Showtime (basketball)
Led by Magic Johnson's passing skills and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring, the team relied on fast breaks and won five NBA championships.
He insisted that the Lakers play an up-tempo style, and the team hired dancers and a live band for their home games at The Forum.
Possessing the first overall pick in the upcoming 1979 NBA draft, the Lakers narrowed their choice to either Magic Johnson or Sidney Moncrief.
Buss loved the excitement of the club's famous opening act, which included a dimming of the lights followed by a dramatic singing of their signature tune, "It's Showtime".
[4][5] Buss sought to match the excitement of college basketball games between the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins during John Wooden's era.
[6] In Buss' opinion, a theatrical atmosphere paired with the running game would excite the fans and strengthen the Lakers' home-court advantage.
[7] He wanted to create a Hollywood atmosphere that would be embraced by the Los Angeles culture even if it was hated by the rest of the country.
[12] In a typical sequence, rebounders such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kurt Rambis, and A.C. Green would quickly release an outlet pass to Johnson, who would race down the court and distribute the ball to players such as Jamaal Wilkes, James Worthy, Byron Scott, and Michael Cooper for a finishing layup or slam dunk.
[14] If the break was not there, the Lakers would settle into their half-court offense and rely on Abdul-Jabbar—the NBA's second all-time leading scorer—and his unique signature skyhook.
Dressed in sleek Italian suits with his hair slicked back with mousse, he added to the team's Hollywood image.
[30][31] By Johnson's last season,[a] he had grown more powerful and stronger than in his earlier years, but the league's third-oldest point guard was also slower and less nimble.
[50] The Lakers played their home games at The Forum, which billed itself as "the modern version of the greater Colosseum of ancient Rome".
[4][67] Cheerleaders were not common in the NBA at the time, but Buss ordered the formation of the Laker Girls, a talented and sexy team of female dancers.
"[72] NBA commissioner David Stern said Showtime showed that "an arena can become the focal point for not just basketball, but entertainment.
"[73] The Lakers did not win another championship until 2000, which began a streak of three consecutive titles led by stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
However, the team's style under coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense was not as exciting or graceful, generally grinding down opponents behind O'Neal's strength.
The Phoenix Suns with point guard Steve Nash were a running team under Mike D'Antoni, and The New York Times called them "this decade’s incarnation of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Showtime".
[80] That season, however, Magic Johnson compared the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers' crosstown rivals, to Showtime.
