NBA Champions ·
1988 Los Angeles Lakers
After the 1987 parade, Pat Riley publicly guaranteed the Lakers would repeat, a promise no team had kept since the 1969 Celtics. They made good on it, going 62-20 and outlasting the Detroit Pistons in a seven-game Finals. James Worthy clinched it with the only triple-double of his career, 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists in Game 7.
Riley's guarantee hung over the whole season. The Lakers answered with the league's best record at 62-20, though the scoring load shifted: Byron Scott led the team at 21.7 a game and Worthy added 19.7 as Abdul-Jabbar aged into a smaller role.
The playoffs were a grind. Los Angeles needed seven games to get past both Utah and Dallas in the West before meeting Detroit. The Pistons, in their first Finals, took a 3-2 lead and pushed the series back to the Forum.
The Lakers won Game 6 by a point and Game 7 by three. Worthy's triple-double in the finale, the only one of his Hall of Fame career, earned him Finals MVP and the nickname Big Game James. The 108-105 win made the Lakers the NBA's first repeat champions in 19 years.
It was the last title of the Showtime run and Abdul-Jabbar's sixth and final championship. Detroit would not forget the loss, and they would be back in the Finals the next two years.
Championship roster
Featured in Ring Holders Club
| Player | Role | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Johnson | PG | 96 |
| Byron Scott | SG | 79 |
| James Worthy | SF | 89 |
| A.C. Green | PF | 77 |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | C | 85 |
| Michael Cooper | 6th man | 80 |
| Pat Riley | Coach | 90 |
Ratings are year-specific curated estimates for Ring Holders Club, not official NBA stats.
Rest of the roster
| Player | Pos |
|---|---|
| Mychal Thompson | C/F |
| Kurt Rambis | F |
| Wes Matthews | G |
| Milt Wagner | G |
| Billy Thompson | F |
| Mike Smrek | C |