Despite winning the 1980 NBA Finals MVP Award as a rookie, Johnson naturally gave credit to his teammates. As such, when a player receives the . However, reporters change their votes at the last moment, and David Stern awards the Finals MVP to Magic Johnson. Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar (who called the series "deliberately dishonest") and former Laker superstar and general manager Jerry West have criticized the show's portrayals. [1] He did not begrudge Johnson for the win, writing,"the outcome was never a problem between Magic and me.". As for Howard, he started the season with one team and would end the season with a totally different team. Defensive Player of the Year. He began watching the sport after stumbling upon a court in his society, helping him identify an undiscovered passion for the game of hoops. "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). Magic -- 21/5.5/13/2 on 55-33-87%, 67.6% TS. Magic delivered an iconic masterpiece, probably the greatest game of his career with 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists (teammate Jamaal Wilkes shouldnt go unmentioned here too, putting up 37 points and 10 rebounds). Get the latest updates, reviews and unmissable series to watch and more! A subreddit dedicated to NBA news and discussion. Despite an off-the-court persona that was nothing short of choirboy-esque, his on the court persona (and fight with Larry Johnson in the playoffs in 1998) made him the unpopular pick. However, some last-minute behind-the-scenes tinkering leads to the award changing hands from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Magic Johnson. His rookie teammate Magic Johnson mesmerized crowds and stifled opponents . Wining Time will be back with a season 2. [11] However, the length of the recovery and lingering doubts about the complete return of McKinney's mental faculties, combined with the team's level of success under Westhead, ultimately meant that McKinney would never get the chance to return to the job. Over the years, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the 1980 Final MVP award. The Lakers, however, went on to win the Western Conference. The MVP presentation to Magic comes after the speech, and it tracks closely with what we saw on the screen, although I think he gives a little more credit to Kareem in the real clip than suggested in the series. Nevertheless, Duncan wound up winning the title while Malone lost in the second round. Eastern Conference Finals MVP. 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? Kerr asserted that voters are less inclined to vote for the same player three years in a row and may choose to "spread the wealth" of the award around instead of rewarding a player for a third time. The Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals, themselves in six games, in the World Series. Sixth Man of the Year. Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. Magic got the rebound to seemingly seal the win, but the Lakers tried to force the fast-break and ended up turning the ball over, out-of-bounds. 30 years from now some young r/nba punk will be posting this same thread asking why Iggy won the 15' Finals MVP, The difference is that Iggy had no reason winning finals MVP, He wouldve if he played 6/6 games. When I did the first MVP poll of the season on Jan. 1, Steph Curry was the obvious . Temporary bans may be handed out to users who post memes and other low-effort or off-topic comments in this thread. That equates to a valuable player in my book. Elsa/Getty Images. 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. 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. Yet, he has proven time-and-time again that he can make the team a playoff contender and top defensive team just by his mere presence. But the truth is stranger than fiction. 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. After a timeout, the Sixers put the ball in the hands of Erving, who tried a spectacular, scooping finger-roll, but missed. Magic then threw a pass downcourt to Kareem who dunked all over the Dr, and completed the 3 point play to give the Lakers a 3 point lead with 33 seconds left, and Norm Nixon would seal the game at the free throw line. "As es, Westbrook acaba de recoger las sobras de Wang Zelin. NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. Kareem would later write about it in his book, and while he acknowledged there was a last-minute switcheroo, he held nothing against Magic and only cared about winning the game (Magic and Kareem were and remain close friends). He dropped 33 points in a 109-102 home win in Game 1. This popularity skewed the results against Barry, as he would finish a distant fourth in the voting behind McAdoo, Dave Cowens, and Elvin Hayes. There was a problem. He comes back out at the start of the 4th quarter and he continues to carry the Lakers while hobbling on his sprained ankle. The Utah Jazz were tied with the Spurs for the best record, but they led the league in wins for most of the season before slumping in the final month. Magic even jumped center in the game's opening tip tomake a statement, as seen in the episode. Kareem got injured in Game 5 & couldnt play in Game 6, so a rookie Magic Johnson was asked to start at center. The NBA world doesn't think