1985 Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles went 62-20 and led the league in offense, scoring more than 118 points a game. Pat Riley's team was built for speed: Magic Johnson pushed the pace, James Worthy ran the wing, and Byron Scott had taken over as a starter in the backcourt. The roster carried the sting of losing to Boston the year before.

Johnson averaged 18.3 points and 12.6 assists. Abdul-Jabbar, then 37 during the season, still scored 22 a game, and Worthy added 17.6 on high efficiency. Bob McAdoo gave them scoring off the bench, and Michael Cooper handled the perimeter defense.

The Finals opened with Boston blasting the Lakers 148-114 in Game 1. Instead of folding, Los Angeles responded. Abdul-Jabbar, stung by suggestions he was finished, dominated the rest of the series, and the Lakers closed it out on the Garden floor in Game 6. At 38, he became the oldest Finals MVP to that point.

The win ended a streak of futility against Boston that had haunted the franchise through Bill Russell's career. It also confirmed the Showtime team as the league's standard, with three more Finals trips ahead in the decade.

The starting five was Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Pat Riley coached the group with Michael Cooper as the primary bench scorer.

This was title number 2 in a Los Angeles Lakers run that stretched across consecutive or near-consecutive seasons. Repeat winners carried continuity from one year to the next.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Bob McAdoo (scoring off the bench).

By 1985 the NBA had expanded nationwide and the Finals were a national television event. The Los Angeles Lakers title run still required winning the East or West bracket, then taking the championship round.

The Los Angeles Lakers share a lineage with other banners from 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, the 1985 Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in six games, the first time the franchise had ever won a Finals against Boston after eight losses dating back to the Minneapolis years. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took Finals MVP at age 38. The Lakers got there after a Game 1 humiliation Boston fans called the Memorial Day Massacre.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other Los Angeles Lakers titles, use the franchise hub linked below.