The 2005–06 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 58th in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 60th overall. The Los Angeles Lakers finished in third place of the Pacific Division and as the seventh seed of the Western Conference playoffs. The season ended with the team being eliminated in seven games against the Phoenix Suns after holding a 3-1 series lead. After a year absence, the Lakers rehired Phil Jackson as their head coach. It was the final season Kobe Bryant wore jersey number 8 before changing it to 24 the following season.

The Lakers had 3 picks going into the 2005 NBA draft. The Lakers picked seven footer Andrew Bynum as the 10th pick of the draft. Los Angeles also picked Ronny Turiaf and Von Wafer as the 37th and 39th picks respectively.

The Lakers opened the season with an overtime victory against the Denver Nuggets. Despite dipping below .500 during the November, the team recovered and finished 2005 with a 15-14 record. The team went into the All Star Break with a 26-26 record The Lakers did not maintain any long winning streaks nor were they in long losing slumps; their longest winning streak of the season equalled their longest losing streak of 5 games. The team finished the season with a 5-game winning streak, the longest of the season, and an overall 45-37 record. The Lakers finished third in the Pacific Division and qualified for the playoffs as the 7th seed in the Western Conference. In a January home game against the Toronto Raptors, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, the second most in a single game in NBA history, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100.

The Lakers met the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA playoffs. After taking a 3-1 lead, Los Angeles lost three in a row and was eliminated from the playoffs.

Golden state warriors got off to a good start by ending the first quarter with a 10-point lead. The Lakers trailed the golden state warriors by as much as 14 points during the second quarter. Kobe Bryant had an off shooting night. Although he averaged more than 42 points against warriors, Kobe Bryant scored only 22 points on 7-21 shooting. During the late stages of the fourth quarter, the Lakers went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 98-95 with 2:12 remaining. However, Steve Nash sealed the game with a three pointer and two free throws in the last 67 seconds of the game

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