By L. Bergmann

I am very happy for Mr. Earvin "Magic" Johnson on his induction tonight into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.

It will be televised at 7pm EST on ESPN Classic. Immediately preceding will be the tape of Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals between the Lakers and Sixers at 5pm EST. I'm sure a few of you might recall that game.

NBA TV was replaying last night Game 4 of the 1985 Finals between the Lakers and Celtics at the Forum. This was the game the Lakers lost on a shot by Dennis Johnson at the buzzer after Larry Bird had drawn the defense to him and simply flipped the ball to the wide-open DJ. Of course, we recovered to win the series, but when I watched this again last night I could still feel the sick feeling that went thru my stomach all those years ago when I saw that shot go in.

I have all those 80's Finals games on tape, but I really don't watch them. I guess it's just comforting to know they're there. I'm sure one day I'll pull them out and watch them until my eyeballs fall out.

But watching that game last night really got me in the mood to experience tonight. The matchups between the Lakers and Celtics in the 80's was truly the apex of NBA basketball in my humble opinion. The brand of basketball they played would be unrecognizable to youngsters who grew up on Jordan, or even Shaq and Kobe.

The game has devolved in the last 10-12 years into more of a trench warfare in which the brutal physicality of the defenses has overwhelmed the more aesthetic qualities that should really be present in basketball. There is still much artistry in the game to be sure, and thank goodness we have Kobe Bryant, the leading proponent of that style of play in today's game. But (and I hate to sound like the old fogey that I probably am) it ain't what it used to be. That's really the Dirty Little Secret of the NBA.

Magic Johnson took the game to previously unimaginable heights when he exploded onto the NBA scene like a comet. He invented "Showtime" basketball. I can still hear him yelling "HO! HO!" when the Lakers cleared a rebound and he demanded the ball so he could get the thing up the court as quickly as possible. And once he started running down the floor, with Worthy filling one lane and Cooper the other, everybody in the damn building knew that it was ALL OVER.

There is no doubt in my mind that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the best player on the Lakers. Hell, in my opinion he was the best player ever to play the game. But perhaps Pat Riley's greatest genius came when he emphasized the running game immediately upon taking over the coaching position. Riley knew that with Magic charging up the floor with all of the other wonderfully athletic players of those teams, it was going to be a terror that the opposition would be hard pressed to slow down, much less stop. And on nights when it wasn't going as well, or in the tight moments late in a close game, there was Kareem, the ultimate low post weapon with the greatest shot the game has ever seen, to settle the matter when we desperately needed a hoop. It was sheer brilliance. The perfect balance. The perfect team.

In my opinion, those 80's Lakers were the finest basketball team ever assembled. If that team were playing in today's NBA, they would win the championship every year. And yes, they would beat the Shaq-Kobe Lakers.

The reason they didn't win them all in the 80's was because the league was much much better in those days. The Lakers had to contend with the Celtics and Larry Bird, the Sixers and Dr. J, and the Pistons and Isiah Thomas. Those four teams all had the ability to win the title year-in, year-out during the 80's. There just aren't as many teams in the league now that have the kind of mental toughness and style of play that those teams had. That was real competition that the Lakers had to deal with every year. These were real basketball teams, not just a collection of great athletes who rely largely on their athletic skills to carry the day. That's why someone is going to be hard pressed to beat the Lakers of today. Because they are also a real basketball team. They have toughness and wiles to go with their skills. How many other teams in the league are there like that now?

And despite all the competition, the Showtime Lakers won 5 championships. They appeared in the Finals 9 times in 12 seasons. 'Nuff said there.

Magic Johnson created Showtime, and in so doing, he made the game fun for his teammates, and that probably prolonged Kareem's career by several seasons. When Magic arrived in LA, Kareem was disillusioned. He was coming off some tough seasons. The 77-78 season had been ruined by Kareem's punch to the head of Kent Benson, which broke his hand, and cast him as a villain (the fact the Benson cheap-shotted Kareem prior to Kareem's punch was conveniently overlooked by the media), and then of course the horrifying night at the Forum when Kermit Washington nearly killed Rudy Tomjanovich with a punch.

The following season, Kareem was roasted in the media for not playing hard enough, a curious claim in that he was still far and away the best player in the game, and his chief critic was Wilt Chamberlain, who bristled throughout his career when the same things were said about him. And all of the critics also conveniently overlooked the fact that Kareem was basically a one-man team. There were other talented players on the Lakers, but the pieces didn't fit together well.

Magic Johnson changed all that. He made the pieces fit. The ones that didn't, or couldn't, or wouldn't, had to go. If you couldn't play basketball with Magic Johnson, well, you had to go.

In the beginning, Magic wasn't a good outside shooter. But he could obviously run and pass, and he could rebound. Those Lakers teams in the early 80's were tough to get a rebound from. Kareem was still rebounding well, and having Magic out there going after every rebound was like having a terrific power forward to complement Kareem's rebounding.

