1979–80 Los Angeles Lakers season

1979–80 Los Angeles Lakers season
Magic Johnson`s rookie season Seventh NBA Championship
Head coach	Paul Westhead
Owner(s)	Jerry Buss
Arena	The Forum
Results
Record	60–22 (.732)
Place	Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KHJ
Radio	AM 570 KLAC

The highlight of the Los Angeles Lakers season of 1979–80 was Magic Johnson leading the Lakers to the 1980 NBA Championship in the team's first season under the ownership of Jerry Buss. Magic’s season represented the birth of the Showtime Lakers.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	1	Magic Johnson	Guard	United States	Michigan State
1	14	Brad Holland	Guard	United States	UCLA

Roster

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Jim Chones	Mark Landsberger
PF	Spencer Haywood	Kenny Carr
SF	Jamaal Wilkes	Don Ford	Marty Byrnes
SG	Norm Nixon	Butch Lee
PG	Magic Johnson	Michael Cooper	Brad Holland

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	60	22	.732	–	37–4	23–18	19–11
x-Seattle SuperSonics	56	26	.683	4	33–8	23–18	18–12
x-Phoenix Suns	55	27	.671	5	37–5	18–22	19–11
x-Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	22	26–15	12–29	13–17
San Diego Clippers	35	47	.427	25	24–17	11–30	13–17
Golden State Warriors	24	58	.293	36	15–26	9–32	8–22

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	60	22	.732	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	49	33	.598	11
3	x-Seattle SuperSonics	56	26	.683	4
4	x-Phoenix Suns	55	27	.671	5
5	x-Kansas City Kings	47	35	.573	13
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	22
7	San Diego Clippers	35	47	.427	25
8	Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	30
9	Denver Nuggets	30	52	.366	30
10	Utah Jazz	24	58	.293	36
11	Golden State Warriors	24	58	.293	36

