was a humiliating reminder of what can happen when playing help defense. If you want to avoid a fail, sometimes it's better to just stay out of the way. Just trade him already.

Date: 6/8/1984

Many jokes are made about how old the Spurs are but you never really see them using oxygen on the bench. That's exactly what happened to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during Game 5 of the 1984 NBA Finals. The Boston Garden was a reported 97 degrees that day with no air conditioning. A then 37-year-old Abdul-Jabbar required oxygen just to stay in the game. Kareem ended up going 7 for 25 from the field in the Lakers' 103-121 loss to Boston. #waytoooldforthisshit

Date: 4/22/2012

Days before the 2012 NBA playoffs, the ironically named Metta World Peace celebrated a dunk by committing a class three felony on Thunder guard James Harden. Though he'd later claim that the violent elbow was "accidental," the video shows a pretty clear draw back and follow through. Even more inexplicable is World Peace's reaction after hitting Harden, which was to parade down the court as though nothing happened while the concussed Thunder guard collapsed to the floor. The personal image that World Peace had seemingly worked so hard to rehabilitate was completely tarnished. In total he was suspended six games and lost nearly $500,000 in salary and fines.

Date: 11/11/1999

Now that they share a set on TNT, things seem to have cooled between Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal. But during the 1999 regular season, the two bodied up against one another and, like he does on TV, Barkley bettered Shaq. After tangling up over a rebound, Barkley bounced the ball off of O'Neal's head. The Lakers big man, who was frustrated by repeatedly being hacked and, now, having a ball bounced off his dome threw a punch. Barkley ducked O'Neal's jab attempt, dove for his legs, and drove him into the Compaq Center floor. Not a good look for anyone standing seven-feet-tall and weighing close to 350 pounds.

Date: 12/11/2011

Right now, a ham sandwich for Lamar Odom might actually seem like a pretty balanced deal. But in 2011, the Lakers unloaded their Sixth Man of the Year, with his 14.4 PPG and 8.7 rebounds, for Dallas draft picks. Ouch. A noticeably unfocused Odom would go on to have his worst year as a professional and the Lakers lacked a presence off the bench, losing to the Thunder in the '12 Western Conference semifinals. They would later use those picks and trade exception to snag Dwight Howard and Steve Nash while Odom is contributing to the Pacific leading Clippers. So far so good, right?

Date: 6/23/2008

You know the old athletic adage: what happens on the road stays on the road-unless it ends up in a court affidavit. After rape charges against Kobe Bryant were dropped in 2003, Bryant was quoted by TMZ as saying that he, "should have done what Shaq does...Shaq would pay his women not to say anything." Shaquille O'Neal used those words and Bryant's 2008 NBA Finals loss to the Celtics to diss his old teammate in an on-stage freestyle that would later go viral. Shaq's verse, which asks Kobe "how his ass tastes" also blamed Kobe for his divorce and insinuated that the Lakers star couldn't win a ring without him. The expectations of playing for the Lakers are crippling enough, now Kobe's got to play with the fear of a rap beef. This can't be life.

Date: 5/27/1985

You know it's bad when one of the greatest centers of all time apologizes to his team after the game. 148-114. That's all you really need to know about the Memorial Day Massacre. During Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals, the Celtics put up video game numbers in large part to Scott Wedman going 11 for 11 from the field, Kevin McHale dropping 26, and Robert Parish holding Kareem to just 12 points and three boards. The Lakers would rebound and go on to win the series 4-2 but the Memorial Day Massacre still stands as the widest margin of victory in the Lakers-Celtics rivalry.

Date: 6/8-9/4/1998

The Magic Hour was Magic Johnson's contritely named, short-lived (eight weeks to be exact) late night talk show. The much-ballyhooed series was met with horrible reviews and laughable ratings. The Lakers legend appeared nervous on television and seemed a lot more comfortable reading zone defenses than teleprompters. The Magic Hour joined Vibe and The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show as dumb concepts that tried to fill Arsenio Hall's shoes, but never should have been created. Johnson's show is now talked about in jest and watched ironically.

Date: 1994

It's been said many times before but we'll say it again: Great players do not make great (or in this case good, or even mediocre) coaches. Magic Johnson is the greatest point guard in NBA history but his stint as a coach was quite dismal. Magic took over for Randy Pfund who had coached the Lakers to a record of 66-80 during his tenure. Outperforming someone who had a .452 winning percentage shouldn't be too difficult, right? Think again. Magic went 5-11 before calling it quits and deciding to take some ownership in the team instead. Smart move.

Date: 5/8/2011

There are sports figures that ride off into the sunset (read: John Elway) and others (read: Phil Jackson) who are scorched by UV rays while passed out drunk on a beach. The legendary coach's last game was a 36-point blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks, which finished off a four game sweep in the '11 Western Conference semifinals. The loss was more devastating than the score would indicate. Lamar Odom was ejected for throwing Dirk Nowitzki to the floor and, moments later, Andrew Bynum was similarly thrown out for dropping J.J. Barea with a cheap shot. In Jackson's final game, the Mavericks bench would outscore the Lakers starters.

Date: 12/9/1977

During a regular season game against the Rockets, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was involved in a scuffle with Houston's Kevin Kunnert. After the altercation, Laker forward Kermit Washington engaged Kunnert and the two had to be separated near midcourt by the referee. As Washington backed up, he could see Rockets guard Rudy Tomjanovich running towards him. Washington squared up the Rockets guard and landed a devastating punch that fractured Tomjanovich's face and nearly killed him.

Jabbar would later say that the punch sounded "like a melon that had been dropped on the floor." Tomjonavich would later say that he thought the scoreboard was dropped on him. In the aftermath, Washington was suspended for 60 days, the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history at the time. Tomjonavich missed the remainder of the season and never returned to form. Washington was traded from team to team, became depressed, and eventually fell out of shape.

