And then the 1980s hit and Larry Bird helped revive Celtics Pride with three titles. Boston then went through some dark times as the team struggled to make the playoffs. Fast-forward to 2008 and the team won a title on the strength of their defense and the brilliant play of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

The franchise has won an unprecedented 17 NBA championships and yet they are not the league’s marquee franchise. That title belongs to none other than…

The Los Angeles Lakers.

The franchise’s prestige, rich history and multiple national television appearances make it oddly enough the easiest team to love but also the easiest team to hate. Indeed, the constant exposure of the Lakers to the public either turns some people off or makes them easier to follow depending on whom you ask.

Thus, when news broke out that Chris Paul would join the Lakers, there was an outcry from fans and owners that the L.A. had once again pulled off the improbable and strong armed another franchise into giving them their goods for almost nothing.

Forget that the trade benefitted all parties involved, but several shared the opinion that the purple and gold had committed highway robbery.

The trade has since been blocked and it seems as though the Lakers have put an end to talks of bringing Paul in to play with Kobe; focusing instead now on bringing in Dwight Howard.

But here’s the undisputable truth (some readers may want to sit down for this one): fans, owners and GMs that are mad at the Lakers should actually be mad at themselves (once again, make sure you are seated).

Believe it or not, there used to be a time that the Los Angeles Lakers were a nearly broke franchise that could barely get decent attendance. Consider this: during the 1960-61 season, the Lakers were next to last in attendance. And that was back when they had Elgin Baylor and Jerry West on the team; you know, just two of the 50 greatest players ever.

Instead of feeling for sorry for themselves and selling one of their stars to the highest bidder, the Lakers got creative. They played numerous exhibition games against the league’s signature team at the time (Boston Celtics) in multiple cities to get exposure, create an intriguing rivalry and also get fans to watch their stars play. In addition, new owner Jack Kent Cooke wanted his team to become the city’s main attraction and thus had a glamorous stadium built that he would name the Forum that opened its doors in 1967 and became the home of the Lakers.

The team would no longer have to worry about attendance figures, and instead could focus on the obvious: winning.

At a time when most teams were afraid of taking on the talented but ego-driven Wilt Chamberlain; the Lakers took the gamble and traded for the Big Dipper to have him play alongside West and Baylor. Although Baylor retired at the start of the 1971-72 season, the move helped the Lakers finally bring an NBA title to the city of Los Angeles.

The team not only won the title but became legendary. One can make the case that Jerry West was the face of the league (he is after all the NBA’s logo) and that Wilt Chamberlain was perhaps the league’s most interesting player. The dynamic made the Lakers a must-see attraction.

Years later, both players would retire, but the franchise would find a way to get history to repeat itself. Indeed, they would bring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the team via trade and then acquire the greatest point guard of all time through the draft.

Many think that drafting Magic Johnson was a no-brainer, but general manager Jerry West actually wanted to draft Sidney Moncrief. Jerry Buss actually made the call on Magic; and never regretted it.

The Lakers consistently made smart basketball transactions to set up the team to be dominant throughout the 1980s.

With the number one overall pick in the 1982 draft, they selected James Worthy instead of a ball dominant Dominique Wilkins, they traded for Byron Scott and also acquired Mychal Thompson. Years prior, they had selected Michael Cooper in the third round of the 1978 draft.

These moves allowed the Lakers to win five world titles during the 1980s.

In the early 1990s, Kareem and Magic had retired and the team was stuck in a rut; looking for the next great superstar.

By the summer of 1996, the Lakers were desperate. Thus, they gutted their roster in an effort to create enough salary cap room to acquire Shaquille O’Neal. It’s worth mentioning that had O’Neal signed elsewhere, the team would have seen some truly dark days since they had no contingency plans set up. Nonetheless, they offered Shaq a mammoth contract (seven years worth $120 million) and stroked his ego to get him the join the team and also acquired the draft rights of a young high school player named Kobe Bryant. By the time the 2000s rolled around, the Lakers had become a dynasty, winning three titles in a row.

O’Neal was eventually traded away in the summer of 2004 and Kobe became a free agent. Although the superstar guard re-signed, things turned ugly for a franchise accustomed to winning. The team missed the playoffs in their first year without the Diesel and then was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

By 2007, Kobe Bryant had grown tired of the losing as well as the blame that was directed at him for O’Neal’s departure. He made it clear that he wanted to get out in the worst way possible. The Lakers had a trade lined up with Chicago, but Bryant felt as though the Bulls team he would be joining would be no better than the Lakers team he would be leaving.

And then, Mitch Kupchak hit a grand slam, acquiring Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, the rights to Marc Gasol and a few draft picks.

The trade helped the Lakers get to three straight Finals and win back-to-back titles. Make no mistake though, although Gasol’s contributions were certainly a huge part of the Lakers success, Lamar Odom (obtained in O’Neal trade) and Andrew Bynum (drafted by Lakers in 2005) were also a huge part of what made the squad a championship team.

For whatever reason, there seems to be this idea that the Lakers have had it easy for the most part. But the truth is they have not. They have been faced with tough times and have had crucial decisions to make in their rich history; but what sets them apart from most teams is that they have been able to exhibit a tremendous amount of patience and make great management decisions (remember after the Lakers won the 2009 title; Buss refused to overpay Odom and managed to re-sign him).

As a result of these facts, players are much more willing to play for the Lakers as opposed to say the Clippers who play in the exact same building.

