1980 NBA Championship
The 1980 NBA Championship Series was the culmination of the 1979-80 National Basketball Assocation season.
Kareem Unstoppable
Although many remember the remarkable play of Magic Johnson in game 6, it was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who was the league's Most Valuable Player and an almost unstoppable force in the first 5 games of the 1980 NBA finals. But in a Game 5 victory, Jabbar suffered a severely sprained ankle. Team doctors made it clear that Jabbar could not play in game 6. So even though the Lakers were now leading the best-of-seven series three-games-to-two, they still had to travel to Philadelphia for a huge Game 6, without their veteran center and league MVP.
Magic Johnson Steps Up
That's when Magic Johnson got a chance to show his "magic."
Johnson pleaded with Laker's first-year coach Paul Westhead to put him into the post as the team's center. That would seem an unlikely choice for the team's point guard. But at 6'9", Westhead figured he could do worse and gave in to the rookie's request. It proved to be one of the most brilliant moves ever made and Johnson ended up playing one of the greatest games of his storied career, leading the Lakers to a road victory and the 1980 NBA Championship title.
The Final Game
The final game (Game 6) of the series was played on May 16 , 1980 (just 2 days before Mt. St. Helen's erupted). Magic started the game at center and wound up playing every position on the floor in a dominating performance. Johnson scored a game-high 42 points and snatched a game-high 15 rebounds. He also added 7 assists and 3 steals in leading the Lakers to the 1980 NBA crown. His performance stunned the Philadelphia fans, along with their star, Julius "Dr. J" Erving. The international television audience who watched the game suddenly found a new icon in "Magic."
Magic Named Finals MVP
Magic Johnson was named the 1980 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, primarily for his play in game 6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar expressed disappointment that he (Kareem) had not received the Finals MVP award for his dominating play in the first 5 games.
The thing that made the performance of Magic Johnson in the 1980 NBA game six Finals was the fact that he was a 20-year-old rookie. In 1980 it was not common for players to leave college so early.
Other Notable Stars
Although the Lakers won the championship and Magic Johnson stole the show in game 6, there were other stories in this series. As already noted, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a stellar performance in the finals, capping off a dominating year as the league MVP. In addition, Julius Erving wowed the viewing audience with some of his ABA flair that earned hom the nickname "Dr. J." In game 4 of the 1980 NBA Finals, Dr. J performed his legendary baseline move -- an incredible, behind-the-backboard reverse layup that seemed to defy gravity. Play-by-play announcer Bob Costas noted that Erving had made such moves almost routinely in his ABA days, but the ABA had no national TV contract in those days. This baseline move, seen for the first time by millions in the game 4 of the 1980 NBA finals, is easily remebered as Dr. J's most famous basketball move.
On a side note: The 1979-1980 76ers were the first of the four Philadelphia professional sports teams to play for their respective league's championships in a span of nine months.
- The Philadelphia Flyers succumbed in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals to the New York Islanders eight days after the 76ers fell to the Lakers in their Game 6,
- the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies won their first (and so far, only) MLB championship in the 1980 World Series in October over the Kansas City Royals , and
- the Philadelphia Eagles lost Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders in January 1981.
