1977 Los Angeles Lakers: A Return To The League’s Elite

The Los Angeles Lakers came into 1977 looking to get the ship turned around. A franchise that had won the title in 1972 and made the Finals nine times since relocating to Los Angeles in 1961, had fallen short of the playoffs two straight years following the retirement of the great Jerry West. Changes were made and they started with a familiar face. West began his post-playing career by taking over the head coaching duties. And the Lakers returned to serious title contention in ’77.

THE BIG FELLA AT HIS PEAK

Rebuilding is a lot easier when you have Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to build around. The great center, still 29-years-old and very much in his prime, had a vintage season. Kareem averaged 26 points/13 rebounds/3 blocks per game and won the fourth of what would be five MVP awards in his Hall of Fame career.

Lucius Allen ran point, scoring 15ppg and dishing out five assists a night. Cazzie Russell was good for 16 points/4 rebounds per game. Allen and Russell were the core support for Kareem, while Kermit Washington chipped in rebounding help and low post presence while Don Chaney was a tough defender in the backcourt.

FINDING THEIR FOOTING

The Lakers got off to a middling 8-8 start. On Black Friday, Portland came to town. The Trail Blazers, anchored by Bill Walton at center, would be L.A.’s prime challenger in the Pacific Division. Kareem and Walton put on a great battle. Jabbar posted a 32/14 line. Walton answered with 26/21. But Kareem had a little bit more help and Los Angeles won a terrific 99-96 game that kickstarted a four-game winning streak.

In December, the Lakers blew out the contending Denver Nuggets 112-83 at home. When Los Angeles made their return trip to Portland, Kareem and Walton went at it again. Jabbar was good for 35 points/16 rebounds, while Walton had a 28/26 line. Once again, the Lakers had just a little bit more from the supporting cast. They pulled out a 115-111 overtime win.

Los Angeles was showing they could beat the best teams in the Western Conference. What they weren’t doing as well was playing consistently against lesser competition. They were still 21-13 when the New Year arrived, but also 1 ½ games back of Portland in the Pacific Division.

This was an era when each conference was split into two divisions and only six teams per conference made the playoffs—meaning you needed to win the division to get a bye into the conference semifinals. The race was on between the Lakers and Blazers for that bye, with the Nuggets over in the Midwest Division joining the fight for the top seed in the West overall.

THE BATTLE FOR THE WEST

On January 2, L.A. again hosted Portland. This was the Sunday that was the off-week prior to the Super Bowl, underscoring how different the sports calendar was in 1977. Once again, the Lakers got a big win in a close game, 104-99. They lost at Philadelphia, the best team in the Eastern Conference 117-94. But that was the only downside of a strong 5-1 road trip that included solid wins at Detroit and San Antonio.

The 76ers made a return trip west later in January and the Lakers took a measure of revenge. Kareem racked up 39 points, grabbed nine rebounds and even passed for seven assists. Los Angeles pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 117-104.

When the month ended, the Lakers and Blazers were still neck-and-neck in the Pacific, and both teams were running closely with the Nuggets in the West. All three teams were getting separation on the 76ers for the top overall record in the league.

A WAR OF ATTRITION

The dog days of February combined with a road schedule that created some problems. A trip east went poorly, with losses in Boston, Philadelphia and New York. A trip to San Antonio resulted in a disastrous 32-point shellacking. A visit to Detroit ended up in a heartbreaking one-point loss.

There were also some high points. Los Angeles hosted a good Houston Rockets team who was still in the Eastern Conference and won 106-101. But the bigger positive was that Portland was also struggling. Simply splitting twelve games in February allowed the Lakers to nudge out to a two-game lead in the Pacific.

They were two back of Denver in the West and Philadelphia took advantage to close the gap for the top record overall. But it could have been much worse for L.A.

The first part of March followed a similar pattern as the Lakers went 6-5 but nudged out to a three-game lead on the Blazers and pulled even with the Nuggets.