The issue isn’t so much the big markets (although that helps) as much as it is the notion of playing for a winner.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won 16 NBA titles, made an appearance in the Finals in every decade, have had three of the five best centers ever play for them and also three of the five best guards of all time wear the Lakers jersey.

Given the Lakers’ excellence in shaping up rosters, why wouldn’t a superstar want to join the team?

Barring a league-altering trade that for the second time in a decade and a half would deliver a Sunshine State Superman to Staples Center (yeah, I know Shaq first arrived at the Forum, but I wanted to ride that one out), there is a good chance that Andrew Bynum will be the next face of the Lakers franchise. And on the surface it makes perfect sense.

I’ve maintained for some time that when healthy, Andrew Bynum is the NBA’s most skilled pure center. When healthy, he’s one of a small (and dwindling) number of old-school big men capable of dominating the paint at both ends. At his best, thanks to an ungodly combination of physical tools and mastery of the game’s finer points, to say nothing of the tutelage of the Captain himself, Bynum resembles an evolutionary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

At seven-feet and nearly 300 pounds, Andrew Bynum goes where he wants on a basketball court. On offense, he does an outstanding job of carving out post position. Once there, he creates a “big target” for a passer, and has great coordination and soft hands with which to receive the ball. Once those hands are on the ball, be it off of a pass or a rebound, he- a la Kareem- does an exceptional job of keeping the ball high, where few, if any, members of the human race have a realistic shot at acquiring it from him. A defender’s job gets no easier when he goes to work in the post, where he possesses excellent footwork, strong, fundamentally sound post moves and- the aspect of his game in which Kareem’s fingerprints are most visible- an outstanding eye for passing lanes and great finesse on his passes, out of double teams as well as to cutters, both on the baseline and in the lane.

At the defensive end, Bynum’s jumping ability and incredible wingspan make him a terror for anyone looking to attack the paint. Not only is he excellent at changing shots near the rim, he addresses a significant Laker-specific issue by helping to negate, at least partially, the team’s shocking lack of speed and quickness at the point. Derek Fisher (now 37) and Steve Blake are still in the mix, as is Darius Morris, a talented youngster from Michigan that could have an impact as a rookie, but is little better equipped than his veteran counterparts to deal with the likes of Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose.

Just 24 years old, 20+ PER each of the past four seasons, at least 9.7 rebounds/36 minutes each of the last five seasons, 12+ twice (12.2/36 last season) and a Block Rate superior to Dwight Howard’s (4.8 v. 4.5). A double-double waiting to happen and a virtual lock to put up no worse than 18, 12 and 2.5 blocks over an entire season. Simply put, when healthy, Andrew Bynum is potentially a franchise cornerstone.

When healthy.

That, my friend, is the rub with Andrew Bynum. Over the past four years, injuries have sidelined him for 124- or 37.8%- of’ 328 regular season games- costing him no fewer than 17 games per season during that stretch- shelved him for the entire 2008 postseason and limited him to less than 18 minutes per game in the Lakers’ 2009 title run.

Now, there is a case to be made that while ‘Drew has been frequently bitten by the injury bug, the freak nature of his injuries (landing on Lamar Odom’s foot in 2008, colliding with Kobe a year later) point not to a chronic Bill Walton/Greg Oden-esque pattern, but simply an extended streak of bad luck. Perhaps. But whatever the circumstances surrounding the injuries, there is one fact that persistently lingers- they keep happening. These things keep happening to this guy. And if history is any guide, Andrew Bynum is unlikely to spend his NBA future leading a dynasty.

Without fail, regardless of talent, injury prone stars, particularly those that get hurt early in their careers, seldom find themselves on teams that do a great deal of winning. This is not to say that a durable star ensures success, but throughout the entirety of NBA history, the inverse relationship between winning and the lack of a durable front line guy is truly staggering:

The 1950s were dominated by the Minneapolis Lakers and basketball’s first superstar, George Mikan. In his first six seasons as a pro (1948-49- 1953-54), five of which ended in Laker championships, Mikan personified durability, missing a grand total of two games. The second best Laker of the era, Vern Mikkelsen, a member of four title winners and another conference champion in 1959, was every bit as reliable, failing to suit up just five times in a decade-long career.

In the 1960s, Red Aurbach’s Celtics not only picked up where the Lakers had left off, but took their dominance to unprecedented and unrivaled heights. The Celtics were unquestionably captained by Bill Russell (who missed 24 games as a rookie, but never more than five in a season again), with Bob Cousy (no more than seven DNP’s in a season), Sam Jones (missed 10+ games twice in 12 years) and John Havlicek (missed more than six games once in 16 years) assuming the role of First Mate at various points.

In the aftermath of the Russell era, the first team to accumulate multiple rings was the New York Knicks. While remembered as the epitome of a singular unit, the Knick had a clear-cut top two in Walt Frazier, who played 74+ games every season prior to his 30th birthday, and Willis Reed, who is synonymous with injury only because of the desire and willingness he displayed in trying to overcome it.

On the short end of Boston’s dominance of the ‘60s and the Knicks mini-run of the early ‘70s were the Lakers, led by the all-universe duo of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. Of the legends mentioned already, as well as those we’ve yet to discuss, no two primes were more impacted by injury. Though Baylor did a fantastic job of answering the bell throughout his career, injuries plagued him for much of his NBA days and cost him the 1965 postseason, which ended in a 4-1 Finals loss at the hands of Russell & Co.

