2009–10 Los Angeles Lakers season
During the offseason, the Lakers signed free agent and former defensive player of the year forward Ron Artest.
Coming off from winning their fifteenth championship in the NBA Finals defeating the Orlando Magic in five games, the Lakers successfully defended their title.
In December, Ron Artest revealed that he suffered a shoulder injury during the Lakers' opening exhibition game.
[11] Trevor Ariza chose not to sign when the Los Angeles Lakers offered the Mid-Level Exception (approximately $6 million per year).
[12] When the Lakers looked towards other free agents, Ariza agreed to sign with the Houston Rockets for slightly more money.
Assistant coach Kurt Rambis left the Lakers to pursue a head-coaching position with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He decided not to pursue a more lucrative contract from his former team (the Rockets) and signed a 5-year deal worth $33 million on July 8.
On July 30, Lamar Odom agreed to a four-year deal, reportedly for $33 million, with a team option for the final year.
Odom said he did not want to leave Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher and the rest of the Lakers, especially Kobe Bryant.
[22] On September 28, the Lakers signed four players to non-guaranteed contracts: Tony Gaffney, Srdjan Pejicic, David Monds, Mickaël Gelabale and Michael Fey.
On October 10, the Lakers cut Mickaël Gelabale, David Monds, and Michael Fey, bringing the roster to 15 players.
[30] The Texas A&M center earned All-Big 12 honors last season after averaging 9.8 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds and 53 blocked shots.
He set a school record by making 66.5 percent from the field and was named the Big 12's most improved player.
Pau Gasol missed the first 11 games due to his hamstring injury, so Lamar Odom moved to power forward and was placed in the starting lineup.
The Lakers went on a five-game winning streak heading into their Christmas Day game at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Later that night, Ron Artest suffered a concussion from tripping over a box and falling down a flight of stairs.
On January 3, Gasol mildly strained his left hamstring in the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks and had to leave the game.
[41] Artest returned to play the next game versus the Houston Rockets, and Odom almost recorded a triple double with 17 points, 19 rebounds, and 9 assists.
On January 21, the Lakers began the second half of the season by playing eight consecutive road games in 12 days.
Beginning with a rematch of the Christmas Day game against the Cavaliers and concluding on February 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies, the defending champions also visited the White House to meet President Barack Obama.
In February, Gasol was named winner of two of the three most prestigious annual awards given to European players, based on performances during the 2009 calendar year for both national and club teams.
Odom matched a career high with 22 rebounds in the Lakers' win, the first time they had won in Portland since 2005.
[45] Gasol produced 21 points, 19 rebounds, eight assists and five blocks in a win on February 8 against the San Antonio Spurs, joining five other players to accomplish the feat.
[49] The Lakers responded by winning five games in a row, but Bynum suffered an injury and was removed from the active roster.
[50] It was revealed that Bynum strained his Achilles tendon against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 19, and that he was expected to miss almost two weeks (six games) to recover.
They were the eighth best team in the Western Conference between the All-Star break and April 5 by record, but still held the top seed.
[56] With time winding down, Gasol caught an offensive rebound off of a missed jump shot by Bryant and scored a layup with 0.5 seconds remaining in the game for the win.
[56] The Lakers next opponent was the Utah Jazz who advanced to the second round of the playoffs by defeating the Denver Nuggets 4–2.
[60] The fourth quarter had 12 lead changes, including Bryant and Fisher making back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8–2 run in the final minute.
Los Angeles outscored the Suns 23–10 over the last eight minutes of the second quarter to lead 65–53 at the break and were up by 17 entering the fourth.
