The1992–93 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 45th season for theLos Angeles Lakers in theNational Basketball Association, and their 33rd season inLos Angeles, California.^[1] The Lakers had the fifteenth overall pick in the1992 NBA draft, and selected shooting guardAnthony Peeler from theUniversity of Missouri.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team signed free agentJames Edwards, who won two NBA championships with theDetroit Pistons between 1989 and 1990.^[5][6]

After playing in the1992 Summer Olympics inBarcelona, Spain, All-Star guardMagic Johnson made a brief comeback and played with the Lakers during the preseason.^[7][8][9] However, shortly before the regular season began, he was forced to retire again after other NBA players expressed fear of playing against him due to hisHIV infection, most notably All-Star forwardKarl Malone of theUtah Jazz.^[10][11][12]

Under new head coachRandy Pfund,^[13][14][15] the Lakers played around .500 basketball for the first half of the season, holding a 26–23 at the All-Star break.^[16] At mid-season, the team tradedSam Perkins to theSeattle SuperSonics in exchange forBenoit Benjamin, and top draft pickDoug Christie out ofPepperdine University.^[17][18][19] However, the Lakers struggled playing below .500 for the remainder of the season, losing 11 of 12 games between March 17 and April 9, 1993, finishing in fifth place in thePacific Division with a 39–43 record, their worst record since1974–75, but still qualified for theNBA playoffs as the eighth seed in theWestern Conference.^[20]

Sedale Threatt led the team with 15.1 points, 6.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game, whileJames Worthy finished second on the team in scoring averaging 14.9 points per game, andByron Scott provided them with 13.7 points per game. In addition,Vlade Divac averaged 12.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.7 blocks per game, whileA.C. Green contributed 12.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game,Elden Campbell provided with 7.7 points and 1.3 blocks per game, and Peeler contributed 10.4 points per game off the bench.^[21]

In the Western Conference First Round of the1993 NBA playoffs, the Lakers took a 2–0 series lead over regular season MVPCharles Barkley, and the top-seededPhoenix Suns;^[22][23][24] however, they would lose the series in five games, losing Game 5 on the road in overtime, 112–104.^[25][26][27] The Suns would reach the1993 NBA Finals, but would lose to the 2-time defending NBA championChicago Bulls in six games.^[28][29][30]

The Lakers finished 13th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 633,655 at theGreat Western Forum during the regular season.^[21][31] Following the season, Green signed as a free agent with thePhoenix Suns,^[32][33][34] while Scott signed with theIndiana Pacers during the next season,^[35][36][37] and Benjamin was traded to theNew Jersey Nets.^[38][39][40]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	15	Anthony Peeler	SG	United States	Missouri
2	36	Duane Cooper	PG	United States	Southern California

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Player Statistics Citation:^[21]

This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(January 2011)

This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(January 2011)

• Los Angeles Lakers seasons
• 1992 in sports in California
• 1993 in sports in California
• 1992–93 NBA season by team
• 1990s in Los Angeles County, California

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023
• Articles with hCards
• Articles to be expanded from January 2011
• All articles to be expanded
• Articles with empty sections from January 2011
• All articles with empty sections