Season schedule

1979–80 season game log
October 7–3 (Home: 5–1; Road: 2–2) Date Opponent Result Score Record Streak Fri, Oct 12, 1979 @ San Diego Clippers Win 103–102 1–0 Won 1 Tue, Oct 16, 1979 Chicago Bulls Win 105–96 2–0 Won 2 Wed, Oct 17, 1979 @ Seattle SuperSonics Loss 110–112 2–1 Lost 1 Fri, Oct 19, 1979 Portland Trail Blazers Loss 82–99 2–2 Lost 2 Sun, Oct 21, 1979 Seattle SuperSonics Win 106–97 3–2 Won 1 Tue, Oct 23, 1979 Utah Jazz Win 102–87 4–2 Won 2 Fri, Oct 26, 1979 Kansas City Kings Win 116–104 5–2 Won 3 Sun, Oct 28, 1979 Golden State Warriors Win 97–90 6–2 Won 4 Tue, Oct 30, 1979 @ Chicago Bulls Win 111–105 7–2 Won 5 Wed, Oct 31, 1979 @ Milwaukee Bucks Loss 106–110 7–3 Lost 1
November 9–6 (Home: 6–1; Road: 3–5) Date Opponent Result Score Record Streak Fri, Nov 2, 1979 Phoenix Suns Win 112–110 8–3 Won 1 Tue, Nov 6, 1979 San Diego Clippers Win 127–112 9–3 Won 2 Wed, Nov 7, 1979 @ Golden State Warriors Loss 109–126 9–4 Lost 1 Fri, Nov 9, 1979 Denver Nuggets Win 126–122 (OT) 10–4 Won 1 Sun, Nov 11, 1979 Cleveland Cavaliers Win 140–126 11–4 Won 2 Tue, Nov 13, 1979 @ San Diego Clippers Win 137–91 12–4 Won 3 Thu, Nov 15, 1979 @ Kansas City Kings Loss 108–114 12–5 Lost 1 Fri, Nov 16, 1979 @ Denver Nuggets Win 135–128 (OT) 13–5 Won 1 Sun, Nov 18, 1979 Indiana Pacers Win 127–104 14–5 Won 2 Tue, Nov 20, 1979 @ Portland Trail Blazers Loss 99–114 14–6 Lost 1 Wed, Nov 21, 1979 @ Seattle SuperSonics Loss 110–119 14–7 Lost 2 Fri, Nov 23, 1979 @ Phoenix Suns Loss 112–126 14–8 Lost 3 Sun, Nov 25, 1979 Kansas City Kings Win 111–110 15–8 Won 1 Tue, Nov 27, 1979 @ Utah Jazz Win 122–118 16–8 Won 2 Fri, Nov 30, 1979 Chicago Bulls Loss 100–107 16–9 Lost 1
December 12–4 (Home: 8–1; Road: 4–3) Date Opponent Result Score Record Streak Sun, Dec 2, 1979 Milwaukee Bucks Win 116–103 17–9 Won 1 Tue, Dec 4, 1979 @ San Antonio Spurs Win 127–121 18–9 Won 2 Wed, Dec 5, 1979 @ Houston Rockets Win 116–114 19–9 Won 3 Fri, Dec 7, 1979 San Diego Clippers Loss 108–116 19–10 Lost 1 Sun, Dec 9, 1979 Denver Nuggets Win 131–118 20–10 Won 1 Fri, Dec 14, 1979 Detroit Pistons Win 138–122 21–10 Won 2 Sun, Dec 16, 1979 San Antonio Spurs Win 121–119 22–10 Won 3 Tue, Dec 18, 1979 @ Chicago Bulls Win 129–118 23–10 Won 4 Wed, Dec 19, 1979 @ Atlanta Hawks Loss 112–119 23–11 Lost 1 Fri, Dec 21, 1979 Golden State Warriors Win 114–108 24–11 Won 1 Sat, Dec 22, 1979 @ Denver Nuggets Loss 128–130 24–12 Lost 1 Sun, Dec 23, 1979 Seattle SuperSonics Win 102–97 25–12 Won 1 Wed, Dec 26, 1979 @ Kansas City Kings Loss 111–118 25–13 Lost 1 Thu, Dec 27, 1979 @ Utah Jazz Win 124–116 26–13 Won 1 Fri, Dec 28, 1979 Boston Celtics Win 123–105 27–13 Won 2 Sun, Dec 30, 1979 Phoenix Suns Win 113–105 28–13 Won 3
January 10–4 (Home: 5–0; Road: 5–4) Date Opponent Result Score Record Streak Wed, Jan 2, 1980 @ Indiana Pacers Win 127–120 29–13 Won 4 Sun, Jan 6, 1980 @ Milwaukee Bucks Loss 103–113 29–14 Lost 1 Wed, Jan 9, 1980 @ Washington Bullets Loss 101–103 29–15 Lost 2 Fri, Jan 11, 1980 @ Detroit Pistons Win 123–100 30–15 Won 1 Tue, Jan 13, 1980 @ Boston Celtics Win 100–98 31–15 Won 2 Thu, Jan 15, 1980 Utah Jazz Win 112–99 32–15 Won 3 Fri, Jan 16, 1980 @ Golden State Warriors Win 97–96 33–15 Won 4 Sun, Jan 18, 1980 Atlanta Hawks Win 108–102 34–15 Won 5 Wed, Jan 21, 1980 New York Knicks Win 132–114 35–15 Won 6 Sat, Jan 24, 1980 @ Portland Trail Blazers Loss 103–111 35–16 Lost 1 Sun, Jan 25, 1980 Philadelphia 76ers Win 124–103 36–16 Won 1 Tue, Jan 27, 1980 Milwaukee Bucks Win 112–102 37–16 Won 2 Thu, Jan 29, 1980 @ Cleveland Cavaliers Loss 153–154 (4 OT) 37–17 Lost 1 Sat, Jan 31, 1980 @ Chicago Bulls Win 107–97 38–17 Won 1
February 9–2 (Home: 5–1; Road: 4–1) Date Opponent Result Score Record Streak Tue, Feb 5, 1980 @ New York Knicks Win 116–105 39–17 Won 1 Fri, Feb 8, 1980 @ New Jersey Nets Win 125–120 (OT) 40–17 Won 2 Sun, Feb 10, 1980 @ Philadelphia 76ers Loss 104–105 40–18 Lost 1 Wed, Feb 13, 1980 @ Portland Trail Blazers Win 129–100 41–18 Won 1 Fri, Feb 15, 1980 Kansas City Kings Win 114–100 42–18 Won 2 Sun, Feb 17, 1980 Washington Bullets Win 111–107 43–18 Won 3 Wed, Feb 20, 1980 @ Denver Nuggets Win 116–103 44–18 Won 4 Fri, Feb 22, 1980 New Jersey Nets Win 132–110 45–18 Won 5 Sun, Feb 24, 1980 Houston Rockets Win 112–100 46–18 Won 6 Tue, Feb 26, 1980 Seattle SuperSonics Win 131–108 47–18 Won 7 Fri, Feb 29, 1980 Milwaukee Bucks Loss 117–126 (OT) 47–19 Lost 1
March 13–3 (Home: 7–0; Road: 6–3) Date Opponent Result Score Record Streak Sun, Mar 2, 1980 @ Phoenix Suns Loss 115–123 47–20 Lost 2 Tue, Mar 4, 1980 @ Milwaukee Bucks Win 127–124 48–20 Won 1 Wed, Mar 5, 1980 @ Kansas City Kings Win 117–101 49–20 Won 2 Fri, Mar 7, 1980 Chicago Bulls Win 101–99 50–20 Won 3 Sun, Mar 9, 1980 @ Portland Trail Blazers Loss 121–142 50–21 Lost 1 Tue, Mar 11, 1980 @ San Diego Clippers Win 123–106 51–21 Won 1 Wed, Mar 12, 1980 Portland Trail Blazers Win 102–94 52–21 Won 2 Fri, Mar 14, 1980 Denver Nuggets Win 132–126 53–21 Won 3 Sun, Mar 16, 1980 Phoenix Suns Win 128–106 54–21 Won 4 Tue, Mar 18, 1980 Golden State Warriors Win 118–100 55–21 Won 5 Wed, Mar 19, 1980 @ Phoenix Suns Loss 108–112 55–22 Lost 1 Sat, Mar 22, 1980 @ Seattle SuperSonics Win 97–92 56–22 Won 1 Sun, Mar 23, 1980 Utah Jazz Win 101–96 57–22 Won 2 Thu, Mar 27, 1980 @ Utah Jazz Win 97–95 58–22 Won 3 Fri, Mar 28, 1980 San Diego Clippers Win 126–88 59–22 Won 4 Sun, Mar 30, 1980 @ Golden State Warriors Win 95–93 60–22 Won 5
Season Schedule

