The Los Angeles Lakers are arguably the NBA’s most storied franchise by virtue of their 17 world championships. They’ve been so successful over the decades that even when they haven’t won it all, they have had some impressive squads that were memorable, talented, star-studded and very competitive.
In 1985, the Lakers had truly come of age by defeating the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals for the first time. Now, it was time for them to move on to even bigger and better things as the decade wore on. But successfully doing so would require an attitude adjustment that wouldn’t be easy.