West, meanwhile, overcame not only repeated disappointment at the hands of the Celtics but also frequent injury en route to becoming one of the very best two-guards of all time. Four times in his first ten seasons, West was sidelined for 15+ games, three times missing at least 20, and in the spring of 1967, West, like Baylor, missed an entire postseason.

Despite all of this, individually and in concert, they led the Lakers to within shouting distance of championship after championship. With seven Finals appearances in 12 seasons for Baylor and nine in a 13-year run for West, any question about their worthiness of the “champion” tag can be summarily dismissed. With all of that said, however, it is worth noting that these two men- symbols of toughness and competitive spirit though they are-disappointingly tallied only a single championship between them, due (at least in part, we can safely assume) to the fact that much of their legendary careers were spent battling injury.

Not convinced? Let’s run through the years.

Only once in his first 15 seasons did Dr. J take part in fewer than 74 games. Moses Malone played 71+ games in 16 of first 18 pro seasons. In his first eight NBA seasons Larry Bird missed a total of 21 games, while Kevin McHale suited up 77+ times six times in his first seven seasons (both through 1986-87). As their durability began to fade, so did the conference titles.

Twice in his 20-year career, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar failed to take part in at least 74 games (and that 74 was at age 41) – neither after 1978. Magic Johnson did lose 45 games of his second season to a left knee injury, but in the remainder of his first dozen years, Magic took the floor 72+ times on ten occasions.

Like Magic, injury wiped out all but 18 games of Michael Jordan’s second season. However, in 12 other seasons as a Chicago Bull, he missed all of five games, eight times playing a full 82 game slate. Before missing 38 regular season games in 1997-98, Scottie Pippen had played at least 77 games in eight of his 10 seasons, never taking part in fewer than 72. The “least durable” of this lot, Hakeem Olajuwon, missed 88 games in his first 13 NBA seasons, though it’s worth noting that 1985-86 (26 missed) and 1990-91 (14) account for nearly half of this total.

John Stockton? 19 seasons, 22 DNPs- 18 of them in one season. And the Mailman? 10 in 18 years in Utah. Shaq missed plenty of time, though I’ve long suspected that “DNP- lazy” played as a big a role as any injury. Kobe Bryant has turned playing injured (not to be confused with “playing hurt”) into a personal pastime. Tim Duncan has missed 63 games in his 14 seasons- a whopping nine in his first six years. LeBron? Eight seasons, 29 games missed. And Dwight Howard? Seven and three.

You get the picture?

At first blush you might think this a silly exercise, an apples and oranges comparison. Is it really fair to measure young Andrew Bynum against this collection of NBA icons and superstars? I mean he’s just six years in, he’s only 24, it sounds like he’s in great shape (link to Kevin Ding’s recent article), assuming everything’s properly rehabbed…

Stop it. Seriously. Stop.

No job title in NBA history is more synonymous with winning and greatness than “face of the Lakers.” Given the role for which he is being groomed, it’s not unreasonable for Laker Nation to demand more of the star to whom our wagons will be hitched. For more than 60 years- from Mikan, to Baylor, to West, to Kareem, to Magic, to Shaq and now Kobe, the leaders of Laker dynasties have not only helped define the eras in which they star, they’ve been central figures in the shaping of the NBA itself.

I like and root for Andrew Bynum. He is, by all accounts, a really good guy. I wholeheartedly believe every word of praise that appears above. He’s got the tools, both mental and physical, as well as a strong work ethic and, as evidenced by his repeated returns from injury, the determination needed to star in the NBA. Thing is, after this season (assuming he is not dealt), the Lakers will be into Andrew Bynum for seven years and more than $50 million  (with a $16.1 million team option for 2012-13), without so much as one full campaign to show for it, and a major decision looming.

For all of his youth and potential, there is no precedent in NBA history on which to build a case for Bynum joining the pantheon of NBA greats. This is not to say that it can’t happen, but before another half-decade and $80 million are dedicated to him, it’s worth noting out that it never has.

-Emile Avanessian

Now that that’s been settled, on to the game shall we?

Answer #1: Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain

Most would agree that the question here would be something along the lines of “who are the two most dominant players the NBA has ever seen?”

Answer #2: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan

If we polled NBA fans, the majority would probably conclude that the question is “Who are three of the greatest players of all time?”

Answer #3: Kobe Bryant

This one obviously has some historical context to take into account, but if that name had to be the answer to a question at any point in time during the year 2011, a fairly substantial amount of people would agree that the question would and should be “Who is the greatest Laker ever?”

All three answers seemed to sync up perfectly with the questions; and yet we could have substituted the name of one player to fit in all three of the answers for which the questions matched: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal were easily two of the most imposing as well as gifted big men the NBA has ever seen. Both players could put up ridiculous numbers in scoring, rebounding and shot blocking; but more importantly they instilled fear in the heart of their opponents with their size, athletic ability as well as basketball talent.

Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan changed our collective perception of superstars. By the time they had retired, it wasn’t enough to simply outplay your opponent night after night no matter how great he was; instead you had to also make your teammates look and play better along the way in order to earn the right to be mentioned amongst them.

Recently, Kobe Bryant became the Lakers all-time leading scorer and in addition he helped the purple and gold extract some revenge against their biggest rivals by leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a victory over the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals. Couple that with his five championship rings, his MVP trophy, his four All-Star Game MVPs and his two Finals MVP trophies, and he built himself an impressive case to be considered the greatest Laker of all.

