The Showtime Lakers were one of the most exciting teams on the court in the league’s history, and one of the most successful as well. Across the 1980s, the Lakers won five titles and made eight total Finals appearances. Some of the greatest players of all time guided those Lakers sides, as did one of the greatest coaches ever.
And yet, as captivating as the team was on the court, the stories of the exploits off of it are just as wild. On paper, Jeff Pearlman captured many, many of those details in “Showtime: MAGIC, KAREEM, RILEY, AND THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS DYNASTY OF THE 1980S.