Kareem 40 pts vs. Sixers (Game 5, 1980 NBA finals)

Kareem had 40 pts, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. This is also the game where Kareem injured his ankle leaving the stage open for Magic in Game 6. The injury occurs at 3:40. Kareem comes back at the start of the fourth period and hits heroic shots to win the game. Magic's performance might be the most memorable thing to come out of this series but equally, if nor more, impressive was Kareem's dominance in the first five games. If not for those clutch shots, the Lakers probably wouldn't have the 3-2 series lead which provided them the opportunity to knockout the Sixers in game 6.

Also included a couple of smooth Dr. J and Dawkins plays here.

Category:

Sports

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• Kareem
• Abdul-Jabbar
• 40
• points
• Magic
• Johnson
• 1980
• NBA
• finals
• game
• highlights
• Sixers
• Lakers
• greatest
• games

[AdreasTheGreat]

@iambillym1 worthy never led lakers byhimself in finals but drj did!i never said james would n'tb e great without magic,jabbar,scott(i think if would play in another team would avr 25p)but drj was byhimself while worthy had great teamates.

[iambillym1]

@iambillym1 Worthy was scoring 30 high energy CLUTCH points in finals games when it mattered. Dr J seemed sluggish in comparison, and you don't see him stepping up like BIG GAME JAMES did. I disagree that Worthy needed Magic, etc., to be great.

[AdreasTheGreat]

@iambillym1 I DO N'T AGREE MY FRIEND,WORTHY WAS REAL GREAT BUT HAD MAGIC,KAREEM(BOTH HOF),NIXON,WILKES AND THEN SCOTT(ALL STAR)!DRJ LED 76ERS IN 3NBA FINALS(77,80,82) ALMOST BY HIMSELF!HE HAD TO WIN 2TIMES CELTICS-BIRD,PARISH,MCHALE,ARC­HIBALD(HOF),MAXWELL(1982 NBA FINALS MVP)!DRJ HAD SOME GOODTEAMATES(MCGINNIS AND THEN B.JONES,CHEEKS AND DAWKINS) BUT NONE OF THEM WAS A STAR UNTIL MOSES JOIN HIM AND BOTH LED 76ERS TO BE CHAMPIONS IN 1983!

[iambillym1]

@AdreasTheGreat Great as Dr J could be,  Worthy was better.

[ShaqAttack71]

@costcordero2 Yeah, Kareem was the real MVP of the 1980 finals. Kareem was unbelievable throughout the 1980 playoffs. The media liked Magic a lot more so he got more of the credit, but Kareem was the best player on the 1980 and 1982 Laker teams, and arguably the '85 team as well.

[costcordero2]

@RUDOLPHLYRICS ... tell me about it, magic was the mvp of game 6 - kareem was the mvp of that series ... i should know, i'm a 76ers fan who witnessed this entire series!! kareem's #'s some might ask?

.549% fg, 33.4 pts, 13.6 rebs, 3.4 ast & 4.6 blks!! magic avg 5 turnovers a game during this finals & his #'s were great (.573% fg, 21.5 pts, 11.2 rebs, 8.7 ast & 2.7 stls) , but kareem's were other-worldly ... !!!!

[AdreasTheGreat]

@costcordero2 YES,I TOTALLY AGREE WITH U!HE IS MY FAVORITE TO...

[costcordero2]

@AdreasTheGreat ... ehhhh, did u read my post?

[AdreasTheGreat]

@costcordero2 DRJ  IS NOT THE GREATEST BUT HE IS TOP 10-12 PLAYERS IN NBA HISTORY!BUT HE FACED A TEAM THAT WERE 2 OF THE TOP 5 EVER!

[Fernandocatan]

These finals were wonderful! A great page of NBA's history!!