And for all of the greatness of the players previously listed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s name has to absolutely fit in there amongst them.

For all the talk of the dominance of big men, few were more dominant than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was throughout his lengthy career. Indeed, fans remember his famous skyhook and how automatic of a shot it seemed to be, but it was viewed as a finesse shot and thus the labels of power player or unstoppable big man were never really bestowed on the former Bruin.

And yet, when Abdul-Jabbar joined the NBA in 1969, no one could stop him. Not even the great Wilt Chamberlain. Granted the Big Dipper was an aging player, but he still had enough left in the tank to play at a high level (as evidenced by his 1972 NBA Finals MVP award) and dominate the paint. But when the Stilt played against Kareem, there was nothing much he could do. He may have blocked a few of his opponent’s shots and successfully contested his attempts; but ultimately Wilt was powerless against his nemesis in the 1971 Western Conference Finals and same in 1972.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a monster, routinely hitting the 30-point mark against Wilt. And to put this in perspective: if the Big Dipper himself could not limit the future Hall of Fame center’s production; no one would be able to. Have a look at Abdul-Jabbar’s six best statistical postseason runs (championship seasons in bold):

*The NBA only started tracking blocks during the 1973-74 season.

The scoring and rebounding may stand out, but the most impressive aspect has to be his age. Kareem was impossible to defend from day one in the NBA, and that trend continued well into his late 30s (he averaged 25.9 points per game on 55.7 percent field goal shooting during the 1986 playoffs, at the tender age of 38). His effectiveness as well as his consistency allowed him to score an unprecedented 38,387 career points; the most in league history.

In addition, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s stellar play throughout his career helped him win six MVP awards; more than anyone in NBA history. And yet, when talks of the most dominant players ever arise, the player once nicknamed Cap is never mentioned.

He is arguably the greatest offensive player the world has ever seen and yet his game had so much more to offer.

Take one of his teammates for instance: Magic Johnson is without a doubt the standard by which all point guards will be measured because he understood when and how to get his teammates involved (running plays for them, feeding the hot hand and getting them easy scoring opportunities) and when to takeover. It is said, that no one made his teammates look better than Magic and it would be hard to disagree.

But in the same breath, rarely do we hear how Kareem helped Magic on the court. Indeed, Johnson often got clean looks right at the rim when he drove the ball simply because defenses were so keyed in on the Lakers’ star center. In addition, Abdul-Jabbar was a willing passer who would feed cutters and open shooters out of double teams. He rarely took ill-advised shots, instead preferring to either get a good look at the basket or pass it off to someone in better position. In addition, when Kareem screened for players or when they set screens for him underneath the basket, the outcome was often that the player involved in the screen action usually ended up open (even if it was for a fraction of a second) because his defender would help out on the Lakers’ center; and that’s when Magic would fire his bullet passes through traffic for lay ins.

Also, Kareem’s mere presence on both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers helped his teammates become better defenders. Indeed, it is often easier for perimeter players to get up in the face of their opponents and challenge them to drive past them when there is a big man anchoring the paint and knocking shots back. Thus, Michael Cooper may have been an excellent defender in his own right, but having Abdul-Jabbar covering his back certainly helped him in his dealings with the likes of Larry Bird.

Put it all together, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of, if not the greatest individual player in NBA history. But if such is the case, an argument could be made that he is also the greatest Laker of them all. Have a look at his production in a Lakers jersey (ranks in franchise history in parentheses):

• 24,176 points (3^rd)
• 1,093 games played (2^nd)
• 37,492 minutes played (2^nd)
• 9,935 made field goals (1^st)
• 17,520 field goal attempts (4^th)
• 56.7 percent field goal percentage (4^th)
• 4,305 made free throws (5^th)
• 5,842 free throws attempted (5^th)
• 2,494 offensive rebounds (1^st)
• 7,785 defensive rebounds (1^st)
• 10,279 total rebounds (2^nd)
• 3,652 assists (6^th)
• 983 steals (6^th)
• 2,694 blocks (1^st)
• 22.1 points per game (6^th)
• 2.5 blocks per game (3^rd)

In addition, the former Bruin captured three MVP awards, one Finals MVP, was selected to participate in 13 All-Star Games and was voted to the All-NBA 1^st team six times as a Laker (yes, those are only Lakers accolades). His production as well as his play with the purple and gold make him a prime candidate for consideration as the best Laker of all time.

Granted, by the time Kobe Bryant’s career ends; one would have to think that he will be beyond the shadow of a doubt the franchise’s greatest player. Mind you as of today, there is still a little bit of wiggle room for debate.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career in the NBA was impressive in its own right and should by itself place him on pedestal. But if we factor in his collegiate career, it would be awfully tough to come up with a player who has enjoyed more individual and team success than the former UCLA center

During his time in UCLA, the Bruins won three straight national championships and Kareem was selected in each of those seasons as the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

In essence, other than Bill Russell, there may not be another player with a more decorated or storied career than the individual formerly known as Lew Alcindor.

Six NBA championship rings coupled with six MVP awards is usually enough to have one’s name center around just about every debate that revolves around talks about the absolute best; but Abdul-Jabbar is far too often forgotten when these talks arise…

No wonder he complained about not having a statue.

The end result is that superstars often get the lion’s share of the credit when they win but they also get most of the blame directed towards them when they lose. Is it fair? Hardly. But those are the expectations that come along with being The Man and being paid like it.

But what often gets lost in the process is how underrated some superstars are.

Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest player the game has ever seen, and yet his performance in the 1991 NBA Finals is rarely mentioned amongst the greatest in the league’s history. For a variety of reasons, it seems almost forgotten but it was still impressive nonetheless.

In the same breath, the 1991 NBA Finals pitted Michael Jordan versus Magic Johnson; a match up that would eventually be viewed as a passing of the torch.

Jordan was a superstar that had captured the world’s attention with his impressive scoring ability as well as his surreal athletic gifts. He had not yet been to the mountaintop, and was hoping to finally be crowned as a champion at the expense of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Magic Johnson on the other hand was 31 years old, a five-time NBA champion and the proud owner of three MVP awards. Gone were the trademark goatee as well as some of his speed and quickness; but he was still Magic.

The Chicago Bulls won the 1991 NBA title in five games against the Los Angeles Lakers, but Magic Johnson played that series much like he did his entire career: as the greatest point guard the game has ever seen.

The Bulls were younger, faster, more athletic and quicker to the ball; but the one thing they failed to do was shut down Magic.

During the 1991 Finals, Chicago had Scottie Pippen hound Magic Johnson in the backcourt while he brought the ball up and also had Michael Jordan alternate and do the same in order to get the Lakers point guard to exert a lot of energy. In addition, they sent Horace Grant to double-team him before he crossed half court with the hope that the added pressure would disrupt the Lakers’ rhythm. And just for good measure, the Bulls alternated their half court defense against Magic, hoping to keep him guessing.

Phil Jackson had his team trap the Lakers’ superstar in the pick and roll on occasion, other times they would just make a hard hedge to disrupt his timing or they would simply go underneath screens and dare Magic to beat them from deep. Also, the Bulls were smart enough to defend the 6’9 point guard with only one defender when he went down to the low block; in an effort to force Johnson to score instead of allowing him to get his teammates involved.

The Bulls won the series thanks in large part to their crisp offensive execution as well as their smothering defense; but not because they shut down Johnson.

Magic was his usual self against Chicago (albeit the Bulls made him work hard for everything); rebounding the ball, getting out in transition, scoring, dishing and throwing out high fives to his teammates. He directed traffic beautifully and set up the likes of Terry Teagle, A.C. Green, Vlade Divac, James Worthy and Sam Perkins for easy scores. Showtime may have looked a little different during the 1980s, but this team with Magic was definitely a carbon copy of the Showtime Lakers, and Johnson was the one responsible for that.

Although Magic’s performance in the 1991 Finals was not the best of his career (his play in the 1987 and also the 1988 Finals have to be up there in the top performances ever in the title round), had any other point guard played as well as he had in that series; many would have been raced to say that it had been one of the best performances by a player on a Finals losing team. But because we had seen Magic do it before, it barely generated any publicity.

Furthermore, less than five months later, the Lakers superstar would announce his retirement from basketball because he was HIV positive, and just like that his basketball talent stopped being a topic of conversation.

Many will remember and even look up the footage of the three-time league MVP’s play during the 1980s, but it’s worth noting that he was still at the top of his game when he retired in November 1991.

Magic Johnson won championships in high school, college, the NBA and also captured a gold medal during the Olympics. In other words, he is a proven winner.

In his 13 NBA seasons, Johnson’s teams made it to the Finals nine times; and in his last Finals appearance (against the Bulls), he averaged 18.6 points, 12.4 assists, 8.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game on 43.1 percent field goal shooting (he also had two triple doubles in the series).

The Los Angeles Lakers did not win the title during the 1990-91 season, but Magic Johnson certainly was not the reason. He played like a Hall of Fame type player and yet was completely underrated while doing so.

That Lakers postseason run may have been forgotten by many, but at least the player is and will continue to be remembered.

He didn’t play much for the Lakers. In fact, he only played a total of 86 games (started 14 of those) that spanned two seasons. But Antonio Harvey was an exciting player in the lean years of the Lakers as they transitioned from Showtime to the Shaq years. He went to Pfeiffer University from North Carolina but went undrafted in the 1993 NBA Draft. He then signed as a free agent with the Lakers before the 1993-94 season started.

Harvey didn’t get much playing time in his stint with the Lakers (not even 10 minutes per game) but he made the most out of it. He had incredible leaping ability and was an easy fan favorite with his hustle and spectacular dunks and blocks (0.7 in his stay but with his playing time, that’s impressive… he blocked 2.8 shots per 36 minutes in his first season and 2.6 per 36 in his second). He definitely won me over but he didn’t have much of an offensive game other than his air show and putbacks.

His Laker highlight was definitely his participation in the 1995 Slam Dunk Contest. He looked poised to go to the Finals as he hyped up the crowd before his last dunk. What happened after looked comical; he lost himself in the air attempting a 360 dunk and ended up throwing the ball on the backboard, completely missing the rim. I will never forget the reactions the All-Stars had after that miss (including future Laker, Shaquille O’Neal).

It was hard to get Harvey playing time with Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell, and Sam Bowie already on the roster… and he barely got on the court during the surprising 1994-95 Laker playoff run. He became expendable for the expansion draft for the following season and the then-Vancouver Grizzlies snatched him up. He enjoyed his best statistical stint in Vancouver where he averaged 5.4 points and 5.2 boards in 18 games. The Grizzlies waived him halfway through the season and he went back to L.A. for a stay with the Clippers. He would play for the Sonics, Blazers, and the Hawks in little clumps of the season and in between those, he played in Europe. He ended his NBA career after the 2002-03 season. At the very least, I’ll remember Harvey as a nice high-flying act and I was glad to see him suit up for the Lakers for a couple of seasons.

