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A trip to the golden age of the NBA

by
Maria A contributor

Basketball fans have the opportunity to get into the time machine and relive glorious times. From the hand of HBO Max, owned by AT&T (NYSE: T), comes Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, a new installment that alludes to basketball. Something that was undoubtedly expected after The Last Dance left fans of this sport with a taste for more.

The Last Dance is a miniseries that can be found on Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and tells the story of one of the best players in the NBA: Michael Jordan, with the Chicago Bulls at number 23. Everything was ready to be published with more than 10,000 hours documented, but the basketball star’s approval was missing. And this would only be by the hand of Michael Tollin, who was also the creator of Kareem: Minority of One, which tells the story of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a historic player of the Los Angeles Lakers.

With that in mind, let’s travel back in time to know a little more about the golden era that HBO’s & AT&T (NYSE: T) Winning Time tells us during the ten episodes that the series promises, the last one with a premiere date of May 8, 2022.

It all started with a dream of creating a dynasty. It was the 80s, and Jerry Buss, with $67.5 million, acquired the Los Angeles Lakers team with one goal: to merge business and sports to create a historic dynasty. For this, he needed a star player: Earvin “Magic” Johnson, with a height of 2.06 meters.

Jerry emphasized entertainment in his new business model, where work on the stadium did not take long to begin. This was the first sports club to have a nightclub where we could find the team’s players and various celebrities. In addition, the entertainment on the court also began to take force with the Laker Girls, the cheerleaders. 

Watching the Lakers was more than just a sport. It was a show. Jerry quickly realized this and made the spectators feel like they were at a real party, without leaving aside the sport.

The sports club owner wanted a fast-paced style of play, where “Magic Johnson” would be one of the fundamental pillars of this game. Little by little new stars were added. But every hero needs a rival: the Boston Celtics, a classic that continues to this day.

Along with Magic Johnson, the Lakers added stars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and Michael Cooper, among others, who led the Lakers to win 5 of the 9 NBA championship titles between the 80s and 90s.

Here we come to a decline in the golden era of the Lakers, but even so it was and still is, one of the most watched franchises in the world and what brought the show to the sport. Since then, the Los Angeles Lakers have been adding stars to their roster, such well-known athletes as Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, to name a few iconic players of the team.

For the latest acquisition: in 2018, the player’s arrival known as “The King” would put hope in reviving the team. LeBron James surpassed in all statistics the great legends of basketball. Being widely loved by his fans and regardless of the results of the games, The King continues to build his stats.

“King James” made history in the game against the Phoenix Suns, reaching an NBA career total, at the time, of 36,000 points, 10,150 rebounds, and over 10,000 assists.

Could it be that a second golden era is coming, with LeBron James breaking records in basketball games?

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