The 1987–88 season saw the Lakers win their eleventh NBA championship, defeating the Detroit Pistons in a hard-fought seven games in the NBA Finals to become the NBA’s first repeat champions since the Boston Celtics did it in the 1968–69 NBA season. In doing so, the Lakers made good on Pat Riley's famous promise to repeat as champions. “I'm guaranteeing everybody here,” Riley said at the civic celebrations following the Lakers’ 1987 championship win, “next year we’re gonna win it again.” Before the Lakers could make good on Riley's guarantee, they swept the San Antonio Spurs in the opening round of the playoffs. The following two rounds, however, would not be as easy for the Lakers, but they still managed to get through a tough seven-game series against both the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semis and the Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals.
By the time the Lakers had finished their season, they had played an NBA record 106 games including another record 24 playoff games, winning 77 and losing 29. The Lakers went 62–20 in the regular season and 15–9 in the playoffs.
The 1988 Finals was the last time the Showtime-era Lakers won an NBA championship. It was also the final time that the franchise won a championship at The Forum.