Antonio Harvey is now the radio analyst for the Portland TrailBlazers, where he played for two seasons. Glad to see him still be involved with the NBA after he was done playing.

-R.R. Magellan

And while his playing career was cut short, no one can take away the memories. I’ll never forget how watching him play made me feel; how much pure joy it brought me. So on a day that will be always be remembered for Magic walking away, I remember him how I always will: as the dominant player he was. Here’s to 20 more years.

Consider this fictional scenario: it’s the spring 1997 and the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz are tied at two games apiece in the NBA Finals. Going into Game 5 in Utah, Michael Jordan is clearly under the weather but finds the required energy and strength to give us one of the best performances ever in what will be known around the world as simply the Flu Game.

Because Jordan exerted most of his energy in Game 5, he is unable to suit up in Game 6 for the Bulls. As a result, Chicago starts Scottie Pippen at shooting guard and Toni Kukoc at small forward. Pippen plays one of the most masterful games of his illustrious career, scoring 27 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, dishing out seven assists and getting four steals. In addition, his help defense on Karl Malone forces the Mailman to shoot 10-for-32 from the field as the Bulls win the title at home by five points.

The Bulls start celebrating, the fans are euphoric and Jerry Krause is already entertaining interviews and telling people that organizations and not players win championships.

Michael Jordan is not at the United Center, he instead remained home to rest in the event of a potential Game 7 but catches the trophy presentation on television.

David Stern presents the Larry O’Brien trophy to Jerry Reinsdorf and then makes this next statement:

“I would like to congratulate the Utah Jazz for a great Finals performance. Chicago outlasted Utah in a tough six-game series and tonight one star played shooting guard, point guard, power forward and even a little bit of center to help the Chicago Bulls clinch the title. The NBA Finals MVP goes to Scottie Pippen”.

The scenario seems ludicrous right? By the way, had this happened, I’m convinced Jordan would have played until 2003 with the Bulls just to win a few more Finals MVP trophies.

Pippen’s performance in Game 6 would have been nothing short of spectacular, but awarding him the Bill Russell trophy would have made little sense. He would have carried the team to a title for one game while Jordan would have done most of the heavy lifting during the whole regular season, playoffs and five of the six Finals games. Logic would dictate that he be awarded the trophy and most would agree.

And yet, a similar situation manifested itself in the 1980 NBA Finals and the voters got it wrong. Indeed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was arguably the most dominant player during he 1979-80 NBA season, boasting averages of 24.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.4 blocks per game on 60.4 percent field goal shooting during the regular season and averages of 31.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.9 blocks per game on 57.2 percent field goal shooting during the playoffs. There is no other way to say this: Kareem was the man.

In the 1980 NBA Finals, Abdul-Jabbar was a force to be reckoned with during the series despite badly spraining his ankle in Game 5. As bad as the injury was, the superstar center finished the game and carried the Lakers to a victory and a 3-2 series lead against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Unfortunately for Los Angeles, the six-time league MVP would be unable to play in Game 6 and would not even make the trip to Philadelphia. And with their main scoring option missing, the Lakers improvised and started Magic Johnson at center and he went on to have the game of his life (as a rookie no less): 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Needles to say, the young point guard did it all.

Brent Musberger of CBS said at the time:

“He has played center, forward, and guard in this game. He’ll pack the uniforms afterward.”

As a result, Magic Johnson was crowned the NBA Finals MVP.

Magic’s play was definitely worthy of the award given his performance in the deciding game, but should Abdul-Jabbar’s huge contributions during the 1980 playoffs and the Finals have been completely disregarded in favor of the rookie’s play? Highly doubtful.

Numbers do not always tell the whole story but in the case of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, they paint a picture of dominance during the 1980 championship series. The player formerly known as Lew Alcindor averaged an impressive 33.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 4.6 blocks per game on 54.9 percent field goal shooting in the Finals.

To put those figures in perspective, they should be in the pantheon of great big man performances in the title round with the 1995 Finals performance of Hakeem Olajuwon as well as the 2000 Finals of Shaquille O’Neal. Have a look below:

Despite Kareem’s terrific output, he was forced to watch Magic accept his award at the conclusion of Game 6. To be fair, Johnson had a monster series in his own right, averaging 21. Points, 11.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.7 steals per game on 57.3 percent field goal shooting; but Abdul-Jabbar made everything happen for the Los Angeles Lakers on both offense and defense. He was the team’s main scoring option as well as its defensive anchor and thus made the game easier for his teammates in a way that very few in the history of the league have ever done.

Ultimately though, the one thing that mattered to both players was winning.

The rookie guard must have been ecstatic to lead his team to a Game 6 victory over the 76ers for the title, while the Lakers star center was probably proud to see his teammates win the championship despite his absence; however, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will always have a Finals MVP trophy missing from his trophy case.

But we all know…

After the 1992-93 season, I knew the Lakers were going to transition (I didn’t know that word at the time… I just thought they were going to be “bad next year”) into rebuilding (yes, a rare term in the Laker world). They had just lost a heartbreaking first round to the eventual Western Conference champs, the Phoenix Suns. I had just finished junior high when the 1993 NBA Draft came about. I didn’t watch the draft when it came on TV but I was excited when I heard that the Lakers got one of the main cogs from the then-NCAA champion North Carolina Tar Heels, George Lynch. I was also excited about the Lakers getting Nick Van Exel in the second round (my friend could not stop raving about Van Exel during his Cincinnati days) but since Lynch was the higher pick, I was excited about what he could do.

