33 years later, the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers have a chance to reunite. The place is the Islands Hawaiiin Maui, the site of the training camps held by the members of that team in the 1980s.
But it won’t be just a reunion. The then coach Pat Rileylegendary coach of those Lakers who won four NBA titles between 1981 and 1990, will hold a training session with the boys of the various training camps, according to reports from Zach Lowe of ESPN.
Zach Lowe explained the event better in his podcast stating: “The Showtime group, which is made up of Kareem, Magic, James Worthy, Byron Scott, Michael Cooper, Pat Riley, have been in basketball for years. Kareem just turned 75 and many of them have all stayed in touch, but they all felt they wanted to be together, and so they will all go to Maui. Remember, they went to Hawaii for training camps. There is a big group holiday coming up. “
Had a “walk around” for the Showtime Reunion today! ???? we had so much fun running plays and reliving our practice days! pic.twitter.com/ZQ0C3J28d4
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 16, 2022
Although all Showtime members have retired for years, most are still active players in the NBA. Rileyin particular, is currently the Miami Heat president, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson (who had an infamous stint as general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers 3 years ago) often offer their commentary on the NBA. Meanwhile, James Worthy e Mychal Thompson cover the Lakers for Spectrum SportsNet and ESPN710 respectively.
It will be fascinating to find out how their reunion goes. Will they watch the second season of Winning Time, the HBO-produced documentary that is currently airing on their journey? And what impressions will they have? Too early to find out, but in the meantime it’s nice to know that the Showtime Lakers are still very close to each other and that they have firmly maintained their friendship for the past 30 years, a period in which they have been widely included among the best teams ever.
