The 2004–05 Los Angeles Lakers season was the franchise's 57th season in the National Basketball Association, and 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, both of whom had been instrumental in the Lakers' previous three championship victories, on the roster.
Phil Jackson was also fired in the offseason and replaced by former Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich. However in February of 2005, Tomjanovich's struggle with cancer forced him to resign and be replaced by Jackson's assistant coach Frank Hamblen for the rest of the season. Following the season, Butler was traded to the Washington Wizards, and Vlade Divac retired.
Draft picks
Roster
Roster listing| 2004–05 Los Angeles Lakers roster |
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| Players | Coaches |
|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Height | Weight | DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) | From |
|---|
| PG | 9 | Atkins, Chucky | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1974–08–14 | South Florida | | SG | 15 | Bobbitt, Tony | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1979–10–22 | Cincinnati | | PG | 5 | Brown, Tierre | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 189 lb (86 kg) | 1979–06–03 | McNeese State | | SG | 8 | Bryant, Kobe | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 1978–08–23 | Lower Merion HS (PA) | | SF | 1 | Butler, Caron | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 228 lb (103 kg) | 1980–03–13 | Connecticut | | C | 43 | Cook, Brian | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 234 lb (106 kg) | 1980–12–04 | Illinois | | C | 12 | Divac, Vlade | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) | 243 lb (110 kg) | 1968–02–03 | Serbia | | SF | 3 | George, Devean | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | 1977–08–29 | Augsburg | | C | 55 | Grant, Brian | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 254 lb (115 kg) | 1972–03–05 | Xavier | | SF | 20 | Jones, Jumaine | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 230 lb (104 kg) | 1979–02–10 | Georgia | | PF | 14 | Medvedenko, Slava | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 253 lb (115 kg) | 1979–04–04 | Ukraine | | C | 31 | Mihm, Chris | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | 1979–07–16 | Texas | | PF | 7 | Odom, Lamar | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (104 kg) | 1979–11–06 | Rhode Island | | SG | 18 | Vujačić, Sasha | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1984–03–08 | Slovenia | | SF | 4 | Walton, Luke | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | 1980–03–28 | Arizona |
| - Head coach
- Assistant coach(es)
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (DP) Unsigned draft pick
- (FA) Free agent
- (S) Suspended
 Injured
Roster |
Player Salaries
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Player statistics
Awards and records
Transactions