3 lessons the Lakers docuseries can learn from ‘The Last Dance’
1. Begin the docuseries before the Los Angeles Lakers’ golden age
When the Buss family purchased the Lakers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was already in the fold and the team was on an upward trajectory. After drafting Earvin “Magic” Johnson that same year, the team found themselves raising a banner by the end of the year.
Although winning a championship in the first season of owning the team is a glaring indication of future success, it’s a failure cinematically. To truly understand the Los Angeles Lakers, the story begins long before the 1980 title.
Similar to The Bad Boys Pistons episodes of ‘The Last Dance’, The Lakers docuseries should point to the franchise’s failures before they got over the hump.
Although the team had success in the George Mikan era of the 40s and 50s, the Lakers were still located in Minneapolis at that time. After Mikan’s retirement, the Lakers drafted future Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West before moving to Los Angeles in 1960.
The team certainly improved, but the Los Angeles era couldn’t hold a candle to Mikan’s Minnesota era that produced five championships. The Lakers would appear in the NBA Finals 9 times during Jerry West’s career, but would only breakthrough once in 1972 once Wilt Chamberlain joined the team. Elgin Baylor would retire midseason and never lift a trophy in his career.
Despite being honored as the NBA’s logo, Jerry West was far from a winner. In his career, he went just 1-8 in the NBA Finals. His eight losses are still an NBA record to this day.
To make matters worse, Jerry and the Lakers lost all six times they faced the Boston Celtics. In fact, West told Graham Bellsinger that he never wears green and does not set foot in Boston to this day.
When the Lakers and Celtics both retooled in the 1980s, the matchup was far from a rivalry. In fact, the 1969 NBA Finals saw West win the first ever NBA Finals MVP. The award was essentially created to showcase his stellar play that ultimately came in a sixth and final loss to the Celtics.
Before the triumphs of Showtime and the dynaties to follow in Los Angeles, many believed the team was cursed. For it to hold any weight, the story of overcoming the Celtics must begin before Dr. Buss purchased the team.