On April 11, 2022, the Los Angeles Lakers fired Frank Vogel as head coach.
[3] 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.
In his second game off the bench as the Lakers' sixth man, Russell Westbrook had 18 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
The Lakers were swept by the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals in 4 straight games.
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.