The Showtime era of the Los Angeles Lakers was one of the most exciting in sports history as they won five championships and went to the NBA Finals nine teams in a little longer than a decade span.
The Showtime Lakers remain beloved in the city, and that was the case at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the Tampa Bay Rays.
As one of their annual giveaways, the Dodgers handed out Showtime Lakers T-shirts to the first 40,000 fans in attendance. They also had Michael Cooper, A.C. Green, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, Mychal Thompson and James Worthy in attendance to throw out the first pitch.
The six Lakers legends were given a nice introduction and received a big applause from the fan in attendance before stepping on the field and firing strikes right down the middle:
Showtime #Lakers legends Michael Cooper, A.C. Green, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, Mychal Thompson and James Worthy threw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium tonight. Strikes all around!
(?: @ByBlakeWilliams, @DodgerBlue1958) pic.twitter.com/bJ4Nr8Rnrh
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) August 25, 2024
It’s cool to see members of the Showtime Lakers continue to be celebrated all these years later while attending an event in the city. All of those guys made huge contributions to Lakers championships and remain involved with the organization in some capacity to this day.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also in attendance with his former teammates but did not participate in the ceremonial first pitch.
Unfortunately, they were not able to bring good luck to the Dodgers as they saw their five-game winning streak snapped with a 9-8 loss to the Rays. Tampa Bay jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before the Dodgers came back to go ahead 7-5. They blew that advantage though and wound up falling in 10 innings.
The Lakers celebrations at Dodger Stadium will continue on Sunday afternoon with them giving out a Kobe Bryant jersey to the first 40,000 fans in attendance.
Michael Cooper wishes Kobe Bryant could be there for Lakers jersey retirement
One of the Showtime Lakers members that threw out the first pitch on Saturday night was Michael Cooper, who is in the midst of a great year.
Not only did he make the Basketball Hall of Fame, but the Lakers announced that they will be retiring his No. 21 jersey next January.
When speaking on the honor though, Cooper admitted that he wishes Kobe Bryant could be there with him when his jersey goes up into the rafters.
“Kobe would be another one that I wish could be there because it’s kind of like he’s not here, but it’s the year 2024,” Cooper said. “That’s one of his jersey numbers, 24 and 8. I just think that’s something synonymous with the Lakers that’s happening with the young man who I had the chance to, I worked this kid out and I told everybody, Jerry and them said ‘What you think, Coop?’ I said, ‘He got it.’ So Kobe would be one that I wish that was there, I forget about him.”
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