Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss - A true sports visionary
Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Pat Riley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson and Pau Gasol are few stars who fans often associate the Los Angeles Lakers with. The man behind bringing such great talented players and coaches to Hollywood, who is often forgotten, is Dr. Jerry Buss.
During his 33 years ownership, the Los Angeles Lakers won 10 championships in 16 Finals appearances, making him the most successful owner in the history of North American professional sports.
Magic Johnson, one of the greatest Lakers of all-time had this to say of Dr. Buss on ESPN:
“He was a visionary, he was a trailblazer. He did things that were, at that time, people thought wasn’t cool, wasn’t proper.”
Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss
Magic puts it very appropriately – Dr. Buss has always backed his decision making.
For example, when he took over the ownership in 1979 and the Lakers had obtained the number one draft pick, he chose to draft a player by the name Ervin “Magic” Johnson despite the then head coach Jerry West wanting to draft Sidney Moncrief out of Arkansas.
It has been such decision making which has defined Dr. Buss’ tenure as the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. More often than not it has brought success to the franchise.
Under him, the Lakers franchise primarily enjoyed success and were considered title contenders during the ‘Showtime’ era and the first decade entering the new millennium, each period contributing 5 championships to the already rich history of the Lakers franchise.
Showtime era
It all began with Dr. Buss wanting to transform the way the game of basketball was perceived by the audience. He ordered the formation of the Lakers girls to perform during the breaks and for the music to play through the PA system at the Forum.
These decisions sound quite ordinary, don’t they?
They weren’t in the 80’s. The Lakers franchise was the first to introduce a music band and a group of girls dancing during the breaks.
He stressed on the audience being entertained and wanted the Lakers to adopt a fast-paced game. He believed the audience being involved would strengthen the home court advantage of the Lakers.
In Magic Johnson, first overall pick of the 1979 draft, he found a versatile player who could run the fast paced offense Dr. Buss wished the Lakers to adopt and under Magic’s performance, coupled with the leadership of Kareem Abdul Jabbar, the Lakers won their first championship in the first season that Dr. Buss took charge.
He did not rest on winning the title; instead he made key decisions to win more. Over the next two years he named Pat Riley the head coach of the Lakers and named ‘Mr Clutch’ Jerry West as the General Manager, both proving to be extremely instrumental in the rise and domination of the Showtime dynasty.
He constantly added players with immense amount of skill and talent to the roster, to help the Lakers win as many as they can.
Drafting James Worthy as the first overall pick in 1982 was huge; he went on to be named a seven time all-star and the 1988 NBA Finals MVP.
A.C. Green was drafted by the Lakers in 1985 and played a key role in the last two titles of the ‘Showtime’. His numbers might not impress many, but he proved to be a consistent role player.
In order to assist the aging Kareem in stopping the talented Boston front court duo of Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, he acquired Mychal Thompson in the February of 1987. It paid off, Thompson played stellar defense helping the Lakers defeat the Celtics in the 1987 NBA Finals.
As these great players retired, the ‘Showtime’ era was put to rest by the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls. What followed was years of rebuilding until the next championship made its way back to Los Angeles in 2000.