The Lakers also had a terrific guard next to Magic in Norm Nixon. Their styles of play and egos clashed with one another occasionally, never more than when they were feuding while the Lakers were embarrassingly eliminated by the Houston Rockets in 1981. They patched things up and became close over the next couple of years, but it was clear that while Nixon was an excellent player, Magic had to have the ball in his hands. He was too good, too revolutionary a talent, to split the point guard duties with anyone, even a player as talented as Nixon. Norm was traded in 1983 for Byron Scott, and now Magic was totally running the show.

As the years went by, Magic continued to grow and improve as a player, even adding a very reliable perimeter jumper. By the 1987 season, Kareem was slowing down a bit, and Riley turned to Magic and told him that now was the time, now the Lakers were his team. Whereas before Magic had played a very vital role on Kareem's team, now it would be Kareem in the vital role on Magic's team. That year's team won 65 games and steamrolled everybody, including the Boston Celtics, on their way to the title. The 86-87 team was probably the best of all the Showtime teams. They played the game with a deadly efficiency while being wildly entertaining to watch. They were a great great team.

A couple of years later, Kareem retired, and in the first year without the Captain, 1989-90, Magic played probably his greatest season. The Lakers won 63 games, Magic was the hands-down MVP. He was single-handedly winning games night after night. Even though the Lakers ran out of gas and got ambushed by Phoenix in the playoffs that year, I still believe that was Magic's peak. He was so brilliant that season. I really enjoyed watching him that year (not that I hadn't enjoyed the previous years, obviously).

Magic was still great the following year, but he was a little beat up at times, and the team was in transition with a new coach. Portland was supposed to be the big team that year and I think they swept the Lakers during the season. But all year, I felt that if we got them in the playoffs we would win. Why? Because we had Magic and they didn't.

In the opening game of the WCF, Magic put on a brutal exhibition of what playoff, championship basketball was all about and the Lakers smacked them good up in Portland. The Blazers won the second game up there. But then back at the Forum, Magic got the Lakers running again, and for two glorious games they just ran the Blazers right out of the gym. The Blazers got Game 5 back in their building.

Game 6 was one of the most thrilling and intense basketball games I ever saw. And at the finish, the Lakers were clinging desperately to a 1-point lead. The Blazers were coming hard, confident that if they could just get back to their building for Game 7 they could take out the aging Lakers. They had the ball with about 10 seconds to play. I can still see it so clearly in my mind. Terry Porter takes a shot from about 18 feet out. It bounces off the rim and the ball goes bouncing over toward the Lakers bench. Magic storms past everybody, grabs the ball, and before the Blazers can foul him to stop the clock, literally throws it backward over his head, and the ball bounces harmlessly down the floor where nobody can get it as the clock runs out.

It is still the single smartest play I've ever seen in a pressure-packed moment. It was so unreal, so surreal, that the clock-keeper at the Forum gagged and actually stopped the clock for a moment, which gave the Blazers the ball way down at the other end of the floor, which should never have happened. But there wasn't enough time for them to do anything but throw a floor-length desperation pass and that was it. Ballgame. Brilliance. Magic.

The Lakers lost to the Bulls in the Finals. Then came November 7, 1991.

Magic was ready to come back for the 92-93 season, but was driven back into retirement by fear. Not the lie that players were fearful of playing on the same floor with him. No, the fear was that they knew if Magic returned, he would return to the business of kicking their asses all over the floor. Magic took the high road and walked away. And all of the "concerned" people are still searching for a championship that they will never find.

He did finally return for a portion of the 95-96 season. While he was clearly slower, he also clearly still had a lot of game. The season ended disappointingly, but being able to get out there one more time was an important catharsis for Magic, and probably for many of his fans too, myself very much included. There were some great moments for Magic during those games, and it was a real pleasure to be able to see him back out on the floor one last time. And I think and hope that it allowed Magic to finally find peace within himself so that he could move on with the rest of his life. And how do you put a value on something like that?

In the years since, Magic has concentrated on his business ventures. But they aren't your normal business ventures. He has brought businesses to inner cities where the services are really needed and welcomed, and many jobs are created where none existed before. The fact that he has focused his endeavors in this fashion says a lot about the man. As he was as a player, he is as a man. He's still dealing out beautiful assists, smiling along the way, and everybody's winning.

And I can't end without a comment about that smile. That gazillion dollar smile. It lights up a room even now. It emanates warmth and goodwill and positivity. And every time I see his face on the TV I find myself automatically breaking into a smile myself.

Tonight, he goes into the Hall, introduced by Larry Bird, which is fitting. Those two players defined a generation and ethos of basketball, and in many ways, each other. And I really don't think there are many players who have ever played any sport who are more deserving of the honor of the Hall of Fame than Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

Thanks for everything, Magic, and congratulations!