"This team is more talented one through 12" - When Magic said 1997 Lakers could be more exciting than Showtime Lakers
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Whether it was George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Los Angeles Lakers have always had a dominant center leading the way. However, the organization went through a lull in the early ’90s when it couldn’t acquire a formidable big man.
That all changed in the summer of 1996 when the Lakers, led by general manager Jerry West, pried Shaquille O’Neal away from the Orlando Magic. ‘Diesel’ immediately became the centerpiece of a new-look Lakers team, and fans were ecstatic to see their team finally have a dominant center again.
But it wasn’t just Shaq’s arrival that had fans buzzing. The Lakers also acquired a young and talented wingman named Kobe Bryant via a draft day trade in 1996, adding more explosiveness to a wing rotation with Eddie Jones and Cedric Ceballos.
The golden team of the 80s’
Before the Kobe-Shaq era, the Purple and Gold were best known for their “Showtime Lakers” era, which brought plenty of excitement to Los Angeles and the NBA at large.
After drafting Magic Johnson out of Michigan State in 1979, the Lakers quickly became a high-flying and fast-paced team that dazzled fans with their flashy style of play. With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar manning the middle, Johnson leading the break, and flanked by athletic wings like Byron Scott and James Worthy, they became known as one of the most entertaining teams in the league.
However, Magic believed the 1996-97 version of the Lakers boasted more talent and potential. With Shaq in the middle, high-scoring and speedy lefty Nick Van Exel manning the point guard position, Eddie and Cedric at the wings, and Elden Campbell at the four, the Lakers had a potent quintet that Magic believed could dominate the league.
“This team is more talented, one through 12. And this team has a chance to be more exciting because you’ve got more finishers on this team,” Magic said in an interview with SLAM Magazine.
A recipe for fun basketball
Shaq led the Lakers with averages of 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, while Eddie and Van Exel followed suit, scoring 17.3 and 15.2 points per outing, respectively. Also scoring in double figures were Campbell and Ceballos. The Purple and Gold got solid contributions from bench players like Robert Horry, Jerome Kersey, and Kobe, who averaged 7.6 points per game in his rookie year.
With athleticism all around and offensive options that could go toe-to-toe with the best teams of that era, Magic predicted big things for that version of the Lakers.
“They’ll be a better finishing team than we ever could be. With Kobe, Eddie, Jerome [Kersey] – who can still get out on the wing and dunk on you and Cedric,” Magic added.
As fate would have it, the Lakers reached the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs before being eliminated by the Utah Jazz in five games. It would take the rapid development of Bryant and the steady guidance of coach Phil Jackson for the Lakers to reach the NBA’s mountaintop during the 2000 season when they toppled the Indiana Pacers to win the first of three championships in the Shaq-Kobe era.