It adds up to a season no one figured on

The regular season is over, and the numbers are in.

Thirty-nine.

That is the average number of wins predicted this fall by Lakers fans, and don’t lie, don’t even try.

Sixty-four.

That is the approximate number of times Kobe Bryant ripped Lakers management late last spring, depending on the Orange County parking lot.

Eighty-five euros.

That is the approximate amount of money spent on mozzarella sticks and mini-burgers when Bryant and owner Jerry Buss met in Spain to discuss trading him.

One.

Nearly a year later, that is the only number that matters.

On a raucous Tuesday night at Staples Center, that is the only number that will be remembered.

From angst to first, from stressed to best, from done to one, the Lakers have ended possibly the most stunning journey in club history by finishing with the No. 1 seeding in the Western Conference playoffs.

Their season-ending, top-spot-clinching 124-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings brought to mind another number.

Two.

I wouldn’t believe this if I didn’t see it with my own two eyes.

When Kobe Bryant attempted his first free throws of the season at Staples Center, he was jeered.

On Tuesday, when he stepped to the line, the house shook with sounds of, “M-V-P! M-V-P!”

This victory probably clinches the award, and it should, as he’s been this year’s MVP since his first pass to Andrew Bynum.

It’s been written here, and elsewhere, perhaps none of those opinions as succinct as the one offered by Sacramento Coach Reggie Theus.

“This has been Kobe’s best year as a teammate,” he said.

After his worst off-season as a teammate.

Who would have believed it? Who could have believed any of it?

When Lamar Odom began the season, he looked clunky and confused.

On Tuesday, he fought and flew, didn’t miss any of his five shots or five free throws, looked as if he actually belonged.

When Jordan Farmar began this season, he was still a questionable first-round draft pick.

On Tuesday, his running three-pointer at the end of the first half summarized a year of bells and whistles and surprise.

When Derek Fisher began the season, he was just another former Laker brought home for a final long shot at glory.

On Tuesday, he stepped confidently on the court as the quiet locker-room leader who sank that shot.

When Pau Gasol began the season . . . well, by now you get the point.

“This has been really cool,” Fisher said, “because it’s like we’ve helped mold young guys to the point where, this feels like those Laker teams when I was younger.”

Remember, this was a team that began the season with a starting center whom its superstar had publicly wanted to trade.

Today, while Bynum’s knee probably won’t be healed before the end of the playoffs, it was his strength that helped carry the Lakers through the early part of the season.

Remember, this was a team that began the season with the most consistently ripped general manager in basketball.

Today, after his handling of the Bryant situation and his trade for Gasol, Mitch Kupchak is revered as one of the league’s top executives.

Remember, this was a team that began the season with neither of the team’s hall of famers -- Bryant and Coach Phil Jackson -- assured of sticking around.

Today, they have a legitimate chance to win enough games to make this team last forever.

By claiming the top seeding in the West, they will play most of their games at a place where they went 30-11 this season, while probably avoiding San Antonio or New Orleans or Phoenix until the conference championships.

They won’t have home-court advantage in the NBA Finals, but by then, anything could happen, because, heck, anything has already happened.

Who would have believed it? Who would have believed any of it?

Be honest, the average Lakers fan wasn’t even sure they would make the playoffs.

Don’t lie, don’t even try.

When asked if he thought they would be in this position, Jackson shook his head.

“No,” he said.

When asked the same question, assistant coach Brian Shaw also shook his head.

“After all the stuff that happened in the summer, I thought, if nothing gives, this is going to be a miserable year to go through,” he said.

But, indeed, something gave.

Bynum gave, and the bench warmers gave, inspiring Bryant to give, which led Buss to give, which helped Kupchak to give, bringing in Gasol to give.

“A lot of things gave,” said Shaw. “We ended up playing well enough to quell everything else.”

All this giving, and who receives?

Lakers fans, of course, and if Tuesday was any indication, they are ready to give back.

The last game of the season, a 20-point lead with 1:42 left, and nobody was going home.

They cheered for Gasol as if he had been here forever. They cheered Ronny Turiaf as if he was Kurt Rambis.

They stood and cheered for long seconds at the announcement of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s birthday, and that is one of the neatest things about this Lakers revival, it has brought back the past.

OK, so the fans also cheered, “We want tacos!” at the prospects of the Lakers holding the Kings to under 100 points.

Why not? If somebody paying $200 for a seat wants to cheer for a $2 taco, why not?

When the Kings scored their final basket to blow the promotion, there were boos, but only for a moment.

Soon there was confetti on their heads, and Bryant on the microphone, and Lawrence Tanter announcing one final set of amazing numbers in a night full of them.

57-25.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke