2004–05 Los Angeles Lakers season
NBA professional basketball team season
The 2004–05 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 57th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the 45th in the city of Los Angeles. The previous season had ended with a crushing defeat in five games to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, despite the Lakers being heavily favored. The 2004–05 season is best remembered as a tough one for the Lakers, winning only 34 games and missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. It was also the Lakers first season since 1995-96 without either center Shaquille O'Neal, who was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and future draft picks, or point guard Derek Fisher (who had signed a six-year free agent contract with the Golden State Warriors), two instrumental players to the Lakers' previous three championship victories. The Lakers had the worst team defensive rating in the NBA.
Phil Jackson was also fired in the offseason and replaced by former Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich. However, in February 2005, Tomjanovich's struggle with bladder cancer that had been diagnosed since 2003 forced him to resign after a 24–19 start and be replaced by Jackson's assistant coach Frank Hamblen for the rest of the year. In the offseason, Butler was traded to the Washington Wizards, Hamblen was fired as head coach and Vlade Divac retired.
For the season, the Lakers slightly changed their uniforms, adding the secondary logo to their shorts. They remained in use until 2018.
The Lakers would not miss the playoffs again until 2014.
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