MacArthur squeaked into the playoffs at 6-3, but its tough schedule paid off the Generals blew out Urbana 20-0 to open the playoffs, then won even bigger in the second round with a 33-2 defeat . The "Winning Time" finale, centered on the championship series against the Philadelphia 76ers and team superstar Julius "Dr. If you take James off and replace him with any other small forward in the game, could they get the same intangibles they get from James? All rights reserved. Sixth Man of the Year. REMINDER: This thread is only for serious and thought-provoking analysis. Many consider this victory as the birth of Showtime. In 1980, Livingston was not only a sports columnist with The Philadelphia Inquirer but a voter for the NBA Finals MVP. Thats it. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Kareem was absolutely elite in those games, averaging 32 ppg, 13 rpg, 4 apg and 5 bpg on 52% shooting, but it was Game 5 that should've sealed the Finals MVP for him. "Spencer, of course, I forgive you," Westhead recalled responding. Terrell Smith has a diverse writing background having penned material for a wide array of clients including the federal government and Bravo television personalities. Johnson would go on to win two more NBA Finals MVP awards before his professional career was over. He posted 23.8 ppg and 9.4 rpg, while leading his team to a tie for the league's best record. The LA team had a great regular season with a 60-22 record. It was a testament to James' great play. Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played the first five of the six games of the 1980 NBA Finals series, have remained friends on and off the court. The MVP race in 1999 was quite fun to watch, and it came down to a photo finish in the final weeks. This may seem like a slight to Malone,and in truthMalone had a phenomenal season in 1997, but Jordan should have won the award. "I turned all my anger toward Westhead, who I felt had snatched it from me. Hence, it is safe to say that the shows depiction of Abdul-Jabbar being the original 1980 NBA Finals MVP has some merit. Barkley, on the other hand, won only 10 fewer games than Magic with teammates like Mike Gminski, Johnny Dawkins, Ron Anderson and Derek Smith. Defensive Player of the Year. In "Winning Time,"Johnson saunters onto the Philly-bound team plane with a boom boxplaying Frankie Beverly's "That's The Golden Time Of Day." In the first season finale of Winning Time, the LA Lakers defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in the sixth game of the 1980 NBA World Championship Series and are crowned the champions. Kareem was very clearly the best player in 4 out of the 5 games he played in, and had the absolute monster numbers and heroic Game 5 performance that shouldve gotten him the Finals MVP, but he ended up being denied the award because of one game in which he wasnt there. Meanwhile, McAdoo was fairly well liked across the NBA. And a fun fact is he's completely dialed into the TLC90 Day Fiancuniverse. Johnson scored 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists, either matching or eclipsing Abdul-Jabbars contributions in any single previous match of the series. It was the decisive game, which came after the Lakers pulled ahead 3-2 in a game 5 where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar badly sprained his ankle. . After a timeout, the Sixers put the ball in the hands of Erving, who tried a spectacular, scooping finger-roll, but missed. What?! In 2002, they were only third. Becauseif it had worked, I wouldn't be seeing you. Most Improved Player. The series does not give much credit to Jamaal Wilkes, who scored 37 points in what would be the game of his life, too. Hollyoaks spoilers: REUNITED! In the most recent vintage of the pitcher vs. hitter debate, Martinez went 23-4 . Most Improved Player. (March 4), HBO's "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,", The casting magic of HBO's 'Winning Time' Lakers, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. (1980) 38 years ago today, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was injured, so the Lakers put rookie point guard Magic Johnson at center in game 6 of the NBA Finals. "Winning Time" shows a locker room-bound Johnson agreeing to take the finals MVP award instead ofAbdul-Jabbar on the strong suggestion ofDavid Stern, the league's executive vice president forlegal affairs (and future commissioner). The. After the big win, NBA executive David Stern tells Johnson that although Abdul-Jabbar was supposed to be named Sport Magazine's MVP of the NBA Finals, he should win the trophy because he's. 3. In the finals, the talismanic captain of the LA Lakers scored 167 points at an average of 33.4 points per game. After a hard-fought battle against the 76ers in Game 6, the Lakers emerge victorious. The Lakers pulled out a 108-103 victory. She performed that job while attending U.S.C. He def had a Finals MVP worthy series, but so did Magic: Kareem -- 33.5/13.5/3/4.5 on 55-80%, 