5 best opening night moments in Los Angeles Lakers’ history

Best Lakers opening night moment No.1: Magic’s first game as a Laker

One of the most memorable games in Lakers’ history was when their newly drafted number one pick Magic Johnson made his debut for them. When he arrived in Los Angeles with a big smile and superstar charisma, it brought a buzz to the team that was not there before, despite having the league MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

This game ended up perfectly personifying the on-court relationship between those two stars. They both had great performances with Magic putting in 26 points, 4 assists, and 8 rebounds proving he belonged in his first-ever NBA game, and Kareem dominating as usual with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists of his own.

However, it was the last play of the game that would stick out and live on in the memories of Lakers lore. In the final seconds of the game Magic inbounded the ball to Kareem who drained his patented sky hook for the win and Magic jumped into his arms like they had just won the NBA championship.

After the game, Kareem told Magic to remember that they had 81 more games to play, and he should not be so excited after one victory. Magic replied by saying if you hit 81 more game winners, I will jump into your arms 81 more times.