| ||||||||||
| Dates: | May 27–June 8 | |||||||||
| MVP: | Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Lakers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1995) Bob McAdoo (2000) Magic Johnson (2002) Jamaal Wilkes (2012) Spencer Haywood (2015) 76ers: Julius Erving (1993) Maurice Cheeks (2018) Bobby Jones (2019) Coaches: Billy Cunningham (1986, player) Pat Riley (2008) Officials: Earl Strom (1995) Darell Garretson (2016) Hugh Evans (2022) | |||||||||
| Eastern Finals: | 76ers defeated Celtics, 4–3 | |||||||||
| Western Finals: | Lakers defeated Spurs, 4–0 | |||||||||
| NBA Finals | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ← 1981 | ||||||||||
| 1983 → | ||||||||||
The 1982 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1981–82 season, the top level of competition in men's professional basketball in North America.
The series saw the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers face the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers. It was a rematch of the 1980 NBA Finals. Just like in their previous Finals matchup, the Lakers won the series 4 games to 2.
The 1982 NBA Finals documentary "Something To Prove" recaps all the action of this series. It was the last NBA video documentary to exclusively use film in all on-court action. Dick Stockton narrated the documentary, with the condensed USA Network version narrated by Al Albert.
The series ended June 8, later than any previous NBA Finals. The previous record was June 7, 1978. This record was eclipsed two years later when the Finals ended on June 12, 1984.
1982 NBA Playoffs[]
| Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference Champion) | Philadelphia 76ers (Eastern Conference Champion) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57–25 (.695)
1st Pacific, 1st West, 3rd Overall |
Regular season | 58–24 (.707)
2nd Atlantic, 3rd East, 2nd Overall | ||
| Earned first-round bye | First Round | Defeated the (6) Atlanta Hawks, 2–0 | ||
| Defeated the (5) Phoenix Suns, 4–0 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (2) Milwaukee Bucks, 4–2 | ||
| Defeated the (2) San Antonio Spurs, 4–0 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (1) Boston Celtics, 4–3 | ||
Series summary[]
| Game | Date | Home Team | Result | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | May 27 | Philadelphia | 117–124 | Los Angeles |
| Game 2 | May 30 | Philadelphia | 110–94 | Los Angeles |
| Game 3 | June 1 | Los Angeles | 129–108 | Philadelphia |
| Game 4 | June 3 | Los Angeles | 111–101 | Philadelphia |
| Game 5 | June 6 | Philadelphia | 135–102 | Los Angeles |
| Game 6 | June 8 | Los Angeles | 114–104 | Philadelphia |
| Preceded by 1981 |
NBA Finals 1982 |
Succeeded by 1983 |