58.5% TS for 5 games, Magic -- 21.5/8.5/11/2.5 on 57-88%, 63.8% TS for 6 games. But when considering the select company of repeat MVP winners, Nash stood with LeBron James, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, and the players that only won once in Shaq, David Robinson, and Hakeem Olajuwon, or never won in Isiah Thomas, Jerry West. For example, was the voting in the race for Rookie of the Year in 1980 really that lopsided in favor of Larry Bird? It may have been the best game of Magics entire career, as he scored 42 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Can he be the most valuable player if his team has more talent and experience than the team of another MVP contender? This picture, taken at our friends wedding in June, tells the story, our story.I guess really can have it all.I love you @jaymohr37 pic.twitter.com/UzkGZDZ2R8. Paul Westhead does also thank Jack McKinney in his remarks, and the players (including Norm Nixon) make sure to single out Kareems contributions. Mo Cheeks the 5th or 6th best offensive player in the series, 14.7 ppg on 57.7% FG. And Duncan, though he deserved it most of all, was hampered by the still reverberating popularity of Malone at the time. Also, and this is weird: Jeanie Buss who does run the LA Lakers now, having inherited her fathers team and legacy in 2013 is 60 and dating Jay Mohr of SNL fame. The HBO series focused on Johnson, the ascending superstar point guard, legendary center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes) and team owner Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) completed its. He averaged 22.9 ppg and 10.4 rpg. You will receive a verification email shortly. So while I acknowledge that I agree with the pick of Rose, I don't think it is as open and shut as has been reported. In a People (opens in new tab) article that Haywood penned himself, he credits an old college friend, Vern DeSilva, and another unnamed friend for kidnapping him and dragging him away from the party influences in his life at that time. Teammate of the Year. Lakers won the chip and Magic won MVP! 21.5 to 33.5 ppg is a huge gulf, but Magic also had 11 apg and was 5% more efficient by TS. Abdul-Jabbar was listed as out of Game 6, although 76ers coach Billy Cunningham was quoted as saying "I won't believe he's not playing until their plane lands and he's not on it." He led the Utah Jazz to the best record in franchise history at 64-18 and perfected his turnaround fadeaway jumpshot, which, like Jabbar's skyhook, proved to be one of the toughest shots to guard in the league. There was a problem. Another interesting observation during Game Six was Jamaal Wilkes performance, who had 37 points and 10 rebounds. "As es, Westbrook acaba de recoger las sobras de Wang Zelin. After winning the NBA Finals, it is said that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is going to be the MVP, but David Stern tells Magic Johnson that he could take the award instead since Kareem isn't there. He would return however to start the 4th quarter and was playing amazing in the clutch, scoring 11 points and blocking 2 huge shots. 4 seed considering the struggles of everyone on the team? Nonetheless, Abdul-Jabbars absence in the sixth and deciding game against the Philadelphia 76ers was crucial in determining the Finals MVP. Bath In the eight years between championships, the Lakers made the NBA Finals again in 1973 and lost to the New York Knicks in five games. Love. Darryl Dawkins led the Sixers with 26 points and Erving added 23. Magic winning the 1980 Finals. Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Also Magic was an exciting, charismatic young rookie the league was more than happy to hand a big award to. NBA History - 1980 Awards Award: We encourage users to downvote low effort comments and upvote high effort comments that bring insightful discussion. Meanwhile, he was thoroughly outplayed in the final two match ups with Tim Duncanin the regular season. T-6. Johnson scored 25 points in the Spurs' win, leading the team.This matchup will be airing on fuboTV.National Basketball Association odds courtesy of. He played 5/6 games and was clutch in them too. One of the main counterarguments to Joki winning this year's MVP would be Denver's seeding. Jerry West - Getty Images. Rookie of the Year. A new face of the league after a decade (70s) where the league nearly died, Finals weren't even being televised live iirc. Sign up for the Layup Lines newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Berry also led the league in steals at 2.85 per game and free throw percentage at (.904). Kareem Abdul Jabbar deserved 1980 Finals MVP award over Magic Johnson: Statistics give the Lakers center a massive advantage over Earvin Johnson, LeBron James was conceived when Kareem Abdul Jabbar became all time scoring leader?: Weird theory on Lakers stars birth, LeBron James legacy is off the court too: Kareem Abdul Jabbar weighs in on Lakers stars GOAT status, Kareem: 33.4 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 3.2 APG, 0.6 SPG, 4.6 BPG, and 54.9% FG, Magic: 21.5 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 8.7 APG, 2.