The 2003–04 Los Angeles Lakers season was the Lakers' 56th season in the National Basketball Association and 44th in the city of Los Angeles.
The Lakers entered the season following a disappointing second-round loss to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in the 2003 playoffs. During the offseason, the Lakers signed star free agents Karl Malone and Gary Payton and re-signed free agent power forward Horace Grant. Following these acquisitions, the Lakers became the instant favorites to win the NBA title.
Despite major acquisitions, key moves, and becoming overnight title favorites, the Lakers would run into major setbacks to begin the season. During the 2003 off-season, superstar guard Kobe Bryant had been accused of sexual assault in Colorado. Media attention surrounding the case would prove to be an ongoing distraction for the team, and Bryant missed games during his trial. In addition, Bryant's feud with Shaquille O'Neal reached a peak during the season, as both players criticized each other in the media. Payton struggled with coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense, and Malone missed significant time due to injuries.
Despite the setbacks, the Lakers finished the season with a 56–26 overall record, good enough to clinch the second seed in the Western Conference en route to the playoffs. In the playoffs, they defeated the Houston Rockets, the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, and the Minnesota Timberwolves to earn the franchise its 28th appearance in the NBA Finals. The Lakers entered the Finals against the Detroit Pistons as favorites. This was the third meeting between the Lakers and the Pistons in the NBA Finals, after both franchises met in 1988 and 1989. However, the underdog Pistons' strong defense and teamwork propelled them to their third championship in franchise history, and the star-studded Lakers would collapse in five games. After the season, Jackson and the team mutually agreed to part ways and O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 24 Brian Cook F Illinois 2 32 Luke Walton F Arizona
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
By division
By conference
Game log Pre-season
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | October 7 | Golden State | W 107-89 | Shaquille O'Neal (16) | Devean George (7) | Gary Payton (7) | Stan Sheriff Center (Honolulu, HI)10,300 | 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | October 8 | Golden State | L 83-99 | Gary Payton (11) | Shaquille O'Neal (8) | Shaquille O'Neal (5) | Stan Sheriff Center (Honolulu, HI)10,300 | 1-1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | October 14 | Phoenix | L 86-104 | Derek Fisher (14) | 3 players tied (6) | Gary Payton (4) | San Diego Sports Arena (San Diego, CA)13,144 | 1–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | October 16 | Cleveland | W 86-78 | Karl Malone (18) | Karl Malone (13) | Malone & Payton (7) | Staples Center18,997 | 2-2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | October 17 | Phoenix | W 91-84 | Derek Fisher (18) | Eric Chenowith (7) | Luke Walton (4) | Staples Center18,997 | 3–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 6 | October 19 | Cleveland | L 87-102 | Shaquille O'Neal (20) | Shaquille O'Neal (6) | Luke Walton (5) | Centennial Garden (Bakersfield, CA)9,772 | 3-3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 7 | October 23 | L.A. Clippers | L 101-107 | Shaquille O'Neal (18) | Shaquille O'Neal (9) | Gary Payton (7) | Arrowhead Pond (Anaheim, CA)18,298 | 3–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 8 | October 24 | Sacramento | L 87-93 | Shaquille O'Neal (19) | Shaquille O'Neal (14) | Malone & O'Neal (5) | Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, NV)18,234 | 3–5
Regular season
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | October 28 | Dallas | W 109–93 | Gary Payton (21) | Karl Malone (10) | Malone & Payton (9) | Staples Center18,997 | 1–0