Playoffs

1979–80 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1) Date Opponent Result Score Record Streak Tue, Apr 8, 1980 Phoenix Suns Win 119–110 (OT) 1–0 Won 1 Wed, Apr 9, 1980 Phoenix Suns Win 131–128 (OT) 2–0 Won 2 Fri, Apr 11, 1980 @ Phoenix Suns Win 108–105 3–0 Won 3 Sun, Apr 13, 1980 @ Phoenix Suns Loss 101–127 3–1 Lost 1 Tue, Apr 15, 1980 Phoenix Suns Win 126–101 4–1 Won 1
Conference Finals 4–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–0) Date Opponent Result Score Record Streak Tue, Apr 22, 1980 Seattle SuperSonics Loss 107–108 0–1 Lost 1 Wed, Apr 23, 1980 Seattle SuperSonics Win 108–99 1–1 Won 1 Fri, Apr 25, 1980 @ Seattle SuperSonics Win 104–100 2–1 Won 2 Sun, Apr 27, 1980 @ Seattle SuperSonics Win 98–93 3–1 Won 3 Wed, Apr 30, 1980 Seattle SuperSonics Win 111–105 4–1 Won 4
NBA Finals 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1) Date Opponent Result Score Record Streak Sun, May 4, 1980 Philadelphia 76ers Win 109–102 1–0 Won 1 Wed, May 7, 1980 Philadelphia 76ers Loss 104–107 1–1 Lost 1 Sat, May 10, 1980 @ Philadelphia 76ers Win 111–101 2–1 Won 1 Sun, May 11, 1980 @ Philadelphia 76ers Loss 102–105 2–2 Lost 1 Wed, May 14, 1980 Philadelphia 76ers Win 108–103 3–2 Won 1 Fri, May 16, 1980 @ Philadelphia 76ers Win 123–107 4–2 Won 2
Playoff Schedule

Magic Johnson

Having won everything possible at the college level, Johnson decided to leave college two years early and declared himself eligible for the 1979 NBA Draft. The New Orleans Jazz originally had the first draft pick, but they had traded the pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for NBA star Gail Goodrich. As a result, the Lakers drafted Johnson with the first overall pick, signing him for a sizable salary of US$600,000 a year.

Johnson joined a franchise which had gone though major changes. The Lakers featured a new coach in Jack McKinney, a new owner in Jerry Buss, and several new players. However, Johnson was most excited about the prospect of playing with his personal idol, the 7–2 center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the leading scorer in NBA history. From the first game, Johnson displayed his trademark enthusiasm for the game. When Abdul-Jabbar hit a last-second free throw line hook shot to win against the San Diego Clippers, Johnson ran around the court, high-fiving and hugging everybody, causing concern that the "Buck" (as Johnson was called by Lakers announcer Chick Hearn for his youth) would burn himself out. However, in that 1979–80 NBA season, the rookie proved them wrong. Johnson introduced an uptempo style of basketball which the NBA described as a mix of "no-look passes off the fastbreak, pinpoint alley-oops from halfcourt, spinning feeds and overhand bullets under the basket through triple teams". Fellow Lakers guard Michael Cooper even stated that: "There have been times when he [Johnson] has thrown passes and I wasn't sure where he was going. Then one of our guys catches the ball and scores, and I run back up the floor convinced that he must've thrown it through somebody." This style of basketball became known as "Showtime". Given Johnson was also a prolific scorer and rebounder, he soon led the league in triple-doubles, racking up 10-points-10-rebounds-10-assists games in a rate only second to NBA Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson. In addition, he expressed a raw, childlike enthusiasm which further endeared him to the fans.

