The 1985–86 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 40th season of the franchise, 38th in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 26th in Los Angeles. The Lakers entered the season as the defending NBA champions, having defeated the previous NBA champion and rival Boston Celtics in the 1985 NBA Finals in six games, having finally defeated the Celtics in the NBA Finals after having lost to them 8 consecutive times in the championship series. The Lakers looked to repeat as NBA Champions, after sweeping the San Antonio Spurs in three games in the First Round, and then defeating the Dallas Mavericks in six games in the Semi-finals in the playoffs, but were unable to defend their title, as they lost to the Houston Rockets in the Conference Finals in five games after winning the first game, but