Contrary to popular opinion, the Lakers and their opponents, though agreeing that Los Angeles would be formidable, had reservations about the Super-team label and scoffed at the thought that the Lakers had anything locked up.
Tag Archives: Los Angeles Lakers
Elgin Baylor: How Serious Is His Leg Trouble? 1965
Baylor feels he’ll be back in stride again now. Although he’s never won the President’s Cup as the NBA Most Valuable Player as voted by the athletes, Baylor has always been a top contender. He could capture the coveted prize this year if he regains as much bounce as the Lakers hope and expect.
Bill Sharman: The Game I’ll Never Forget, 1972
“I don’t think there’s any way we could have won the title—or even gotten into the final round—if we had not defeated the Bucks in that second game. The last few seconds of that game were among the most unusual and dramatic I have ever seen in my many years in professional basketball.”
I Was Wrong About Jerry West, 1966
He grinned his crooked, slightly gap-toothed grin, and the grin revealed gold bridgework. He’s left teeth on the floors of basketball arenas.
Michael Cooper: Two for Coop, 1980
By the time Cooper was a senior, his game had done a 180. He couldn’t wait to get back on defense. Offense was like a coffee-shop meal; he couldn’t wait to get it over with.
A Tribute to Bob Cousy, 1962
Basketball is an endless search for the “open” man today. An orthodox pass will never find him. Cousy has practiced the no-look feed so expertly, there have been movements to frisk him for mirrors.
Bill Sharman’s Longest Season, 1975
Sharman has had a full, rich life, spiced by stardom in two sports, by team championships and individual honors. But it has not been a perfect life, an idyllic life.
Earvin Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: How the Magic Really Works, 1981
When the Lakers boarded the plane for the flight to Philadelphia, Magic sat in the front row, left aisle—the seat usually occupied by Abdul-Jabbar. Magic looked back at Westhead and said, “Guess you have a new Big Fella, Coach.”
Wilt Chamberlain: A Tribute, 1999
can’t find the box that has Chamberlain’s autograph in it. I’ve looked everywhere, but I’ll keep looking. I know it’s someplace. It really doesn’t matter that I don’t know where it is because I know I did have it once—just like we all had Wilt—and the memory is everlasting.
Bill Laimbeer’s Greatest Hits, 1988
We can argue with some of what he does, but not with the consistency with which he does it. Laimbeer has played in 646 consecutive regular-season games. He has started 522 in a row. Those are the longest active streaks in the league.
From Way Downtown 