In what was his rookie year. But one question I have is: Is his win a manifestation of the LeBron James-hate brigade, or would he have won regardless of the controversial "Decision" broadcast that turned the entire voting poll against James this year? Did Spencer Haywood Really Order a Hit on His Lakers Teammates. NBA History - 1980 Awards Award: That's better than every other NBA team's HOME winning percentage. As it turned out, Kareem did not make the trip and was listed as doubtful if Game 7 had been needed. After the game, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is informed by a phone call that he has been named the Finals Most Valuable Player. Bird apparently received 63 of the 66 votes. Meanwhile, Barry's team, while winning the same number of games, led Golden State to the best record in the West. Thus they hired former player Billy Cunningham as head coach, and in 1978 the team traded for defensive stalwart Bobby Jones and drafted Maurice Cheeks, while letting go players such as George McGinnis and World B. The Wizards' most recent contest on Tuesday ended in a 119-116 victory over the Hawks. Can you put any other center in the league on the Magic and have a No. NBA World Reacts To The Controversial MVP Selection. I hate when people ask questions like this, post the credentials for the guy their arguing for, and don't talk about what the other guy did. But was Abdul-Jabbar the one who actually convinced Haywood to get clean? Solomon Hughes and Quincy Isaiah in Winning Time (Image credit: Warrick Page/HBO) The first time, we could chalk it up to an NBA that was simply looking to shed its image in the recent wake of the "Malice in the Palice" and clean up the league by highlighting more agreeable faces to spotlight the game. Hollyoaks spoilers: Tony Hutchinson calls social services to report Warren! A new face of the league after a decade (70s) where the league nearly died, Finals weren't even being televised live iirc. However, reporters change their votes at the last moment, and David Stern awards the Finals MVP to Magic Johnson. But after losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1977 NBA Finals, the 76ers realized that a fancy and one-on-one style of play will not take them all the way. "I turned all my anger toward Westhead, who I felt had snatched it from me. Because May 16, 1980, was a Friday, the network did not want to preempt its two highest-rated shows, The Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas, even though both shows were already in reruns: the 197980 TV season had ended early, back in March (Dukes and Dallas both aired their season finale March 21), in anticipation of a strike that summer by the Screen Actors Guild. However, reporters apparently had to change their votes since the NBAs broadcaster did not want to present the award to an absent player. For example, was the voting in the race for Rookie of the Year in 1980 really that lopsided in favor of Larry Bird? [2] But the Lakers still had to travel to Philadelphia for Game 6. Kareem was very clearly the best player in 4 out of the 5 games he played in, and had the absolute monster numbers and heroic Game 5 performance that shouldve gotten him the Finals MVP, but he ended up being denied the award because of one game in which he wasnt there. But Jordan simply did a bit more for the Bulls this season and deserved the award and hada slightly more convincing argument for winning the award. NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. You will receive a verification email shortly. Proving the prognosticators right, Philadelphia won in five games, preventing the first CelticsLakers final since 1969. He scored 14 of those points in the fourth quarter alone. Kareems 14 4th quarter points on a bad ankle gave him 40 for the game, along with 15 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks on 16-24 from the field. Kareem was listed out for Game Six. Johnson scored 25 points in the Spurs' win, leading the team.This matchup will be airing on fuboTV.National Basketball Association odds courtesy of. [5] This Game 4 move, played to a national audience in a title game, has probably become Julius Erving's most famous move. MacArthur squeaked into the playoffs at 6-3, but its tough schedule paid off the Generals blew out Urbana 20-0 to open the playoffs, then won even bigger in the second round with a 33-2 defeat . Nash received credit for leading the Suns to a solid 54-28 record despite playing without his All-Star big Amare Stoudemire for most of the season. So my friend who is a huge Magic Johnson fan (refuses to place LeBron near him because 5 rings > 3 rings ) was watching the 1980 finals game 6 and obviously Magic went off in that game. Stats-wise Johnson and Barkley's numbers were both very strong: Barkley averaged 25.2 ppg, 11.5 rpg, while Johnson averaged 22.3 ppg and 11.5 apg. Winning Time has been picked up for another season. All rights reserved. But when considering the select company of repeat MVP winners, Nash stood with LeBron James, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, and the players that only won once in Shaq, David Robinson, and Hakeem Olajuwon, or never won in Isiah Thomas, Jerry West. If you use your SSN to log in, please create a personalized username for added security. The general opinion across the NBA when Karl Malone beat out Michael Jordan for MVP in 1997 was: "Oh, so the voters decided to give it to someone other than Jordan." As the finale is concluding, there is a moment when Abdul-Jabbar shows up to the home of Spencer Haywood (Wood Harris). Kidd should have won the award that year. The 1980 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 197980 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. This game was a nip-and-tuck affair that was highlighted by Julius Erving's signature "Baseline Move" in the fourth quarter. Was this actually the final count? Free trialHow to Watch Today's NBA GamesToronto Raptors at Washington WizardsThe Washington Wizards (29-32) and Pascal Siakam's Toronto Raptors (31-32) face off at Capital One Arena on Thursday, March 2, beginning at 7:00 PM ET.Game Time: 7:00 PM ETTV Channel: NBC Sports NetworksLive Stream: fuboTV (, The Indiana Pacers (28-35) meet Keldon Johnson and the San Antonio Spurs (15-47) at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on Thursday, March 2 at 8:30 PM ET.The Pacers won their most recent game 124-122 against the Mavericks on Tuesday. Early on, the Sixers seemed unsure how to counter the matchup problem. The last time the Lakers had won the NBA