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | November 1 | @ Phoenix | W 103–99 | Shaquille O'Neal (24) | 3 players tied (12) | Gary Payton (9) | America West Arena18,422 | 2–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 | November 2 | Golden State | W 87–72 | Kobe Bryant (21) | Shaquille O'Neal (14) | Gary Payton (11) | Staples Center18,997 | 3–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | November 4 | @ Milwaukee | W 113–107 | Kobe Bryant (31) | Shaquille O'Neal (14) | Kobe Bryant (8) | Bradley Center18,717 | 4–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | November 6 | @ San Antonio | W 120–117 (2OT) | Kobe Bryant (37) | Shaquille O'Neal (20) | O'Neal & Payton (6) | SBC Center18,717 | 5–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 6 | November 7 | @ New Orleans | L 95–114 | Shaquille O'Neal (21) | Malone & O'Neal (6) | Gary Payton (11) | New Orleans Arena18,717 | 5–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 7 | November 10 | @ Memphis | L 95–105 | Shaquille O'Neal (20) | Shaquille O'Neal (12) | Kobe Bryant (5) | Pyramid Arena19,351 | 5–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 12 | Toronto | W 94–79 | Shaquille O'Neal (23) | Shaquille O'Neal (14) | Gary Payton (6) | Staples Center18,997 | 6–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 9 | November 14 | Detroit | W 94–89 | O'Neal & Payton (21) | Shaquille O'Neal (15) | Shaquille O'Neal (8) | Staples Center18,997 | 7–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 10 | November 16 | Miami | W 99–77 | Kobe Bryant (27) | Karl Malone (10) | Gary Payton (8) | Staples Center18,997 | 8–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 11 | November 18 | @ Detroit | L 96–106 | Malone & O'Neal (20) | Shaquille O'Neal (10) | 3 players tied (5) | The Palace of Auburn Hills22,076 | 8–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 12 | November 19 | @ New York | W 104–83 | Shaquille O'Neal (23) | Karl Malone (14) | Bryant & Malone (4) | Madison Square Garden19,763 | 9–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 13 | November 21 | Chicago | W 101–94 | Kobe Bryant (28) | Karl Malone (18) | Bryant & Payton (4) | Staples Center18,997 | 10–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 14 | November 23 | Memphis | W 121–89 | Kobe Bryant (28) | Slava Medvedenko (11) | Gary Payton (10) | Staples Center18,997 | 11–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 15 | November 26 | Washington | W 120–99 | Kobe Bryant (22) | Horace Grant (6) | Malone & Payton (5) | Staples Center18,997 | 12–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 16 | November 28 | San Antonio | W 103–87 | Devean George (19) | Karl Malone (11) | Karl Malone (10) | Staples Center18,997 | 13–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 17 | November 30 | Indiana | W 99–77 | Shaquille O'Neal (23) | Karl Malone (15) | Kobe Bryant (7) | Staples Center18,997 | 14–3
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 18 | December 3 | @ San Antonio | W 90–86 | Kobe Bryant (21) | Shaquille O'Neal (16) | Gary Payton (6) | SBC Center18,841 | 15–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 19 | December 4 | @ Dallas | W 114–103 | Kobe Bryant (32) | Shaquille O'Neal (19) | Gary Payton (8) | American Airlines Center20,596 | 16–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 20 | December 7 | Utah | W 94–92 | Bryant & O'Neal (19) | Shaquille O'Neal (15) | Shaquille O'Neal (8) | Staples Center18,997 | 17–3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 21 | December 9 | New York | W 98–90 | Kobe Bryant (21) | Shaquille O'Neal (15) | Kobe Bryant (9) | Staples Center18,997 | 18–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 22 | December 12 | Dallas | L 93–110 | Shaquille O'Neal (25) | Shaquille O'Neal (14) | Kobe Bryant (6) | Staples Center18,997 | 18–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 23 | December 13 | @ Portland | L 108–112 | Kobe Bryant (35) | Shaquille O'Neal (10) | Kobe Bryant (6) | Rose Garden20,630 | 18–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 24 | December 19 | Denver | W 101–99 | Shaquille O'Neal (26) | Shaquille O'Neal (11) | Gary Payton (11) | Staples Center18,997 | 19–5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 25 | December 21 | Phoenix | W 107–101 | George & Payton (19) | Shaquille O'Neal (18) | Gary Payton (7) | Staples Center18,997 | 20–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 26 | December 23 | @ Golden State | L 98–107 | Kobe Bryant (23) | Devean George (9) | Gary Payton (13) | The Arena in Oakland20,310 | 20–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 27 | December 25 | Houston | L 87–99 | Kobe Bryant (23) | Horace Grant (11) | Gary Payton (7) | Staples Center18,997 | 20–7 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | December 28 | Boston | W 105–82 | Shaquille O'Neal (22) | Shaquille O'Neal (16) | Bryant & Payton (6) | Staples Center18,997 | 21–7