Back in the early 90s, we didn’t have as much access to scouting reports and the like as we do now in this age of information that we live in. But then, I knew nothing about basketball then… and I probably still don’t now. I waited for Lynch to have some kind of breakout game during his rookie season but he never really did. Lynch was shuffed in and out of the starting line-up for the Lakers as they stumbled through a 33-49 record (which included a 10-game losing streak at the end of the season when they were coached by one Magic Johnson). Lynch didn’t have a bad rookie season (9.6 points and 5.8 boards a game while shooting 50.8 percent from the field, which turned out to be his career high) and, for all accounts, was actually a really good season for a #12 pick. But my incompetent self didn’t know any better; I thought he would do more than this.

Then I came to accept him for what he was: George Lynch wasn’t particularly great at anything (I knew I should’ve looked at some sort of scouting report when I was 14!). I especially winced when he took a perimeter shot. But he was a decent rebounder, a very good defender, and hustled his ass off. I appreciated the hard work he did on the court. It was just too bad that his playing time started to decrease. Cedric Ceballos went to the Lakers in a trade before Lynch’s sophomore year in the NBA. Then Magic Johnson attempted to come back late into Lynch’s third year. Still, Lynch (who was shuffled in and out of the line-up in the 1994-95 season) managed to put in 6.1 points and 3.3 boards in his second season and he made big plays in the Lakers’ surprising playoff run. But those numbers lowered to 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in his third year as his playing time was practically cut in half from his rookie season.

It turned out that his biggest contribution to the Lakers would happen in the offseason that followed. Lynch was traded to the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies (along with Anthony Peeler) to make salary room for the Lakers. The Lakers then signed some big, hulking center. I forgot who that center was but remind me his name when you guys get the chance to. Still, I missed Lynch’s contributions despite his limitations as he did all the dirty work for the Lakers in the years he was there, especially on the defensive end.

George Lynch went on to have a decent 12-year career as a role player. His best scoring and rebounding season came as a Philadelphia 76er during the 1999-2000 campaign when he averaged 9.6 points and 7.8 boards per contest. He would be a starter in the 2001 Philly squad that made the NBA Finals, where they lost to, ironically, the Lakers. His last stop in the NBA was in New Orleans, where he played from 2002 through 2005.

As of late, he’s been working with the athletic department at UC Irvine in Irvine, CA. He has mentioned about getting into coaching. Lynch had mentioned how difficult it was to break in but I think he’ll be just fine. George Lynch did his job as an NBA player despite his limitations and I’m sure he’ll do the job, too, when he does break into the coaching ranks.

-R.R. Magellan

Thus, the idea that a squad could repeat the feat from the previous season almost became laughable. The league had too many stars and too many great teams for one particular franchise to flex its muscles and conquer all would be challengers two years in a row.

Many felt that the 1985-86 Boston Celtics would have an opportunity to not only defend their title but also win the Larry O’Brien trophy in 1987; however with Bill Walton getting injured and an already strong Los Angeles Lakers team adding Mychal Thompson to their roster, those dreams vanished when Magic Johnson led his Lakers to the mountaintop in 1987 by defeating these same Celtics.

And then, the unthinkable happened a few days later at the championship parade when Pat Riley uttered these famous words:

“There aren’t anymore people in this world that deserve a world championship again more than the people in Inglewood here. And I’m guaranteeing everybody here, next year, we’re gonna win it again…”

Riley put the league on notice and essentially set the gauntlet for his team.

Who did this guy think he was? Did he just think the rest of the league would bow down, roll out the red carpet and escort the Lakers to the title in June 1988?

For better or worse, Riley agitated the world with his comments but he also challenged his team to be part of history. It would be up to them to oblige.

With the bulls-eye on their back, the Los Angeles Lakers started off the season with a 26-6 record, highlighted by a thriller at the Boston Garden where Magic Johnson banked in a long distance runner at the buzzer to give his team the win.

The Lakers looked to be on their way to dominating the regular season when a key injury struck in Chicago: Magic pulled his groin muscle.

Johnson would miss 10 games and the Lakers would lose six of those contests. Magic eventually recovered and came back but the team still needed to get back in sync. Nonetheless, he would help the Lakers finish with the best overall record in the league at 62-20.

Los Angeles would open up the playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs and sweep them. The second round would pit them against a scrappy Utah Jazz team that forced them to go seven games. Ultimately, the Lakers experience and the home court would prove decisive in the seventh game as they would go on to win 109-98.

In the Western Conference Finals, Los Angeles would have to face a good Dallas Mavericks team that matched up perfectly against them. Derek Harper and Rolando Blackman would prove to be a difficult backcourt to handle while Mark Aguirre was a tough physical scoring forward that gave their frontcourt fits. Dallas would put some pressure on the Lakers but ultimately they would falter against a superior opponent in seven games.

The Lakers outlasted the Mavericks and found an unfamiliar foe waiting for them in the NBA Finals in the Detroit Pistons. Most felt that the Eastern Conference champs would prove to be formidable opponents but that they would ultimately succumb to the Lakers experience and talent much like their previous opponents.