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG, and 57.3% FG, Kareem: 33 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 blocks, 0 steals, Magic: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 0 blocks, 3 steals, Kareem: 38 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 blocks, 2 steals, Magic: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 0 blocks, 2 steals, Kareem: 33 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, 0 steals, Magic: 16 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 0 blocks, 2 steals, Kareem: 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 1 steal, Magic: 28 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 block, 3 steals, Kareem: 40 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 0 steals, Magic: 14 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, 0 blocks, 3 steals, Magic: 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 1 blocks. NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. Finally, the Sixers used their newfound size advantage in the second quarter to take a 5244 lead. Episode 10 sees the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA Finals, with team owner Jerry Buss and rookie Magic Johnson trying to win the Lakers their first. Can you put any other center in the league on the Magic and have a No. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). In reality, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played the first five of the six games of the 1980 NBA Finals series. NBA World Reacts To The Controversial MVP Selection. Generally, slumps by teams heading into the playoffs hurt MVP candidates, but it did not effect Malone's candidacy in the minds of voters. The Worst NBA Finals MVPs Ever. He had 38 in Game 2, though the Sixers stole a road win. Jerry West - 1969. Magic -- 21/5.5/13/2 on 55-33-87%, 67.6% TS. Ivan Rodriguez over Pedro Martinez, 1999. Hollyoaks spoilers: Warren Fox has dangerous plans for his son, Sebastian! Despite Kareem not playing in Game Six, he led Magic in PPG, RPG, BPG, and FG efficiency. Warren Fox demands answers from Tony! Kareem got injured in Game 5 & couldnt play in Game 6, so a rookie Magic Johnson was asked to start at center. Sports columnist Bill Livingston also went on to corroborate the same, as per Abdul-Jabbars book Kareem.. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. So Magic just got it for his amazing game 6. The pioneering player who won a Supreme Court case that overruled theNBA's rule that a player couldn't be drafted until four years after graduating high schoolwas inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famein 2015. Magic Johnson scored 42 points, including all 14 of his free-throw attempts. Cmo puede ocupar el segundo lugar en el MVP?" En la lnea . Controversy has followed the "Winning Time" success. The NBA world doesn't think voters got the MVP selection right. However, Magic was not even close in terms of defense when compared to Kareem. [2] He managed to come back in the game in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers to victory and a 32 lead in the best-of-seven series. If you put Deron Williams on the Bulls instead of Derrick Rose could they win 60-games under Thibs defensive philosophy? TGT Play! Odds Deals Podcasts US USA Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Louisiana Early on, the Sixers seemed unsure how to counter the matchup problem. He was a five-time NBA champion during his time in the league. Johnson was without Jabbar, but he still had James Worthy, A.C. Green, Byron Scott and a young Vlade Divac. The NBA's MVP award has been chosen annually by a panel of media members since the 1980-81 season. His Spurs won 58 games, the same as they'd won the previous year. He did not begrudge Johnson for the win, writing,"the outcome was never a problem between Magic and me.". I hate when people ask questions like this, post the credentials for the guy their arguing for, and don't talk about what the other guy did. To be sure, Malone had a great season. Defensive Player of the Year. The Bulls have secured the top seed in the league and Rose has become the unquestioned leader of the team. Narrative. Johnson won three MVPs from 1987 to 1990 but was unable to win all three in consecutive seasons. The struggles of everyone on the Magic and have a No rookie of the Year in 1980 Livingston! With a 60-22 record reminder: This thread is only for serious and thought-provoking analysis you. Any other center in the league in steals at 2.85 per Game the unquestioned leader of the pitcher vs. debate. Es, Westbrook acaba de recoger las sobras de Wang Zelin would n't be seeing you the... 33.5 ppg is a huge gulf, but he still had James,. 1980-81 season two more NBA Finals MVP has some merit was not only sports... 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