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 29 | January 2 | @ Seattle | L 109–111 | Kobe Bryant (32) | Bryant & Grant (6) | Kobe Bryant (6) | KeyArena17,072 | 21–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 30 | January 4 | @ L.A. Clippers | L 98–101 | Kobe Bryant (44) | Kobe Bryant (10) | Payton & Russell (4) | Staples Center19,653 | 21–9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 31 | January 6 | @ Minnesota | L 90–106 | Kobe Bryant (20) | Kobe Bryant (10) | Derek Fisher (5) | Target Center20,095 | 21–10 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 32 | January 7 | @ Denver | L 91–113 | Kobe Bryant (27) | Brian Cook (8) | Kobe Bryant (6) | Pepsi Center19,739 | 21–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 33 | January 9 | Atlanta | W 113–67 | Bryant & Medvedenko (26) | Slava Medvedenko (11) | Gary Payton (7) | Staples Center18,997 | 22–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 34 | January 12 | Cleveland | W 89–79 | Cook & Payton (13) | Devean George (12) | Fisher & Payton (4) | Staples Center18,997 | 23–11 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 35 | January 14 | Denver | W 97–71 | Slava Medvedenko (22) | Horace Grant (11) | Gary Payton (6) | Staples Center18,997 | 24–11 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 36 | January 16 | @ Sacramento | L 83–103 | Kareem Rush (30) | Medvedenko & Sampson (9) | Luke Walton (5) | ARCO Arena17,317 | 24–12 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 37 | January 17 | L.A. Clippers | W 91–89 | Slava Medvedenko (20) | Medvedenko & Sampson (10) | Gary Payton (15) | Staples Center18,997 | 25–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 38 | January 19 | Phoenix | L 85–88 | Kareem Rush (18) | Payton & Sampson (8) | Gary Payton (9) | Staples Center18,997 | 25–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 39 | January 21 | @ Memphis | L 82–88 | Gary Payton (24) | Slava Medvedenko (12) | Kareem Rush (5) | Pyramid Arena19,351 | 25–14 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 40 | January 22 | @ Dallas | L 87–106 | Devean George (24) | Luke Walton (7) | Gary Payton (5) | American Airlines Center20,512 | 25–15 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 41 | January 24 | @ Utah | W 93–86 | Slava Medvedenko (26) | Slava Medvedenko (12) | Bryant & Payton (6) | Delta Center19,911 | 26–15 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 42 | January 28 | Seattle | W 96–82 | Gary Payton (24) | Horace Grant (10) | Gary Payton (5) | Staples Center18,997 | 27–15 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 43 | January 30 | Minnesota | L 84–97 | Shaquille O'Neal (22) | Shaquille O'Neal (9) | Gary Payton (9) | Staples Center18,997 | 27–16
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 44 | February 1 | @ Toronto | W 84–83 | Shaquille O'Neal (36) | Horace Grant (9) | Shaquille O'Neal (5) | Air Canada Centre20,116 | 28–16 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 45 | February 2 | @ Indiana | L 72–85 | Slava Medvedenko (14) | Gary Payton (8) | Gary Payton (7) | Conseco Fieldhouse18,345 | 28–17 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 46 | February 4 | @ Cleveland | W 111–106 (OT) | Shaquille O'Neal (37) | Grant & O'Neal (12) | O'Neal & Payton (6) | Gund Arena20,562 | 29–17 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 47 | February 5 | @ Philadelphia | L 73–96 | Shaquille O'Neal (17) | Shaquille O'Neal (8) | Fisher & Walton (5) | Wachovia Center20,965 | 29–18 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 48 | February 8 | @ Orlando | W 98–96 | Shaquille O'Neal (20) | Shaquille O'Neal (10) | Luke Walton (7) | TD Waterhouse Centre17,283 | 30–18 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 49 | February 10 | @ Miami | W 98–83 | Shaquille O'Neal (25) | Devean George (11) | Fisher & Payton (6) | American Airlines Arena16,500 | 31–18 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 50 | February 11 | @ Houston | L 87–102 | Shaquille O'Neal (24) | Shaquille O'Neal (9) | Shaquille O'Neal (4) | Toyota Center18,218 | 31–19 |- style="text-align:center;" | colspan="9" style="background:#bbcaff;"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" | 51 | February 17 | Portland | W 89–86 | Kobe Bryant (31) | Shaquille O'Neal (11) | Kobe Bryant (10)