The 2022–23 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 76th season of the franchise, its 75th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 63rd season in Los Angeles, and its 24th season playing home games at Crypto.com Arena. On April 11, 2022, the Los Angeles Lakers fired Frank Vogel as head coach. On June 3, 2022, the Lakers hired Darvin Ham as their new head coach.
The Lakers began the season 0–5 and were the last winless team in the league. It was the first time that LeBron James started a season 0–5 since his rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. The Lakers earned their first win in the following game against the Denver Nuggets, after Anthony Davis returned from a one-game absence due to lower back tightness. He scored 23 points and had 15 rebounds, and James added 26 points. In his second game off the bench as the Lakers' sixth man, Russell Westbrook had 18 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. After winning their next game against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Lakers lost 130–116 to the Utah Jazz, failing to secure their first three-game winning streak since January 7, 2022.
On November 18, 2022, the Lakers won their second straight game for the second time this season and they also won their third straight game for the first time since January 2022. The Lakers retired No. 99 in honor of George Mikan on October 30, 2022. Pau Gasol's No. 16 was retired on March 7, 2023, against his former team the Memphis Grizzlies. On February 7, 2023, James broke the NBA scoring record against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers overhauled their roster after a series of trades before and during the trade deadline. On January 23, the Lakers acquired power forward Rui Hachimura in a move that sent Kendrick Nunn to the Washington Wizards. Two weeks later, during the deadline, the Lakers would move on from Westbrook, trading him to the Utah Jazz (though he would later sign with the Lakers' cross-town rivals, the Clippers, following a contract buyout with the Jazz), and acquiring D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt.
With a 128–117 win over the Jazz, the Lakers qualified for the Play-In-Tournament for the first time since 2021. The Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 108–102 in overtime to return to the playoffs after a one-year absence. Additionally, the Lakers became the sixth team to advance to the playoffs after starting the season 2–10. The Lakers won 8 of their last 10 games. In the 2023 NBA playoffs, the Lakers defeated the two-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in six games despite being underdogs to win a playoff series for the first time since their championship run in 2020 and on their home court for the first time since 2012. In the conference semifinals, they defeated the defending champion Golden State Warriors also in six games, becoming the first 7th-seed to reach the Western Conference finals since the 1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics.
The Lakers were swept by the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals in 4 straight games. This was the first time that the Nuggets have won a playoff series over Los Angeles in their franchise history. Beforehand, the Lakers had won 7 straight playoff matchups against Denver dating back from 1979 to 2020. It was also the first time that the Lakers were swept in a playoff round since the San Antonio Spurs did it in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs, and the first time that they were swept by a top seeded team since the Utah Jazz did it in the 1997–98 NBA season. This also marked the first time for James of experiencing a defeat in the conference finals since 2009, when he also was then part of the Cleveland Cavaliers team, who were under his leadership that he also led and lost to the Dwight Howard-led Orlando Magic in a six-game series.
Draft
The Lakers did not hold any pick in the 2022 NBA draft, because they have traded their original selections to the New Orleans Pelicans (as part of the 2019 Anthony Davis trade) and the Washington Wizards; the latter was a second-round pick that was eventually used by the San Antonio Spurs in the draft. However, they got the 35th pick, Max Christie, in a trade with the Orlando Magic in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick and cash considerations.
