Best Los Angeles Lakers teams all-time: 4. 1984-85
Starters: Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis.
Bench: Bob McAdoo, Byron Scott, Mike McGee, Larry Spriggs, Mitch Kupchak, Ronnie Lester, Chuck Nevitt
Speaking of the Showtime era, the 1984-85 squad truly marked the start of that era in Los Angeles because the emergence of former number one pick James Worthy as a star in the league filling the lane on the fast break running alongside Magic. His arrival created a big three with Worthy, Kareem, and Magic, and his style of play fit in perfectly with the run and gun point guard.
Not only did they have Worthy filling the lane, but this was also the second season of high flying point guard Byron Scott’s career, and he made Showtime that much more fun to watch as well.
The 1984-85 team was perhaps the most important team in Lakers history because it was the first team to defeat the bitter rival Boston Celtics in a Finals series. They won the championship on the Boston Garden floor in front of their fans that year and it was never a sweeter feeling for the Lakers franchise.
With three Hall of Famers in the starting lineup and one coming off the bench, this is yet another Lakers team with four total members on the roster. With that legendary star power and the brand of Showtime forever attached to this team it was easy to rank them in the top four Lakers teams of all-time and they could arguably be higher on the list.
Notable accomplishments that this team had other than defeating the Celtics in the Finals was winning 62 games on their way to the number one seed in the conference, had the best offensive rating in the league, and only lost four playoff games on the way to the title.