Ranking Magic Johnson's championships in order of difficulty level
Magic Johnson is widely considered the best point guard in NBA history. In the 1980s he led the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA Championships. Johnson was the conductor of the “Showtime Lakers” offense that moved at a fast pace and featured his creative passes.
The road to winning a championship is always hard, but some are harder than others. Magic Johnson and the Lakers faced different obstacles in their path towards the title. Here are the rankings of the championships in order of difficulty:
#5 - 1982 - Magic Johnson (Lakers) vs. 76ers
The 1982 might have been the least difficult for the Magic Johnson Lakers. The team fired coach Paul Westhead earlier in the season and turned the reigns over to Pat Riley. The team finished in first place in the Western Conference with a record of 57-25.
Is it possible 1982 Lakers were da best Laker team ever? 30yr old McAdoo, prime Wilkes, prime Nixon, prime Kareem, Coop, Rambis and of course Magic but he was sharing PG duties https://t.co/HGpdo9NQhF
The team swept the Phoenix Suns in the conference semifinals and the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. That left the Philadelphia 76ers and the Lakers took the series 4-2 to win the second championship of Magic Johnson’s career.
#4 - 1980 - Lakers vs. 76ers
In the 1980 season, the Lakers finished 60-22 and rolled into the playoffs. The team defeated both the Suns and Seattle Supersonics 4-1 on their way to the finals. In his rookie year, Johnson averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game.
The team was led by league MVP, Kareem Abdul Jabbar. In game six, Kareem couldn’t play because of an ankle injury that would not allow him to fly. Rookie Magic Johnson started game six and turned in one of the greatest Finals performances of all-time, with 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists.
#3 -1987 - Lakers vs. Celtics
The Lakers made it through losing only 1 game to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Lakers face the Boston Celtics for the final time in the Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson rivalry in the NBA Finals. The Celtics won in 1984, and the Lakers won in 1985.
Magic Johnson and Pat Riley after the Lakers won in the 1987 NBA Finals https://t.co/YHgABdhtUB
Magic Johnson was the league MVP in 1987 and faced a Celtics team that had won the championship the year before in 1986. The Celtics from 1986 are considered one of the best of all-time. The team had five Hall of Famers. The Lakers overcame the Celtics in six games and Johnson won the Finals MVP.
#2 - 1985 Lakers vs. Celtics
The 1985 NBA Finals might have been one of the toughest for the Lakers dynasty. There were questions about whether it was over. The team had lost two consecutive NBA Finals to the 76ers and the Celtics. The 1984 Finals featured a Lakers collapse that led to the headline “Tragic Johnson”.
The Lakers rebounded and made it back to their third straight NBA Finals. This time, they overcame the Celtics in six games. This gave Magic Johnson a 2-1 edge over Larry Bird in their careers fighting for the NBA Championships.
1988 - Lakers vs. Pistons
The 1988 NBA Finals were the hardest for the Magic Johnson-led Lakers. The Lakers had a hard road to the finals. They played two seven-game series to get out of the Western Conference. When they got to the Finals, they had to face the Detroit Pistons.
The spirit of Zeke... as Isiah Thomas turns 60 today, we flashback to the 1988 NBA Finals when the @DetroitPistons guard put up 43 points in Game 6 despite suffering a bad ankle sprain in the 3rd quarter!
#NBAVault #NBABDAY
https://t.co/9bBDdQcXqd
The Pistons were labeled the "Bad Boys" for their physical style of play. The Pistons showed up in Los Angeles for game six, up 3 games to 2 in the series. The Pistons should have won game six behind Isiah Thomas’ 43 points, where he scored 25 in the fourth quarter on a bad ankle. The Lakers ended up winning the game on a controversial foul call.
The Lakers would go on to win the series in seven games and it would be the last of the Johnson era. They would go on to get swept by Detroit in the 1989 finals.