Background
The last time the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship was in 1972. In the eight years between championships, the Lakers made the NBA Finals again in 1973 and lost to the New York Knicks in five games. Then Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West retired, and the Lakers would miss the playoffs in 1975 and 1976. In between, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was acquired, and the Lakers returned to prominence in 1977, but Kareem couldn't do it alone.
The Lakers earned the top pick of the 1979 NBA Draft (traded as compensation by the New Orleans Jazz after signing Gail Goodrich in 1976) and selected Magic Johnson from Michigan State. While Magic dazzled in his rookie season, Kareem would enjoy an MVP campaign in the Lakers' 60–22 regular season. In the playoffs, the Lakers eliminated the Phoenix Suns and erstwhile defending champions Seattle SuperSonics in a pair of five-game series to advance to the NBA Finals.
The Philadelphia 76ers under Julius Erving made the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons. After losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1977 NBA Finals, the 76ers hired former player Billy Cunningham as head coach, then in 1978 traded for defensive stalwart Bobby Jones and drafted Maurice Cheeks. In 1980 the 76ers finished 59–23, then eliminated the Washington Bullets in two games, the Atlanta Hawks in five games, and in a surprise win, upset NBA ROY Larry Bird and the 61–win Boston Celtics in five games, preventing the first Celtics–Lakers final since 1969.
Read more about this topic: 1980 NBA Finals
Famous quotes containing the word background:
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