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armchairgm
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Dazzling Dunks and Basketball Bloopers
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This topic contains 1 reply, has 2 voices, and was last updated by
That second episode of The Last Dance today brought me back to the worse times of being a Lakers fan. Growing up as a kid in the 1980s loving The Showtime Lakers and having Magic Johnson as your favorite player that 1991 Finals when the Bulls got their first ring sucked. I hated Jordan and that stupid drive down the lane where he hung in the air and went from his right hand to his left hand and finished at the rim that they always showed on replays.
Not only did it start the Bulls dynasty, but it officially ended The Showtime Lakers, Kareem was gone already and Pat Riley left the year before so it was slowly ending already, but that next Fall Magic Johnson announces he had HIV, which at the time was a death sentence. Next title doesn’t come until 2000.
Yea, as a Lakers fan those early 90’s years right after Magic retired were rough. The team was boring, and lacked star power and an identity. The last remaining vets from the Showtime era were aging. There was always rumors that Magic was going to come back and save the day but it never seemed to happen. However, the one thing I can say is that the bottom never really completely fell out and they at least stayed respectable and competitive while they rebuilt. Jerry West was probably the best GM in the league at the time and was the saving grace for the franchise. He drafted incredibly well in the late 80s and early 90s. Guys like Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell, and Nick Van Exel were all incredible finds with late first and second round picks. Sedale Threatt was a godsend in a much bigger role than anyone could have ever anticipated he would play. The team still made the playoffs in both 92 and 93 (they nearly upset the Suns in the first round in 1993). They only missed the playoffs once in the 90s (1994). Things could have been a lot worse.
The worst time to be a Lakers fan imo was the years after Kobe tore his achilles, and Dwight Howard spurned them in free agency. That was basically just a dead period for the franchise. The team was absolutely awful and there was really no hope. Terrible coaching and front office. Couldn’t sign any impact free agents and badly overpaid for the ones they did sign. Combined record of 91-237 between 2013-17. Missed the playoffs six years in a row (2013-19). Yea, that was rock bottom for me.
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