2023–24 Los Angeles Lakers season
| 2023–24 Los Angeles Lakers season | |
|---|---|
NBA Cup champions | |
| Head coach | Darvin Ham |
| President |
|
| General manager | Rob Pelinka |
| Owners | Jerry Buss family trust (majority) Jeanie Buss (controlling owner) Mark Walter, Todd Boehly, Edward P. Roski, and Patrick Soon-Shiong (minority) |
| Arena | Crypto.com Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 47–35 (.573) |
| Place | Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 7th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | First Round (lost to Nuggets 1–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Spectrum SportsNet |
| Radio | ESPN LA 710 (English) 1020 Radio AM (Spanish) |
The 2023–24 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 77th season of the franchise, its 76th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), its 64th season in Los Angeles, and its 25th season playing home games at Crypto.com Arena. This was the Lakers' second and final season with Darvin Ham as head coach, with Ham joining the team as the Lakers coach on June 3, 2022, before the end of the 2021–22 season.
Prior to the start of the season, LeBron James announced that he would switch his jersey number back to #23 after wearing #6 (which he also wore with the Miami Heat) the previous two seasons. On August 24, 2023, the Lakers announced that a statue of Kobe Bryant would be unveiled in front of Crypto.com Arena on February 8, 2024.
The Lakers held a perfect 7–0 record in the inaugural In-Season Tournament, winning the inaugural NBA Cup on December 9 by defeating the Indiana Pacers. The Lakers improved to the 4th seed in the Western Conference after their In-Season Tournament run, having a 14–9 record. However, they struggled immediately after the run, eventually falling to 17–19 in January and the 9th seed. Despite this, the Lakers finished the season 47–35, having a record of 23-10 since February 1. They moved up to the 8th seed in the Western Conference, which qualified them for the NBA Play-In Tournament for the second consecutive year. They defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 110–106 to go to the playoffs for a second consecutive year. The Lakers played the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs, a rematch of the previous year's Western Conference Finals. However, the Nuggets won the series 4–1, which included two Jamal Murray game-winning shots in Games 2 and 5, respectively. This is the first time that the Lakers lost in the first round since 2021 when they lost to the eventual Conference champion Phoenix Suns in six games and the second time that James lost in the first round in his career, having also lost to the 2020–21 Suns.
On May 3, 2024, the Lakers fired their entire coaching staff, which includes head coach Darvin Ham, after serving for two seasons, and assistant coach Phil Handy, who had been with the team since their 2020 championship season.
The Los Angeles Lakers drew an average home attendance of 18,903 in 42 home games in the 2023-24 NBA season.