Lake Show Life
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The 10 greatest Los Angeles Lakers teams of all-time

By Cameron Salce

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 11: The Los Angeles Lakers celebrate with the trophy after winning the 2020 NBA Championship Final over the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 11: The Los Angeles Lakers celebrate with the trophy after winning the 2020 NBA Championship Final over the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
(Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Best Los Angeles Lakers teams all-time: 8. 1981-82

Starters: Magic Johnson, Norm Nixon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, Kurt Rambis.

Bench: Bob McAdoo, Michael Cooper, Clay Johnson, Mike McGee, Mark Landsberger, Jim Brewer, Eddie Jordan

The 1982 champion Lakers were a special team because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was at the tail-end of his prime, and Magic Johnson was at the start of his. By this point in their careers, they were both already Finals MVPs and their dynamic duo overmatched the rest of the NBA.

Kareem had already played with one of the best point guards to ever play the game in Oscar Robertson, but Magic Johnson was developing into a player the NBA had never seen before. A 6’9″ point guard that could throw passes like no other and had court vision to make it seem like he had eyes in the back of his head.

This team also included two other Hall of Famers as well with Jamaal Wilkes’ crazy jump shot draining threes from the corner and big man Bob McAdoo coming off the bench to solidify their depth.

What this team also had that the rest of the Showtime teams on the list did not include is Norm Nixon, who was also a very capable playmaking point guard who ran the show before Magic joined the team. Kurt Rambis and Michael Cooper are other recognizable role players from this championship squad that continued on to win multiple championships with the franchise.

Notable accomplishments for this team include finishing the regular season as the number one seed in the west with 57 wins. Their greatest accomplishment though is obviously winning the championship in 1982 and only losing two games in the playoffs, defeating the 76ers lead by Julius Erving in 6 games.

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