Standings
Division
Conference
Roster
Game log
Preseason
|-style="background:#fcc; | 1 | October 3 | Sacramento | | Anthony Davis (11) | Anthony Davis (11) | Westbrook, Christie (3) | Crypto.com Arena17,919 | 0–1 |-style="background:#fcc; | 2 | October 5 | Phoenix | | LeBron James (23) | Austin Reaves (7) | Austin Reaves (9) | T-Mobile Arena8,908 | 0–2 |-style="background:#fcc; | 3 | October 6 | @ Minnesota | | Thomas Bryant (18) | Austin Reaves (8) | Scotty Pippen Jr. (7) | T-Mobile Arena7,311 | 0–3 |-style="background:#cfc; | 4 | October 9 | @ Golden State | | Anthony Davis (28) | Cole Swider (6) | Kendrick Nunn (7) | Chase Center18,064 | 1–3 |-style="background:#fcc; | 5 | October 12 | Minnesota | | LeBron James (25) | Anthony Davis (13) | Beverley, Reaves (5) | Crypto.com Arena18,754 | 1–4 |-style="background:#fcc; | 6 | October 14 | @ Sacramento | | James, Reaves (10) | LeBron James (5) | Reaves, Pippen Jr. (3) | Golden 1 Center17,611 | 1–5
Regular season
|-style="background:#fcc" | 1 | October 18 | @ Golden State | | LeBron James (31) | LeBron James (14) | LeBron James (8) | Chase Center18,064 | 0–1 |-style="background:#fcc" | 2 | October 20 | L.A. Clippers | | Lonnie Walker IV (26) | LeBron James (10) | LeBron James (6) | Crypto.com Arena (LAL)18,997 | 0–2 |-style="background:#fcc" | 3 | October 23 | Portland | | LeBron James (31) | Anthony Davis (10) | LeBron James (8) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 0–3 |-style="background:#fcc" | 4 | October 26 | @ Denver | | Anthony Davis (22) | Anthony Davis (14) | LeBron James (9) | Ball Arena19,520 | 0–4 |-style="background:#fcc" | 5 | October 28 | @ Minnesota | | LeBron James (28) | Brown Jr., Jones, Westbrook (8) | LeBron James (5) | Target Center17,136 | 0–5 |-style="background:#cfc" | 6 | October 30 | Denver | | LeBron James (26) | Anthony Davis (15) | James, Westbrook (8) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 1–5
|-style="background:#cfc" | 7 | November 2 | New Orleans | | Lonnie Walker IV (28) | Anthony Davis (15) | Russell Westbrook (9) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 2–5 |-style="background:#fcc" | 8 | November 4 | Utah | | Russell Westbrook (26) | LeBron James (10) | LeBron James (8) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 2–6 |-style="background:#fcc" | 9 | November 6 | Cleveland | | LeBron James (27) | Anthony Davis (12) | Russell Westbrook (12) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 2–7 |-style="background:#fcc" | 10 | November 7 | @ Utah | | Anthony Davis (29) | Damian Jones (7) | Russell Westbrook (5) | Vivint Arena18,206 | 2–8 |-style="background:#fcc" | 11 | November 9 | @ L.A. Clippers | | LeBron James (30) | James, Reaves (9) | Russell Westbrook (9) | Crypto.com Arena (LAC)19,068 | 2–9 |-style="background:#fcc" | 12 | November 11 | Sacramento | | Anthony Davis (24) | Anthony Davis (14) | Russell Westbrook (11) | Crypto.com Arena17,849 | 2–10 |-style="background:#cfc" | 13 | November 13 | Brooklyn | | Anthony Davis (37) | Anthony Davis (18) | Russell Westbrook (12) | Crypto.com Arena18,040 | 3–10 |-style="background:#cfc" | 14 | November 18 | Detroit | | Anthony Davis (38) | Anthony Davis (16) | Russell Westbrook (12) | Crypto.com Arena18,095 | 4–10 |-style="background:#cfc" | 15 | November 20 | San Antonio | | Anthony Davis (30) | Anthony Davis (18) | Russell Westbrook (10) | Crypto.com Arena18,211 | 5–10 |-style="background:#fcc" | 16 | November 22 | @ Phoenix | | Anthony Davis (37) | Anthony Davis (21) | Russell Westbrook (5) | Footprint Center17,071 | 5–11 |-style="background:#cfc" | 17 | November 25 | @ San Antonio | | Anthony Davis (25) | Anthony Davis (15) | Russell Westbrook (7) | AT&T Center18,354 | 6–11 |-style="background:#cfc | 18 | November 26 | @ San Antonio | | LeBron James (39) | LeBron James (11) | Schröder, Westbrook (6) | AT&T Center18,354 | 7–11 |-style="background:#fcc" | 19 | November 28 | Indiana | | Anthony Davis (25) | Anthony Davis (13) | Davis, Westbrook (6) | Crypto.com Arena16,034 | 7–12 |-style="background:#cfc" | 20 | November 30 | Portland | | LeBron James (31) | Anthony Davis (12) | LeBron James (8) | Crypto.com Arena18,560 | 8–12
