What happens within a team is sacred to many players, and thn revealing sensitive information usually goes very badly. A member of the Showtime version of the Lakers was guilty of this sacrilege at the time… alienating the entire roster.
If the name Mark Landsberger means nothing to you, it’s no wonder. The former interior did not have a memorable career in the league, stopping after just over 400 games for an average of 5 points and 6 rebounds between 1977 and 1984. Passed by the Lakers for a few seasons, he however, left a lasting memory there… but not in a good way, as the recent documentary reveals Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.
As several ex-California players explain, the man was a source of ridicule in the locker room. Not really the most brilliant of all, the person generally distinguished himself more by his blunders than by his prowess on the floor. Former front office member Claire Rothman summed up her opinion of him this way:
Mark Landsberger was a nice guy. But he was dumb as his feet. I guess he literally couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time.
Mark Landsberger, la balance des Lakers de Magic & Kareem
That is said. However, all this obviously quickly turned to deep hatred towards the ex-pivot, because of his biggest stupidity: he told everything to his wife, in particular what he could do as activities with his teammates outside the fields. . However, at that time, players like Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper and James Worthy loved going to strip clubs… knowing that some of them were married.
An inevitably tricky situation that logically ended up exploding in everyone’s face, as Ron Carter recounts. While still a member of the Purples and Bears, he had witnessed the premiere of a rather heated scene:
There were about seven Lakers wives and girlfriends seated at a table. I was trying to cross the room as fast as I could, and as soon as I saw them, and the way they were looking at me, I thought, “Um, that’s not good. It’s not good at all. »
You surprise me… Unable to hold her tongue when her husband had asked her to, Marianna Landsberger revealed in particular the nocturnal activities of Michael Cooper to his wife and more generally, the infidelities that the Lakers make to their loved ones. The incident had the Angelino locker room roaring, seeing it as the ultimate betrayal. Same Kareem Abdul-Jabbarguardian of the temple, would have freaked out according to ex-player Butch Carter:
I had never seen Kareem so angry. Mark was so stupid. He got everyone in trouble… It was really stupid of him to tell his wife everything.
Needless to say, this spelled the end of the culprit’s journey in the City of Angels, and even in the NBA in a sense. A few months later, in the summer of 1983, Landsberger flew to Atlanta where he would end his career in complete anonymity after one season. In California, however, he remains persona non grata!
If ever Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper or even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were to cross paths with Mark Landsberger again, it would not be surprising if it ended in fistfights. The former interior broke one of the biggest taboos in the league, and logically paid the price.