A FINISHING PUSH

With the playoffs looming, Los Angeles found their footing again. They ripped off seven straight wins. It was the lynchpin to a finish where the Lakers put away the Pacific Division, moved past Denver in the West and held off Philadelphia. Los Angeles’ final record was 53-29 and they had homecourt advantage throughout the postseason.

SURVIVING GOLDEN STATE

Golden State was the opponent in the Western Conference semifinals. The Warriors were just two years removed from winning the NBA championship in 1975. They were led by an explosive backcourt of Rick Barry and Phil Smith, who combined for 41 points/9 rebounds/10 assists per game. Jamaal Wilkes would one day be a Laker hero. But in 1977, at age 23, “Silk Wilkes”  was dropping an 18/8/3 line for the Warriors.

After a 46-36 regular season, Golden State beat Detroit in what was then a best-of-three “mini-series’ in the first round and came to Los Angeles to begin the best-of-seven battle.

Kareem was ready. The Big Fella went for 27 points/16 rebounds in Game 1. The Lakers outshot the Warriors 54% to 48% from the floor. It was enough to overcome a 40-point night from Barry and take the opener 115-106.

Both defenses were a little sharper in Game 2, but the basic pattern held. L.A. shot 46 percent, Golden State shot 42 percent. Kareem went off for a 40/19 line. He got 21 points from Russell in support and the Lakers held serve on their homecourt with a 95-86 win.

When Los Angeles took a 29-17 lead after the first quarter of Game 3, it looked like they might put a fast stranglehold on this series. But the worm turned. Even though Kareem, Russell and reserve Earl Tatum combined for 79 points, Barry answered with 40, the Lakers turned it over 19 times and they lost 109-105.

Then Kareem was the only one who showed up for Game 4. Even his 41 points/18 rebounds weren’t enough to stop a 114-103 loss that was blown open after three quarters.

We had a series on our hands as the two teams returned to Los Angeles for Game 5. The Lakers were outshot 51 percent to 45 percent. But they made up for it on the boards and at the foul line. Los Angeles outrebounded Golden State 53-46 and the free throw scoring margin was 28-15. All of it was led by Kareem delivering 45 points and 18 rebounds. The Lakers won 112-105.

Jabbar kept churning in Game 6, racking up a 43/20 line, but L.A. was sloppy with the basketball, turned it over too frequently and lost 115-106. This special comeback season was now hinging on a Game 7 at The Forum.

The Lakers fell behind by eleven points after the first quarter, and everything was teetering. They turned around in the second quarter, nudged out to a two-point lead by halftime and still led by three going into the final period. The difference was the play of the two stars. Kareem kept delivering, with a 36 points/26 rebounds. Barry struggled, shooting 7-for-20. Los Angeles controlled the fourth quarter and won 97-84 to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

A BITTER ENDING

Portland had knocked off the Chicago Bulls in the mini-series and then pulled a modest upset of Denver in a six-game conference semifinal. A final battle between Kareem and Walton was on tap. The Blazers got additional help from Maurice Lucas and Lionel Hollins, giving them a potent front line.

Several aspects of this series went as expected. Kareem had to mostly carry the load, and he averaged a 30/16 line. The games were competitive. What was not expected was that Los Angeles would completely lose their ability to finish games down the stretch. Portland not only won the series, they swept the Lakers out of the playoffs in four straight games. The Blazers went on to win the NBA title.

It was a bitter ending to what had been a comeback season in Los Angeles. It also foreshadowed some modest decline. While the Lakers continued to be a playoff team for the next two years, their record slipped each year.

Kareem had proven he could still lift Los Angeles into contention, but help was needed. Big changes were coming. West moved upstairs to the front office and became one of the great executives of all-time. The Lakers drafted a dynamic point guard out of Michigan State named Magic Johnson prior to the 1980 season and ushered in the Showtime era.