 The Lakers would decline in the years following Magic's retirement, being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs two straight years (1992 - 1993) before missing the playoffs entirely in 1994.It would be nine years before the Lakers returned to the NBA Finals; by then they had moved to the new Staples Center, marking the 1991 Finals the last to be held at the Forum.Both teams came close to facing each other anew in the 1998 NBA Finals; however, the Lakers (by then led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant) were swept by the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Finals.