Book Report: 'Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s'

 

Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s by Jeff Pearlman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Even as an avowed Lakers hater, I find myself drawn to the mythos and majesty that was the 1980s Showtime dynasty, which tormented my Phoenix Suns-loving heart as a child.

Pearlman delves into the fabric of what made the team as dominant as it was. He kneels at the altar of Magic Johnson while dropping subtle hints of his Machiavellian maneuverings that wielded as much or more power as owner Jerry Buss.

Pearlman also performs a full-blown character assassination on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Norm Nixon, even while quietly admiring their mental and leadership strengths. He also spins fascinating tales about goings-on inside the locker room, the boardroom and in the coach's huddle.

While oddly repetitive -- Pearlman sees fit to reintroduce several recurring people almost every time he mentions them -- the book is a hearty meal for basketball fans of any stripe. The book manages to capture a fleeting moment of time that, at the time, seemed as though it would go on forever.

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