The 1980 Los Angeles Lakers were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s team. That’s obscured by the arrival of a rookie named Magic Johnson, but it was Kareem who powered the Lakers to the brink of an NBA title, enabling Johnson to finish it off with a final performance that was…well, magical. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Start reading today. Kareem […]
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird arrived for the 1980 NBA season and the league would never be the same.
This is part of a series of sports history articles aimed at preserving the best moments of the modern sports era, from 1976 to the present. The focus is team sports—college & pro basketball and football, major league baseball and hockey. This article offers a snapshot of 1980 sports, a year that dynasties end in the NHL & college football, Magic Johnson electrify the NBA as a rookie and the Philadelphia Phillies complete a memorable ride to a World Series title.