The2018–19 Los Angeles Lakers season was the franchise's 71st season, its 70th season in theNational Basketball Association (NBA), and its 59th inLos Angeles.

Following the signing ofLeBron James on July 1, 2018, the Lakers hoped to finish with a winning record and playoff appearance for the first time since the2012–13 season. However, after an improved 20–14 start to the season, several injuries accumulated throughout the season including James,Rajon Rondo,Lonzo Ball, andBrandon Ingram, and the Lakers fell below .500 by theAll-Star break. By March, the Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention, extending the team's postseason drought to a franchise record six seasons, and a sixth straight losing season, even after improving from their2017–18 campaign by two games. It is the first time that James missed theplayoffs since2005 and first time he did not appear in the NBA Finals since2010. This was the last time until2022 that the Lakers missed the playoffs.

On April 9, the conclusion of the Lakers' season,Magic Johnson stepped down as president of basketball operations. Three days later,Luke Walton and the team agreed to part ways.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School / Club team
1	25	Moritz Wagner	PF	Germany	Michigan
2	39	Isaac Bonga	SF	Germany	Frankfurt Skyliners
2	47	Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk	SG	Ukraine	Kansas

^[1]

• Point guardLonzo Ball played 47 games (his last game being on January 19, 2019) but missed the rest of the season due to a Grade 3 left ankle sprain.^[2]
• Shooting guardJosh Hart played 67 games (his last game being on March 19, 2019) but missed the remainder of the season after having an ultrasonic debridement procedure on the patella tendon in his right knee.^[3]
• Small forwardBrandon Ingram played 52 games (his last game being on March 2, 2019) but missed the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a deep venousthrombosis in his right arm.^[4] He underwent successful thoracic outlet decompression surgery on his right arm on March 16, 2019.^[5]

After all games.^[6]
‡Waived during the season
^†Traded during the season
^≠Acquired during the season

On July 9, 2018, superstarLeBron James signed a four-year, $154 million contract with the Lakers after playing a second stint with his hometownCleveland Cavaliers. He led the team to their first championship title in2016, averaging 29.7 points per game^[7] in the final series, and led them to the NBA Finals 4 other times (2007,2015,2017, and2018). This marked his second time leaving the Cavs, after controversially doing so in2010 to join theMiami Heat, where he led the team to 4 consecutive NBA Finals appearances, winning back-to-back in2012 and2013. The signing also briefly intensified theCeltics–Lakers rivalry, as his former Cavs teammateKyrie Irving was traded to theBoston Celtics the year before, and former Celtics starRajon Rondo joined LeBron in Los Angeles. Irving played 2 seasons for the Celtics before signing with theBrooklyn Nets during the 2019 offseason.

Player	Reason left	New team
Tyler Ennis[19]	Waived	Fenerbahçe
Thomas Bryant[20]	Waived	Washington Wizards
Julius Randle[21]	2-year contract worth $18 million	New Orleans Pelicans
Isaiah Thomas[22]	1-year contract worth $2 million	Denver Nuggets
Brook Lopez[23]	1-year contract worth $3.3 million	Milwaukee Bucks
Channing Frye[24]	1-year contract worth $2.4 million	Cleveland Cavaliers
Luol Deng[25]	Waived	Minnesota Timberwolves

• Los Angeles Lakers seasons
• 2018–19 NBA season by team
• 2018 in sports in Los Angeles
• 2019 in sports in Los Angeles

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• Use mdy dates from May 2018
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