|-style="background:#cfc" | 21 | December 2 | @ Milwaukee | | Anthony Davis (44) | Anthony Davis (10) | James, Westbrook (11) | Fiserv Forum17,938 | 9–12 |-style="background:#cfc" | 22 | December 4 | @ Washington | | Anthony Davis (55) | Anthony Davis (17) | Russell Westbrook (15) | Capital One Arena19,647 | 10–12 |-style="background:#fcc" | 23 | December 6 | @ Cleveland | | LeBron James (21) | LeBron James (17) | LeBron James (4) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse19,432 | 10–13 |-style="background:#fcc" | 24 | December 7 | @ Toronto | | Dennis Schröder (18) | Damian Jones (10) | Russell Westbrook (4) | Scotiabank Arena19,800 | 10–14 |-style="background:#fcc" | 25 | December 9 | @ Philadelphia | | Anthony Davis (31) | Anthony Davis (12) | Russell Westbrook (11) | Wells Fargo Center20,852 | 10–15 |-style="background:#cfc" | 26 | December 11 | @ Detroit | | LeBron James (35) | Anthony Davis (15) | Russell Westbrook (9) | Little Caesars Arena20,190 | 11–15 |-style="background:#fcc" | 27 | December 13 | Boston | | Anthony Davis (37) | Russell Westbrook (14) | LeBron James (9) | Crypto.com Arena18,661 | 11–16 |-style="background:#cfc" | 28 | December 16 | Denver | | LeBron James (30) | Russell Westbrook (11) | Russell Westbrook (12) | Crypto.com Arena18,505 | 12–16 |-style="background:#cfc" | 29 | December 18 | Washington | | LeBron James (33) | Thomas Bryant (10) | LeBron James (9) | Crypto.com Arena18,153 | 13–16 |-style="background:#fcc" | 30 | December 19 | @ Phoenix | | Dennis Schröder (30) | Damian Jones (7) | Dennis Schröder (4) | Footprint Center17,071 | 13–17 |-style="background:#fcc" | 31 | December 21 | @ Sacramento | | LeBron James (31) | Thomas Bryant (10) | LeBron James (11) | Golden 1 Center17,611 | 13–18 |-style="background:#fcc" | 32 | December 23 | Charlotte | | LeBron James (34) | Thomas Bryant (13) | LeBron James (8) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 13–19 |-style="background:#fcc" | 33 | December 25 | @ Dallas | | LeBron James (38) | Wenyen Gabriel (7) | LeBron James (5) | American Airlines Center20,441 | 13–20 |-style="background:#cfc" | 34 | December 27 | @ Orlando | | LeBron James (28) | Russell Westbrook (13) | Russell Westbrook (13) | Amway Center19,482 | 14–20 |-style="background:#fcc" | 35 | December 28 | @ Miami | | LeBron James (27) | LeBron James (9) | Russell Westbrook (8) | FTX Arena20,221 | 14–21 |-style="background:#cfc" | 36 | December 30 | @ Atlanta | | LeBron James (47) | Thomas Bryant (17) | Russell Westbrook (11) | State Farm Arena17,984 | 15–21
|-style="background:#cfc;" | 37 | January 2 | @ Charlotte | | LeBron James (43) | Thomas Bryant (15) | Austin Reaves (7) | Spectrum Center19,210 | 16–21 |-style="background:#cfc" | 38 | January 4 | Miami | | Dennis Schröder (32) | Thomas Bryant (9) | Russell Westbrook (9) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 17–21 |-style="background:#cfc" | 39 | January 6 | Atlanta | | LeBron James (25) | Thomas Bryant (13) | LeBron James (10) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 18–21 |-style="background:#cfc" | 40 | January 7 | @ Sacramento | | LeBron James (37) | Thomas Bryant (14) | Russell Westbrook (15) | Golden 1 Center17,611 | 19–21 |-style="background:#fcc" | 41 | January 9 | @ Denver | | Russell Westbrook (25) | Thomas Bryant (10) | Russell Westbrook (7) | Ball Arena19,609 | 19–22 |-style="background:#fcc" | 42 | January 12 | Dallas | | Russell Westbrook (28) | LeBron James (16) | LeBron James (9) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 19–23 |-style="background:#fcc" | 43 | January 15 | Philadelphia | | LeBron James (35) | Russell Westbrook (14) | Russell Westbrook (11) | Crypto.com Arena18,020 | 19–24