Date: 2011

What did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar do for the Lakers? Oh, just help them win five titles while scoring over 24,000 points and racking up more than 10,000 boards. So, why did Wayne Gretzky, Magic Johnson and Jerry West (the only understandable selections), Oscar De La Hoya, and even Chick Hearn all get statues in the "Star Plaza" before Kareem? We have no clue but the NBA's all-time leading scorer had to go on a public crusade in order to finally get his statue erected in November 2012. 

Date: 5/25/2011

So much for loyalty, dedication, and experience. When Phil Jackson retired after the 2010-11 season, everyone thought that Brian Shaw was the perfect guy for the job. Everyone except for the Lakers brass. Despite six years of experience as an assistant coach under Phil Jackson, the Lakers passed up on Shaw and went with former Cavs coach, Mike Brown.

Brown led the Lakers to a 41-25 record in 2011-12 before getting manhandled by the OKC Thunder in the conference semifinals. The next season Brown led the team to a 1-4 record before being replaced by Mike D'Antoni. How's that working for them? The Lake Show is currently 23-26 and sit 3.5 games behind the eighth place Rockets. One has to wonder about the millions of dollars, time, and embarrassment that couldn've been saved had L.A. gone with Shaw back in 2011.

Date: 6/17/2008

There's losing and then there's being emasculated by your rival with the NBA championship on the line. The latter happened to the Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals. In Game 5, the Lakers had shown enough perseverance to force a Game 5 and prevent Boston from celebrating on the floor of the Staples Center. All of that perseverance went out the window in Game 6 though. The Celtics set a record for margin of victory in an NBA Finals-clinching game (39 points). Kevin Garnett losing it during his postgame interview was just a bit of salt added on the wound.

Date: 5/27-6/12/1984

Magic Johnson was playing in his third consecutive NBA Finals (with a Finals MVP to boot), when he ran into Larry Bird and the Celtics in 1984. Instead of rising to the stage, Johnson got a new nickname. With Game 2 tied, he inexplicably dribbled out the clock to end regulation and, ultimately, the Lakers lost in overtime. Similarly, he blew Game 4 by committing a turnover that sent the game to overtime and missed two free throws that, if made, would have tied the game. Rather miraculously, the Lakers made it to Game 7 and, predictably, Johnson turned the ball over with a minute remaining and sealed the series for the Celtics.

Date: 6/15/2004

In what's been called the biggest NBA Finals upset in NBA history, the Detroit Pistons knocked the life out of the 2004 Lakers, taking the series 4-1. With an average margin of victory greater than 10 points, the whooping triggered a domino effect of offseason personnel decision, which included trading Shaq and showing legendary coach Phil Jackson the door. The series was especially painful for team add-ons Karl Malone and Gary Payton who, in the twilight of their careers, signed with the juggernaut to grab a ring on their way out the door. Payton eventually won a championship in 2006 with the Heat, but it'll take one hell of a shameless, pathetic comeback for Malone to get his.

Date: 6/6/1984

Rivalries back in the '80s weren't about dudes telling each other how their wives taste or waiting for yout foes by the team bus after the game. Feuds were settled right then and there on the floor. Just ask Boston's Kevin McHale. The clip above is one of the most famous takedowns in NBA history. McHale straight clotheslined Kurt Rambis which led to the clearing of benches. This was a mere personal foul back then. No one was suspended or fined. Let that sink in for a moment. Oh yeah, Boston won the game and the series in seven. #insulttoinjury

Date: 8/2/2005

Kwame James Brown. The name reeks of under-performance. Despite being widely regarded as the biggest bust in NBA Draft history, the Lakers took a chance on Brown when they traded Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins for him and Laron Profit in August 2005. In the subsequent three seasons that Brown spent with the Lakers he averaged seven points and six boards per game. His rap sheet during that time period was a bit more noteworthy. There was a sexual assault accusation, the cake incident, and a disorderly conduct charge. Still don't believe acquiring Kwame was one of the biggest Laker fails of all time? This classic tale from Kobe Bryant might convince you.

Date: 5/5/1969

Here's a lesson to all you young'ns out there: Premature celebrations are never a good idea. Just ask some of the people on this list. Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke learned that lesson the hard way when he had celebratory balloons put in the rafters of the Forum prior to the Lakers Game 7 matchup against the Celtics in the 1969 NBA Finals. Before tip off, Bill Russell reportedly told Jerry West, "Those fucking balloons are staying up there." That's exactly what happened. The Celtics won 108-106 to rack up their tenth title in 11 seasons.

Date: 7/14/2004

In eight seasons together Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal made the playoffs in each and won three consecutive titles. Having one of the greatest shooting guards right next to one of the most dominant centers in NBA history will do that for you. Winning doesn't solve everything though, Kobe and Shaq were at each other's necks even during the 2000-2002 dynasty. When bringing home Larry O'Brien trophies stopped becoming a tradition each season, things got worse. Bryant reportedly told authorities he should've just paid off his accuser like Shaq does during his sexual assault investigation in the summer of 2003, which put even more strain on their relationship.

The team's collapse in the 2004 NBA Finals against Detroit led to Shaq being traded to Miami in exchange for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a first-round draft pick. Bryant signed a $136 million contract the day after Shaq left. Literally. The result? The Lakers missing the playoffs for the first time since the 1993-94 season in 2004-05 and making first-round exits from 2005-2007. Shaq went on to win a ring in the 2005-06 season and Kobe picked up another two in 2009 and 2010, but how many could they have won together? Sadly, we'll never know.