Johnson's average of 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game was enough to make the All-Rookie Team and become a starter on the All-Star Team, even though the NBA Rookie of the Year Award went to his rival Larry Bird, who had joined the Boston Celtics. The Lakers compiled a 60–22 win-loss record, and with Paul Westhead replacing coach McKinney as a coach after a serious bicycle crash, the Lakers reached the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers. Against the fierce resistance of Sixers Hall-of-Fame forward Julius "Doctor J" Erving and Darryl Dawkins, the Lakers took a 3–2 lead before Abdul-Jabbar went down with a sprained ankle. Coach Westhead decided to put point guard Johnson at pivot instead, and on the Sixers' home court, the rookie dominated with 42 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, lifting the Lakers to a 123–107 win and winning the NBA Finals MVP award. The NBA regards Johnson's clutch performance as one of the finest individual games ever. Although only twenty years old, he had already won every trophy at the high school, college and professional levels. Johnson also became one of only four players to win NCAA and NBA championships in consecutive years.

Player stats

Regular season

Player	GP	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	82	38.3	.604	.000	.765	10.8	4.5	1.0	3.4	24.8
Ron Boone†	6	17.7	.350	NA	.857	1.8	1.2	0.8	0.0	5.7
Marty Byrnes	32	6.1	.500	NA	.867	0.8	0.4	0.2	0.0	2.0
Kenny Carr†	6	17.7	.438	NA	1.000	3.4	0.2	0.4	0.2	3.2
Jim Chones	82	29.2	.489	.000	.740	6.9	1.8	0.7	0.8	10.6
Michael Cooper	82	24.1	.524	.250	.776	2.8	2.7	1.0	0.5	8.8
Don Ford†	52	11.2	.508	.000	.821	1.9	0.7	0.2	0.3	3.0
Spencer Haywood	76	20.3	.487	.250	.772	4.6	1.2	0.5	0.8	9.7
Brad Holland	38	5.2	.423	.200	.938	0.4	0.6	0.4	0.0	2.8
Magic Johnson	77	36.3	.530	.226	.810	7.7	7.3	2.4	0.5	18.0
Mark Landsberger*	23	16.3	.482	NA	.518	7.1	0.6	0.4	0.2	7.0
Butch Lee*	11	2.8	.308	NA	.857	0.7	0.8	0.1	0.0	1.3
Ollie Mack†	27	5.7	.420	.000	.500	0.8	0.7	0.1	0.0	1.9
Norm Nixon	82	39.3	.516	.125	.779	2.8	7.8	1.8	0.2	17.6
Jamaal Wilkes	82	37.9	.535	.176	.808	6.4	3.0	1.6	0.3	20.0

*Stats after being traded to the Lakers.
†Stats before being traded from the Lakers.

Playoffs

Player	GP	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	15	41.2	.572	NA	.790	12.1	3.1	1.1	3.9	31.9
Marty Byrnes	4	2.0	.333	NA	.667	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	1.5
Jim Chones	16	27.4	.407	NA	.676	6.5	1.8	0.5	0.4	7.4
Michael Cooper	16	29.0	.407	.000	.861	3.7	3.6	1.5	0.7	9.1
Spencer Haywood	11	13.2	.472	.000	.813	2.4	0.4	0.0	0.5	5.7
Brad Holland	9	3.6	.500	.000	1.000	0.6	0.3	0.6	0.0	1.6
Magic Johnson	16	41.1	.518	.250	.802	10.5	9.4	3.0	0.4	18.3
Mark Landsberger	16	12.2	.362	.000	.833	4.3	0.1	0.2	0.1	3.4
Butch Lee	3	2.0	NA	NA	1.000	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7
Norm Nixon	16	40.5	.477	.200	.804	3.5	7.8	2.0	0.2	16.9
Jamaal Wilkes	16	40.8	.535	.176	.815	8.0	3.0	1.5	0.3	20.3

Awards and records

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA Most Valuable Player Award
• Magic Johnson, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, All-NBA First Team
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA All-Star Game
• Magic Johnson, NBA All-Star Game
• Magic Johnson, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

References

• Lakers on Database Basketball
• Lakers on Basketball Reference
• "That Magic Season" – Documentary on the 1979–80 Los Angeles Lakers on YouTube