If the ’90s were the Bulls era, then the ’80s was the Los Angeles Lakers era. And their primary duo of the ‘Showtime‘ era were Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. One known for his innovative passing and the other for dominating scoring. The duo will reunite soon for the 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony to honor the third-time inductee, Los Angeles Lakers late legend Jerry West. But also their Showtime-era teammate Michael Cooper.

Speaking about Cooper in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar revealed a story involving Magic. “I didn’t watch Coop every day. But he had to have worked on it on his own. Sometimes he, Magic [Johnson] and Byron [Scott] would shoot together.” The 6x MVP continued, “I don’t know what they were betting, but it wasn’t money (laughs). But at practice, sometimes after practice and a lot of times before practice, they would challenge each other.”

Cooper never backed down from any challenge, and he earned All-Defensive Team honors 8 times in his career. Just like Magic Johnson, even Cooper played his entire NBA career for the Lakers. Also, he became the latest Showtime-era legend to be inducted in the Hall of Fame after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob McAdoo, Jamaal Wilkes, Worthy, Johnson, and coach Pat Riley.

But there was a serious chance that Magic Johnson wouldn’t have joined the Lakers. Yes, in his rookie year, the decision for the first pick was based on a coin flip. Ultimately, the former Bulls GM Rod Thorn called heads, but it ended up tails. And Magic Johnson couldn’t have been happier to represent the Purple and Gold.

Magic Johnson was not afraid to take Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s spot

In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel in 2022, Johnson said, “But I’m glad that I ended up here [Los Angeles] and playing with Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and all that.” A year later, Magic Johnson also clarified about his role change in the 1980 Finals, which earned him a record that is yet to be broken.

Magic Johnson won the NBA Finals MVP award as a rookie, which is yet to be broken. He won the award by replacing Kareen Abdul-Jabbar but not in the way one might think. In Game 5 of the Finals, Kareem injured his ankle and was doubtful for the next game. The series was a close encounter 3-2 favoring the Lakers. But the players were dejected seeing their captain injured, so Magic stepped up.

“So, I went and sat in Kareem’s seat, and as every Laker came by, I said, ‘Never fear, Magic is here’. They were like, ‘This dude is crazy’. And so I told the coach… ‘I’mma play center tomorrow against Caldwell Jones.‘” The 3x MVP said on the ‘All the Smoke’ podcast.

Plus Magic Johnson ended the match helping his team win the championship with his 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists playing as a center. For the Finals, the Michigan-born averaged 21.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 2.7 steals per game to earn his Finals MVP award.

“Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.”