The Los Angeles Lakers are arguably the NBA’s most storied franchise by virtue of their 17 world championships. They’ve been so successful over the decades that even when they haven’t won it all, they have had some impressive squads that were memorable, not to mention talented, star-studded and very competitive.
Not too many expected the Lakers to do much during the 1990-91 season. Despite an aging roster and some significant changes, they surpassed expectations and came to the brink of another NBA championship.
Buy Lakers TicketsUnfortunately, in the end, they simply didn’t have enough mojo to go all the way.
One last act for Showtime
After the 1989-90 season ended with a dispiriting second-round playoff loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers made big changes. First, they let go of head coach Pat Riley amid rumors of player mistreatment and an increasingly authoritarian style of leadership. To this day, many believe he was fired.
Replacing him was Mike Dunleavy Sr., a 36-year-old Brooklyn native who had recently ended an 11-year playing career. He had been an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks under Del Harris, and L.A. general manager Jerry West thought very highly of him.
Michael Cooper, a very important multi-faceted role player for the past dozen years, retired. With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar having called it quits in 1989 and Mychal Thompson, their main frontcourt player, showing signs of decline, the Lakers needed help.
They ended up signing Sam Perkins, a highly sought-after free agent who had been a former college teammate of James Worthy. Perkins was a 6-foot-9 power forward/center who was known for his long arms, effective interior defense and low-post scoring.
Dunleavy took an aging squad known for “Showtime” and turned it into “slowtime” by making them into a halfcourt, slowdown team that looked to win with defense. The Lakers lost five of their first seven games while getting used to this new style, but they hit their stride before long, and they even went on a 16-game winning streak at midseason.
They finished 58-24, which was a very strong record, but they weren’t the dominant team they had been in the mid-1980s. They were a very good team, but the thinking was the Portland Trail Blazers, who won a league-high 63 games, were the class of the Western Conference.
The Lakers and Blazers ended up meeting in the Western Conference finals. Portland was almost an early 1990s knock-off of the Showtime teams. The Blazers loved to fast break, but they were also a physical team, especially on the boards. Regardless, L.A. stole Game 1 in Oregon and closed the series in six games behind some magic from Earvin Johnson.
The dream Finals matchup that turned out to be a dud
In the NBA Finals, Johnson and the Lakers matched up against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. It was a matchup made in heaven, especially for NBC, which was in its first year of televising NBA games.
It was expected to be a barnburner. While the Bulls were much younger and more athletic, Los Angeles had the advantage in terms of experience and resourcefulness.
Unfortunately, from the start, L.A.’s chances were doomed. Worthy had sprained his ankle in Game 5 of the Portland series. While he continued to play, his legendary fluidity was severely compromised.
The Lakers won Game 1 by two points on a clutch 3-pointer from Perkins. Even after Chicago wiped the floor with them in Game 2, 107-86, it looked like they were in reasonably good shape with the next three games in L.A.
But the Bulls and their head coach Phil Jackson had found cracks in the Lakers’ armor. For one, the Lakers went flat whenever Johnson was resting on the bench. In addition, with Worthy seriously limited, the Bulls were able to trap Johnson and pressure him in the backcourt because L.A. lacked an outlet for that pressure in the open court.
Chicago came back from a sizable deficit to win Game 3 in overtime. From that point, it was no contest. The Lakers were flat-out anemic in Game 4, mustering just 82 points and losing by 15. With Worthy and Byron Scott out for Game 5, they made one last effort, but Jordan and crew held them off, 108-101.
Johnson was so frustrated at what transpired that prior to Game 5, he said he was considering retirement soon. But following Game 5, no one could’ve imagined he would be forced to do exactly that in a few short months.
