It’s not all glory: these are the times the Lakers said goodbye in the First Round
The Los Angeles Lakers’ hopes of a record-equalling 18th NBA championship are over, after a comprehensive series defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Los Angeles Lakers were condemned to their second consecutive First-Round exit from the NBA Playoffs on Wednesday, as Rudy Gobert’s game-winning display earned the Minnesota Timberwolves a 4-1 series victory.
Gobert guns down Lakers
Gobert registered 27 points and 24 rebounds at Crypto.com Arena, to inspire the sixth-seeded Timberwolves to a 103-96 victory over the No. 3 seed.
Twelve months ago, the Lakers also suffered a 4-1 series defeat at the first hurdle of the Playoffs, going down to a Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets.
How many First-Round defeats have the Lakers suffered?
Since the First Round was established 50 years ago, the Lakers have now failed to negotiate this stage on 11 occasions.
If you include the period prior to the 1974/75 season, when the postseason’s initial phase was known as either the Division Semi-Finals or the Conference Semi-Finals, that number of opening-round exits rises to 15.
The Lakers’ opening-round Playoff defeats - full list:
- 2024/25: Minnesota Timberwolves - 4-1
- 2023/24: Denver Nuggets - 4-1
- 2020/21: Phoenix Suns - 4-2
- 2012/13: San Antonio Spurs - 4-0
- 2006/07: Phoenix Suns - 4-1
- 2005/06: Phoenix Suns - 4-3
- 1995/96: Houston Rockets - 3-1
- 1992/93: Phoenix Suns - 3-2
- 1991/92: Portland Trail Blazers - 3-1
- 1980/81: Houston Rockets - 2-1
- 1977/78: Seattle SuperSonics - 2-1
- 1973/74: Milwaukee Bucks - 4-1 (Conference SFs)
- 1966/67: San Francisco Warriors - 3-0 (Division SFs)
- 1963/64: St. Louis Hawks - 3-2 (Division SFs)
- 1955/56: St. Louis Hawks - 2-1 (Division SFs)
“Not something I ever envisioned” - Redick on exit
Speaking to reporters after early elimination in his first season as Lakers head coach, a “disappointed” J.J. Redick said: “[It’s] not something that I ever envisioned with this team, having to go in and talk to them after losing in the First Round.
“But give Minnesota a lot of credit, they’re a really good basketball team and I think our guys played hard enough and did all the right things. We tried to make it work with what we had and came up a little short.”
The NBA’s second-most-decorated franchise - behind 18-time champions the Boston Celtics - the Lakers have now reached the Finals just once in the last 15 years. That was in 2020, when Los Angeles beat the Miami Heat to win the most recent of their 17 titles.
Who do the Timberwolves play next?
Having progressed to the Western Conference Semi-Finals for the second straight season, the Timberwolves will now take on either the Houston Rockets or the Golden State Warriors.
Leading the Rockets 3-2, the Warriors have the opportunity to complete a series victory when they host Houston in Game 6 in San Francisco on Friday, May 2.
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