The Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s personified the flamboyance and excess of the decade over which they reigned. Beginning with the arrival of Earvin 'Magic' Johnson in 1979, the Lakers played basketball with gusto and pizzazz, unleashing their famed 'Showtime' run-and-gun style on a league unprepared for their speed and ferocity. Between 1980 and 1991, the Lakers played in an unmatched nine NBA championship series, capturing five of them.
