The “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers remain a tight-knit group after leading the franchise to great success in the 1980s.
The Lakers won five titles during the ‘80s, becoming one of the most famous NBA dynasties. The players also developed close relationships during that time, as shown by the support behind Jerry West in the feud with HBO over his portrayal in “Winning Time.”
The former Lakers stars reportedly planned a reunion in Maui, Hawaii, where they used to go for practice during their playing days. And the Showtime legends did come together earlier this week, getting to re-run some of their iconic plays during a “walk around”:
Showtime Lakers showing you how OLDtime Lakers stretch today lol!!!
@showtimereunion thanks to @MagicJohnson Coach Riley and the @Lakers pic.twitter.com/EQGiVjrFG4— Michael Cooper (@ShowtimeCooper) September 16, 2022
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 16, 2022
The Greatest EVER…and Kareem pic.twitter.com/fQjwUGB1XB
— Mychal Thompson (@champagnennuts) September 15, 2022
First time we were all together for a practice since I retired in 1989….
This is how you make a memory !! pic.twitter.com/eONXTDNHWI— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) September 16, 2022
The Showtime Lakers wore specially designed white T-shirts with a gold Larry O’Brien trophy inside a purple basketball imprinted on the front, surrounded by the group’s championship years.
In some of the videos the NBA icons shared on social media, Magic Johnson can be seen dishing out assists and cutting to the basket like in the good old times — although, understandably, at a much slower pace than the Showtime Lakers used to play.
The 75-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dusted off his skyhook and ran give-and-go plays with James Worthy. And now-Miami Heat president Pat Riley took to the center of the court as the team was a stretching, giving out directions.
“It’s like nothing’s changed,” Byron Scott wrote on Instagram. “Just like yesterday… kinda!”
Abdul-Jabbar pointed out the reunion marked the first time the Showtime Lakers got together for practice since he retired in 1989.
“We had so much fun running plays and reliving our practice days!” he tweeted.
Kyle Kuzma thinks Showtime Lakers would ‘dominate’ today’s NBA
The NBA has changed since the Showtime era, mainly due to the 3-point revolution. However, former Laker Kyle Kuzma said he thinks Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, and their teammates would ‘dominate’ the league even these days.
“I believe that the Showtime Lakers, they would f—–g dominate this era,” Kuzma said on Draymond Green’s podcast last month.
“I was watching Magic in the 80s, just highlights like earlier in the summer. People don’t realize he was fast as s—. He was fast as hell like he was getting the rebound, up the court and three dribbles and that’s the NBA now.”