The purple and gold would get a rude awakening in Game 1 of the 1988 Finals as the Pistons would steal the home court. The Lakers would rebound to win Game 2 and then Game 3 on the road but would lose the next two games and go back home facing a 3-2 series deficit.

Game 6 proved to be quite a scare for the Lakers as Detroit dominated the hustle stats by forcing turnovers and crashing the glass. Making matters worse, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was completely ineffective throughout the game, shooting a mere 3-for-14 from the field.

Los Angeles would take a seven-point lead going into the half but Detroit would prove to be the more physical team, imposing their will on their opponent. In addition, despite badly spraining his ankle, Isiah Thomas became so hot that one expected smoke to come out of his ears during the second half as he finished the game with 43 points and eight assists (with 25 of those points coming in the third quarter).

The Lakers turned things around by becoming a little more physical defensively in the paint. They would contest shots and limit the damage done by Detroit on the offensive boards. The change allowed for Magic to get out in transition and score or feed the likes of James Worthy and Byron Scott.

Thomas’ hot shooting would help his team take a 102-99 lead with a minute left in the game, but the Lakers had something the Pistons did not: Magic. The superstar guard would finish with 22 points and 19 assists, but more importantly, he would make all the important plays down the stretch to win the game.  He got Scott a wide open jump shot to cut the deficit to one point and then ran a pick and roll with James Worthy to get the defense scattered and then the ball went to Abdul-Jabbar who managed to get fouled and converted his free throws to give the Lakers the win.

L.A. had avoided elimination and forced Game 7.

Detroit would start off the decisive game missing close range shots, a sure sign of nervousness but would eventually get into the flow of the game and once again win the hustle stats. The Lakers would toughen up once again in the second quarter and fly down the court for transition opportunities to take a 52-47 halftime lead.

The Lakers would raise the intensity in the third quarter thanks in large part to their half court trap that essentially became a zone once the Pistons crossed midcourt. Granted, zones were outlawed in the NBA at the time and thus the Lakers were not allowed to play zone; but they were able to get away with it by using a smart wrinkle: they would use their most athletic players (A.C. Green, Mychal Thompson, James Worthy, Michael Cooper and Magic Johnson or Byron Scott) to essentially trap in the corners and then rotate and recover (they would also double team Adrian Dantley at the wing or in the post). The end result was that Detroit technically had mismatches at every position, but the Los Angeles players were all tall and strong enough to hold their own against the Pistons.

The Lakers defense blocked shots, forced turnovers, rebounded the ball and got out in transition to score and take a 10-point lead by the end of the third quarter. The Pistons rallied in the fourth but would ultimately fell short as the Lakers emerged victorious thanks in large part to James Worthy’s 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.

Pat Riley would prove to be prophetic as his team would repeat as champions and become the team of the 1980s.

Many more teams would go on to win back-to-back titles after the Lakers repeated in 1988. Here is the list:

• 1988-89 and 1989-90 Detroit Pistons
• 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93 Chicago Bulls (3-peat)
• 1993-94 and 1994-95 Houston Rockets
• 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98 Chicago Bulls (3-peat)
• 1999-00, 2000-01 and 2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers (3-peat)
• 2008-09 and 2009-10 Los Angeles Lakers

Winning two titles in a row may have become a little more common in the late 1980s, but let’s not forget which team restarted the trend. Riley made a bold statement and helped the franchise become one of the league’s greatest dynasties.

By the way, not that anyone is keeping score; but the last franchise to repeat? That would be the Los Angeles Lakers. Perhaps Riley knew something we didn’t…

And in that vein, Emile Avanessian of Hardwood Hype has put together a must read piece on Byron Scott. An excerpt to wet your palette:

Though beloved in Lakerland, nationally Scott is remembered more as a role player, fortunate for the circumstance in which he found himself, than as one of the best offensive guards of the 1980s.

The 9,053 points he scored in his first seven NBA seasons (1983-84- 1989-90) qualified Scott as one of the NBA’s ten most prolific backcourt scorers during that stretch. Of that group, only four players- Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Rolando Blackman and Scott- shot better than 50% from the field. In terms of True Shooting Percentage, only the aforementioned trio, along with Dale Ellis, equaled Scott’s 56.2% mark.

Of the ten best scoring guards of the era, only Sleepy Floyd (20.7% Usage Rate) required the ball less frequently than Scott (21.6%), and only Jeff Malone (8.9% Turnover Rate) and Ellis (10.1%) turned the ball over less frequently. And while he was hardly a box score stuffer in the mold of Magic, Scott ranked in the top third of starting guards in steals (15th), defensive rebounds (14th) and total rebounds (16th).

Not the top pick in the draft like three of his fellow starters, Scott arrived in the NBA as a blue-chip prospect in his own right. A McDonald’s All-American out of Inglewood’s Morningside High in 1979, he was selected fourth overall out of Arizona State by the San Diego Clippers in the 1983 draft, and cost the Lakers (who, in fairness, also needed to clear the PG spot for Magic) an All-Star guard in Norm Nixon.

I know, I know. Scott got to play with Magic, and Magic made everyone better. This is irrefutable. Even in the context of his own team, however, Scott is omitted from the top tier of contributors. He’s remembered more as a first-class passenger than a vital cog in the engine.

Emille offers up much more to properly frame Scott’s time as a Laker and I suggest you take the time to go read the entire article. Not only does it give proper credit to a vital part to one of the great eras of Laker basketball, but it includes one of the best clips of Scott filling the lane I’ve seen.