championship was in 1972. Tim Duncan led his Spurs to the best record in the West (by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Utah Jazz) and Duncan performed brilliantly, posting 21.7 ppg and 11.4 rpg. At that point, Kareem had scored 26 points and was carrying the Lakers, but now he was in the locker room. Jerry West - Getty Images. Behind Johnson's passing, Abdul-Jabbar's post play and Michael Cooper's perimeter shooting and defense, the trio formed the core of the Lakers' Showtime-era teams. A new face of the league after a decade (70s) where the league nearly died, Finals weren't even being televised live iirc. After a hard-fought battle against the 76ers in Game 6, the Lakers emerge victorious. Its unclear, however, if Magic actually knew that, or if Kareem was actually waiting for the phone call. He also contributed many intangibles to the team as well, such as his defensive tenacity and his incredible will to win, eventually leading the Nets to its first ever trip to the finals. But by the second time, it was getting serious. Itll be interesting to see where it picks up. The 1980 NBA World Championship Series Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2.In the NBA finals Kareem a. "Have no fear, Magic Johnson is here," he says. Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has submitted a bid to buy the Commanders, according to a report from Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. She performed that job while attending U.S.C. But at least in 2001 the Spurs were the conferences top seed. First of all, I find it a bit curious the fact that Berry finished behind Cowens in MVP voting, yet Cowens didn't even make the All-NBA First Team that year while Berry did. Norm Nixon would finally seal the game at the foul line by making both of his foul shots. In Atlanta, the CBS affiliate didn't show Game 6 at all, bumping it to independent station WATL-TV, who at least carried the contest live. This was also the year of Kobe's great 81 point game. He averaged 22.9 ppg and 10.4 rpg. The show began with the Lakers drafting. That equates to a valuable player in my book. Kareem was the story of the 1980 NBA Finals as it unfolded. Their conversationcertainlybrings to minda few times in NBA history that the winner of the MVP award drew complaints rather than applause from some not directly connected to the committee. By HoopsHype staff | June 17, 2022. Scottie Scheffler becomes the third player to win The Masters at age 25 or younger in the last 40 years. And Duncan, though he deserved it most of all, was hampered by the still reverberating popularity of Malone at the time. Johnson had no say in the matter. Therefore, Magic had monumental shoes to fill. Perhaps just an absence in Game Six cost the entire voting panel to change their decision, which seemed unfair. Winning Timewas recently picked up for a second season on HBO. He was an unlikely candidate to be the series MVP - after all, his teammate . When I did the first MVP poll of the season on Jan. 1, Steph Curry was the obvious . Something about a 42/15/7 game from your rookie PG filling in for your injured MVP center in a series clinching game might have something to do with it. Kareem 40 pts vs. Sixers (Game 5, 1980 NBA finals) f9ish 5.27K subscribers Subscribe 239 Share Save 41K views 13 years ago Kareem had 40 pts, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. (March 4), HBO's "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,", The casting magic of HBO's 'Winning Time' Lakers, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Did Nash really belong in that distinguished company? Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. - The Grueling Truth A look back at the Celtics return to glory and also a look back at racist comments by Rick Barry towards Bill Russell. Abdul-Jabbar was listed as out of Game 6, although 76ers coach Billy Cunningham was quoted as saying "I won't believe he's not playing until their plane lands and he's not on it." The 1980 NBA Finals TV Mini Series 1980 YOUR RATING Rate Sport The 1980 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1979/1980 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. Siakam recorded 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists for the Raptors. Yeah, but in the 5/6 he did he seem to have been the better player? [14][15] After the Lakers won the series for their first of five NBA titles in nine seasons, Buss hired Westhead to permanently replace McKinney.[16]. Jerry West - 1969. In the series, the moment Johnson first stepped into a locker room he was accompanied by a boom box. Some. This scene is described in "Showtime"and recounted ina March Fubo TV interview by Lakers guard Michael Cooper, who noted the scene signified Johnson stepping upto the next level with his leadership and performance. Heres how it works. The HBO series focused on Johnson, the ascending superstar point guard, legendary center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes) and team owner Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) completed its. He had all the ingredients to secure the award, except a clear public image. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. A year-by-year list of the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award winners: YEAR PLAYER TEAM. "1. playoffs aren't a factor 2. the Nuggets would've been a non . What to Watch is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. He converted the 3-point play to take a 106103 lead. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. In the playoffs, they eliminated the Washington Bullets in two games, and the Atlanta Hawks in five games. He came into the league with the most pressure to preform and did so admirably as the Heat led the East in road wins, despite every game having a playoff atmosphere. There was a problem. In his memoir, "Kareem," Abdul-Jabbar cites sportswriter Bill Livingston, who publicly said the voting NBA writers had originally chosen Abdul-Jabbar asfinals MVP but the group waspressured"either by the network (CBS) or the league" to change the vote. But, this time, he got very little help as the Laker break never got going. The 76ers were the first of the four Philadelphia professional sports teams to play for their respective sports' championships in the 1980 season. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once again had a big game with 33 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and three assists as the Lakers cruised to a 111101 win. 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