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Showtime Lakers have epic reunion in Hawaii, practice together for first time in decades

Published by

Peter Dewey

September 16, 2022 7:02 am

One of the greatest eras in Los Angeles Lakers history came from the 1979-80 season through the 1990-91 season, when the Showtime Lakers dominated the league.

Over that stretch, the Lakers made the NBA Finals nine times and won five titles.

The Showtime Lakers were led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who are two of the greatest players in NBA history. Recently, Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson shared that the team had a reunion in Hawaii and played some basketball in the process.

Abdul-Jabbar posted on Twitter that it is a memory he will “always cherish” to have the Showtime Lakers back together again.

Abdul-Jabbar spent 14 seasons with the Lakers and is one of the most storied players in franchise history. He finished his NBA career with six titles and scored the most points in NBA history.

It’s likely that current Lakers star LeBron James will pass Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record, which will add yet another amazing achievement to the Lakers franchise.

For Lakers fans, it’s pretty amazing to see these legends back together again after they brought so much joy to so many fans during their five championship runs.

The Showtime Lakers featured a ton of talented players outside of Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar. Players like James Worthy, Mychal Thompson, A.C. Green, Kurt Rambis, Michael Cooper, Byron Scott and several others were all important to the era, though the lengths of the players’ stints with the Showtime Lakers varied.

As dominant as the Showtime Lakers were, they thrived on the star power of Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar, and it’s great to see the two players reunite with their old teammates.

Johnson played for the Lakers from the 1979-80 season through the 1990-91 season before he was diagnosed with HIV. He walked away from the league prior to the 1991-92 season.

After sitting out four seasons, Johnson returned during the 1995-96 campaign, playing in 32 games. He officially walked away from NBA basketball following that season.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.