#10
The 1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers
Regular Season: 65-17 (79.3)
Playoffs: 15-3 (83.3)
Total: 80-20 (80)
Award Winners;
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: All Star
Michael Cooper: Defensive Player of the Year, 1st Team All-Defense
Magic Johnson: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1st Team All-NBA, All Star
James Worthy: All Star
Pat Riley: All Star head coach
The Lakers of the 1980s were one of the NBA’s great dynasties, up there with the Celtics of the ‘50s and ‘60s and Bulls of the ‘90s. They won NBA Championships in 1980 and ‘82 against the Philadelphia 76ers, in ‘85, ‘87 against the Boston Celtics and in ‘88 against the Detroit Pistons. They also reached the Finals in 1983, ‘84, ‘89 and ‘91, losing to the 76ers, Celtics, Pistons and Chicago Bulls respectively. As a Celtics fan, I have to mention that their nine Finals appearances in twelve years came at a time when the West was clearly the weaker conference. Still impressive, though. Former Lakers guard Pat Riley joined the team as an assistant coach in ’79-80. He was promoted to head coach early in the ‘81-82 season after Lakers head coach Paul Westhead was essentially pushed out by Magic Johnson. It was the beginning of a hugely successful career for Riley. The Lakers were blessed with two of the greatest players of all time Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was traded to the Lakers from the Bucks in 1975, and Magic Johnson, who was drafted number one overall by the team in 1979. Michael Cooper was drafted in ‘78, as was James Worthy in ‘83, Byron Scott in ‘84 and A.C. Green in ‘86. Despite their success throughout the decade, the Lakers always seemed to be adding more young talent.
In terms of wins and losses, the 1987 Lakers were the best of LA’s ’80s teams, winning 65 games in the regular season and going 15 and 3 in the playoffs. Between March 3rd and April 16th, they posted a record of 21-1, which included an 11 game winning streak. 27 year old point guard Magic Johnson was in his prime and led his team with 23.9 points, 12.2 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals on 52.2% shooting and shot 84.8% from the free throw line. 39 year old living legend center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still making valuable contributions, with 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 56.4% shooting. 25 year old forward James Worthy was another standout, with 19.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1 block on 53.9% shooting. The team was rounded out by Byron Scott, A.C. Green, and one of the best defensive players of the era, Michael Cooper. As great as these Lakers were, they had a pretty easy ride through the first three rounds of the playoffs. The next best team in the West, the 55 win Dallas Mavericks, led by Mark Aguirre, were eliminated in the first round and wouldn’t pose a threat to LA.
In the first round they met the 37-45 Denver Nuggets, led by Alex English and Fat Lever, and they would show no mercy. Game two was the closest, with LA winning by a mere twelve points. The third and deciding game was a 140-103 drubbing with seven Lakers scoring in double figures and Magic Johnson racking up 14 assists to go with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Byron Scott led the scoring with 25 points, plus 7 assists, a steal and a block.
In the semifinals, the Lakers faced the 42-40 Golden State Warriors, featuring NBA legends like Sleepy Floyd and Joe Barry Carroll (AKA Joe Barely Cares (AKA Just Barely Carroll)), who handed them their first loss of the playoffs. Game three was the biggest blowout, with LA winning 133-108. Magic put up a triple double of 20 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds plus two steals, and James Worthy had 28 points on 19 shots, along with 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Golden State won game four, 129-121, with guard Sleepy Floyd (awesome name) putting up an insane 51 points on 26 shots, 10 assists and 4 steals. By then though it was too late, and the Lakers closed them out in five.
In the Conference Finals, LA faced yet more fish in a barrel in the form of the 39-43 Seattle SuperSonics and completed their second sweep of the playoffs. The Sonics were then led by Dale Ellis, Tom Chambers and Xavier McDaniel. The series ended much like the first round, with LA annihilating Seattle 130-102 in game four. Magic was great as usual in the closing game, putting up 21 points on 9 shots, 12 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. James Worthy was excellent as well, with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals.
In the NBA Finals the Lakers encountered their first real challenge, the 59 win Boston Celtics, with the two teams meeting in the Finals for the third time in four seasons. The Celtics had won their first meeting in 1984 in seven games with the Lakers getting their revenge in 1985 in six. The Celtics lacked the depth of their incredible 1986 season, but still had a formidable starting five of Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge. Along with injuries taking their toll, they suffered a terrible tragedy when Len Bias, the University of Maryland star they’d drafted second overall, died two days after the 1986 draft.
The Lakers won the first two games comfortably at the LA forum, blowing Boston out 141-122 in game two. Five Lakers scored at least 20 points that night, and Michael Cooper shot 6 for 7 from three and had 21 points, 9 assists and 3 steals. Magic had 22 points and an insane 20 assists, plus 5 rebounds and three steals. Byron Scott led the scoring with 24 points along with 5 rebounds and a steal. The next three games were played at the Boston Garden, and the Celtics won game three and nearly tied the series in game four, but Larry Bird missed a wide open three pointer at the buzzer, giving the Lakers a commanding 3-1 series lead. As he walked off the court, Bird shook his head at Pat Riley in disbelief that the Lakers had allowed him to get such a clean look. The Celtics won game five easily though, 123-108. All five of Boston’s starters scored over 20 points. Dennis Johnson had a great night with 25 points, 11 assists and a steal on 50% shooting. Larry Bird was his usual self with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal, although he shot south of 40%. Despite the busted foot, Kevin McHale brought 22 points and 14 rebounds. Still, the Lakers needed just one more win to seal their fourth championship of the decade, and got it back in LA in game six by a score of 106-93. Old Man Kareem led the charge in the clincher with 32 points on 18 shots plus 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Magic Johnson won Finals MVP, averaging 26.2 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds and 2.3 steals on 56% shooting in the series.
The Lakers had one more title left in them, and they picked it up the next year after squeaking by the Bad Boy Pistons. Kareem Would finally retire in 1989 at age 42 after the Lakers were swept in the Finals at the hands of Detroit. The Lakers made one more Finals in ‘91, losing to Michael Jordan’s Bulls, before their run was ended by Magic Johnson’s HIV diagnosis. Cooper retired prior to that in 1990. Worthy, Green and Scott hung around until the mid ‘90s, but without Magic, the Showtime era was done and dusted. Luckily for LA, GM Jerry West got both Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant to the team in 1996. If Magic hadn’t had his illness, Larry Bird hadn’t had his back and foot issues and Len Bias hadn’t died, maybe we would’ve gotten two or three more Celtics-Lakers Finals. Oh well…
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