voters got the MVP selection right. Then, Jones popped in a jumper with seven seconds left, and that was enough for a 107104 Philly win that tied the series at a game apiece. Johnson, a rookie, became the third player to win an NCAA title and NBA title in back-to-back years. Then Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West retired, and the Lakers missed the playoffs in 1975 and 1976. Abdul-Jabbar, bad ankle and all, dunked emphatically over Erving and drew the foul with 33 seconds left. So here's a list of the five most controversial MVP winners since 1980: Moses Malone 1981-82 Malone might have been the best center in basketball by the beginning of the 1980s, but he was wasting away on a struggling Houston team before helping Philadelphia win a title in 1983. So, whatd you guys think? Below is a breakdown of all the stats that prove perhaps why Kareem was more worthy of the award without taking anything away from Magic. The announcement clearly gets underneath Johnsons skin. [2] But the Lakers still had to travel to Philadelphia for Game 6. ", Reilly just enjoyed the ride in 'Winning Time', Stars of new TV show "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty," John C. Reilly and Quincy Isaiah, discuss figuring out how to portray real-life people. Certainly Steve Nash had a good year and led the Phoenix Suns to the best record in the league that year at 62-20. Hence, it is safe to say that the shows depiction of Abdul-Jabbar being the original 1980 NBA Finals MVP has some merit. 3. Of course, the benefit of hindsight would cast judgement on the decision as Barry would advance to the finals and win a title in one of the greatest upsets in finals history, while McAdoo would lose in the second round of the playoffs. Few would take you seriously if you were in a writers room and suggested that a rookie win NBA Finals MVP. Can you put any other center in the league on the Magic and have a No. With a split in L.A., the Sixers were hoping to take command of the series with the next two games in Philadelphia. 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. In the finals, the talismanic captain of the LA Lakers scored 167 points at an average of 33.4 points per game. "Look at any TV show or movie based on a sports event that really happened, whether it's '42,' 'We Are Marshall,' 'A League of Their Own,'" he says. These things are true, but in defense of Howard and James, both players had to make bigger adjustments and sacrifices to their games throughout the regular season than Rose did. The 1980 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1979-80 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs.The Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2.. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the league's MVP, but midway through Game 5, the Lakers center suffered . Magic Johnson winning the 1980 NBA Finals MVP over Kareem Abdul Jabbar might have been one of the biggest award robberies in NBA history. 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 1980 NBA World. The statistics give Kareem a massive lead as far as facts are concerned. Johnson, a rookie, became the third playerto win an NCAA title and NBA title in back-to-back years. We hope you enjoyed what we put together here. Winning Timewas recently picked up for a second season on HBO. [8][9] On November 8, 1979, the Lakers were 94 after 13 games, when McKinney suffered a near fatal head injury after falling while bicycling. To read our interview with Adrien Brody, who portrayed Lakers assistant coach Pat Riley, click here. Finally, the Sixers used their newfound size advantage in the second quarter to take a 5244 lead. Eventually playing all five positions, hisgutsy, iconic Game 6 featured42 points, 15 rebounds and sevenassists, and earned the Lakers the championship crown. And a rookie Magic pretty much played all 5 positions and won the ring. A crowd surrounds Magic Johnson at the Lakers championship parade, Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 23:20, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Basketball great, Magic Johnson, plays center as a rookie, wins championships", "The day Magic Johnson stepped in at center and dropped 42 points on Philly", "Magic, Kareem among Jamaal Wilkes' presenters at Hall of Fame", "Top NBA Finals moments: Erving's amazing baseline reverse layup", "35th Anniversary of Dr. J's Iconic Reverse Layup Versus Lakers in NBA Finals", "How the N.B.A. 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. Ivan Rodriguez over Pedro Martinez, 1999. Although, if the race was won by a nose, the MVP voters completely misread the evidence on the photo. All rights reserved. J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. Thanks so much for A good well thought out answer! Magics performance in the sixth game not only crowned the Lakers as the 1980 NBA Champions but also won him the Finals MVP Award. He was an unlikely candidate to be the series MVP - after all, his teammate . The victory gave the Lakers the crucial 32 series lead heading back to Philadelphia. Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Can he be the most valuable player if his team has more talent and experience than the team of another MVP contender? 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