Los Angeles Lakers: The forgotten Hall of Famer of the Showtime era

We examine the story and achievements of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Hall of Famer no one ever talks about.

Do you remember when the Los Angeles Lakers had four Hall of Famers on their team and did not win the championship?

I remember when they had and won.

Actually, there was a time when they had even five.

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In the ’80s, the Lakers were highlighted by legends Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who prompted LA to win five championships. These stars were also three former first overall picks, two of them MVPs, and would end up in the Basketball Hall of Fame. No wonder they dominated the decade, especially on the West Coast.

But it did not come as easy as it might seem. The competition of the Boston Celtics was fearsome with four, even five Hall of Famers on the roster. And teams like the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers were equally valuable opponents.

There was never enough talent in LA to guarantee a championship, and Jerry West never failed to provide additions.

Our story begins with an unfortunate character, who, unintentionally, paved the way for the protagonist.

In the summer of 1981, after losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Houston Rockets, Magic Johnson convinced Jerry Buss that Mitch Kupchak (yes, that Mitch Kupchak) was the piece the Lakers were missing to return to the Finals.

An NBA champion with the Washington Bullets in 1978, Kupchak was indeed the right piece for LA. He started the season averaging 14.3 and 8.1 points as the starting power forward and looked like a perfect fit for the Showtime. Unfortunately, after 26 games, he blew up his knee and was forced to miss the rest of the season, as well as the whole following one.

The Lakers, in need of help at the position, went on the market and managed to trade for Bob McAdoo, a former MVP and scoring champion playing the center and power forward positions.

McAdoo was recovering from foot surgery and in the middle of a contractual dispute with the New Jersey Nets, so it was easy enough for the Los Angeles Lakers to obtain him in exchange for a future second-round pick. McAdoo’s validity was in question due to injury issues that had plagued him the last years, but the Lakers were ready to take a chance on him, given their needs.

The results were that McAdoo flourished in a new phase of his career, playing the sixth man for the Lakers. The starting spot was entrusted to rookie Kurt Rambis (yes, that Kurt Rambis) to bring toughness and dynamism to the lineup. Bob had never been a reserve in his life, and Rambis was not certainly his superior in terms of talent nor experience, but he accepted the role without creating drama.

He averaged 9.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in just 18.2 minutes of action. He was a great weapon, giving LA a much-needed scoring punch off the bench and supporting Jabbar and Rambis in the frontcourt. The experiment was immediately effective, as the Lakers won the championship that 1981-82 season with McAdoo averaging 16.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in the playoffs.

Obviously, the team retained him and he had two great seasons in ’83 and ’84, averaging 13.8 points and 4.6 rebounds. He especially had 14 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in the 1984 playoffs, which concluded with the heartbreaking loss in the Finals to the Boston Celtics.

But the Lakers won the championship again in 1985 with a 33 years old McAdoo still coming off the bench. Particularly in these two last seasons of his tenure in Los Angeles, the historic big three combined with his presence and that of Jamaal Wilkes to assemble a formidable collection of five Hall of Famers.

However, the formula was so effective that the Lakers would repeat it acquiring former first overall pick Mychal Thompson (father of Klay Thompson) in the same role a few years later.

But McAdoo’s story was not over. He had another successful season in the same sixth man role in Philadelphia. Then began the third phase of his career, moving over to Italy and becoming the greatest American player Italy remembers, winning everything that could be won, including a EuroLeague Final Four MVP, European biggest accolade.

It is curious how his number has not been retired by the Lakers, while he checks the boxes required for such an honor: Being in the Hall of Fame and winning the championship in LA.

A well deserved Hall of Fame induction for McAdoo, who started as one of the greatest of his era and was then able to reinvent himself in order to extend his career. Above all, he will be always remembered as an NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.