The 2018–19 Los Angeles Lakers season was defined by the historic signing of LeBron James on a four-year, $154 million contract on July 9, 2018, which sparked hopes of ending a long playoff drought. The team started strong with a 20–14 record, but a devastating wave of injuries to James, Rajon Rondo, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram (who was diagnosed with a blood clot) caused a collapse that left them below .500 by the All-Star break. By March, the Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention, extending their postseason drought to a franchise-record six seasons and marking James's first missed playoffs since 2005. The season ended in turmoil as Magic Johnson resigned as president of basketball operations on April 9, 2019, followed by the departure of head coach Luke Walton just three days later. Though they improved by two games from the previous season, it remained a losing campaign and stood as the Lakers' last missed playoffs until 2022.