Los Angeles Lakers: Showtime

However, even with the addition of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers weren't able to win another championship until the arrival of Earvin "Magic" Johnson in 1979, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 championship series.(thanks to an MVP performance by the rookie Johnson, who, starting for the injured Abdul-Jabbar, had 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists to clinch the series). Under coach Pat Riley, a former Laker player, the Lakers then went on to dominate the 1980s, appearing in the finals eight times in the decade and being crowned champions five times (4 with Riley as coach after replacing Paul Westhead, under whom they won in 1980), including consecutive championships in 1987 and 1988, the first team to do so since Boston in 1969.

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