Phase 1 with the Los Angeles Lakers: Showtime
When it was clear that the city of Los Angeles was not big enough for two point guards, especially when one of them was Magic Johnson, Norm Nixon, an All-Star and the team’s leading playoff scorer in 1982, was traded to the soon-to-become city rivals, the San Diego Clippers. The Clippers sent the draft rights to Byron Scott, selected with the fourth overall pick in 1983.
As a true “shooting” guard, Scott was more of a natural fit next to Johnson. The Lakers, already a well-rounded group at the time, with two NBA championships on their resume, tested his toughness since his first scrimmage, as recollected by Magic Johnson, and he almost immediately earned the starting spot.
Scott spent the first and prime years of his career in Los Angeles with enormous success. In 10 seasons as a starter he averaged 16 points per game. In his second year, he led the league in three-point shooting and won his first championship. In the 1987-88 season he scored a career-high 21.7 points per game.
He did all of this as a third option for the Lakers, to say the least. In front of him were first-ballot Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and Magic himself. Had he played in another team, he would have probably reached greater individual achievements and earned at least some All-Star convocation.
He is a 37 percent three-point shooter for his career. In today’s game he could have built a bigger role on such a reliable shot from the arc, getting more attempts and an expanded role in any offense.
However he was also great in the open court, as any of Magic’s teammate were, and a fearful defender on the other end of the floor. After all, he was mentored by Michael Cooper.
Scott would finish in first tenure in Los Angeles with three championships as part of the legendary Showtime Lakers, in 1983 and back-to-back 1987-1988.