Every NBA team’s best iteration ever
By Micah Wimmer
Los Angeles Lakers: 1986-87
When one sets out to select the best Lakers team ever, you really can’t lose because there’s so many great options to choose from. But also, it’s pretty hard to talk yourself into one definitive pick over the others. Was it one of the George Mikan-led teams that won five titles in six years? Was it one of the 1960s teams that featured both Elgin Baylor and Jerry West or the 1972 team that went 69-13 while winning 33 games in a row. Showtime or Shaq and Kobe? For me, though, the Showtime Lakers matched continued dominance with high single season peaks, superb regular seasons showings with playoff success, making the 1080s the best era in Lakers history with the 1986-87 team being their high point.
The 1987 team also combined star power with depth more than any other Lakers team ever. Not only did they have Magic Johnson who won his first MVP that year, they still had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who despite being 39 years old, was still able to score 17 points per game with that reliable skyhook. James Worthy had also developed into an All Star forward — athletic and intelligent, able to score both on and off the ball, providing a great third option. Rounding out the team’s core was Michael Cooper, one of the league’s best wing defenders, and Byron Scott, a great shooter who made over 43 percent of his 3’s that year. Finally, A.C. Green, Kurt Rambis, and Mychal Thompson collectively provided a combination of scoring, rebounding, and hard nosed defense in the front court.
They sped through the Western Conference on their way to the Finals, sweeping the Nuggets and Sonics, and losing just one game to the Warriors — the infamous Sleepy Floyd game. In the 1987 Finals, they defeated the defending champion Celtics in six games, winning their fourth title of the decade and solidifying their place as one of the great teams in NBA history.