![]() ![]() O'Neal averaged 28.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and also finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting. It was the Lakers' best record since the 1989–90 season. The Lakers held a 34–11 record at the All-Star break, and won 22 of their final 25 games to tie the Pacific Division title with the Seattle SuperSonics with a 61–21 record. In January, Van Exel went down with a knee injury missing 18 games, and was replaced with second-year guard Derek Fisher as the team's starting point guard for the remainder of the season. The Lakers got off to a fast start to the season winning their first eleven games, before losing O'Neal to a strained stomach muscle that forced him to sit out 20 games. Bryant also finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting behind Danny Manning of the Phoenix Suns. ![]() Joining him on the Western Conference All-Star roster were teammates Shaquille O'Neal, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. Second-year shooting guard, and last season's Slam Dunk champion Kobe Bryant emerged as a star in his second season, playing an increased role as the team's sixth man, averaging 15.4 points per game off the bench, while being selected to start in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game at the age of 19, which was his first All-Star appearance Bryant scored 18 points in 22 minutes, as the Western Conference lost to the Eastern Conference, 135–114. During the off-season, the Lakers signed free agents Rick Fox, and three-point specialist Jon Barry. The 1997–98 NBA season was the Lakers' 50th season in the National Basketball Association, and 38th in the city of Los Angeles. NBA professional basketball team season 1997–98 Los Angeles Lakers season ![]()
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