The Insane Story Behind the Coaches of Showtime
Showtime Podcast with Lakers Legend Michael Cooper
Ep. 10 The Insane Story Behind the Coaches of Showtime
Twitter: @ShowtimeCooper
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Coop and Ari Temkin discuss the 1980 season, Magic's rookie year, and the loss of the father of Showtime Jack McKinney to a head injury that saw Paul Westhead become the coach. The story of how the Lakers found Pat Riley is crazy with twists and turns along the way. Pat Riley is synonymous with Showtime, but he wasn't meant to be Showtime's coach at first!
0:00 - 1:32 - Intro
1:33 - 5:52 - The 1979 Lakers and the coaching situation they were dealing with, how an injury kept Coop in Los Angeles his rookie season, sharing the court with Magic in summer league
5:53 - 8:12 - Jack McKinney as the Lakers head coach
8:13 - 12:34 - How McKinney, not Pat Riley, acted as the father of the Showtime Lakers and heavily influenced the way they played, McKinney’s bike accident and how it affected the Lakers
12:35 - 14:21 - The Lakers locker room reaction to Paul Westhead being named the new coach in place of McKinney following the accident
14:22 - 16:50 - Playing Philadelphia during the 1980 NBA Finals, Spencer Haywood’s dismissal from the team during the Finals
16:51 - 22:08 - The factors that aligned against the Lakers in the 1980 NBA season and how they had to battle to overcome the obstacles, Kareem’s sprained ankle in the Finals, Magic’s emergence as a leader for the team
22:09 - 24:02 - Magic taking his play to the next level after Kareem’s injury
24:03 - 26:49 - How the coaching style of Paul Westhead changed after the Lakers won the 1980 NBA Finals
26:50 - 28:51 - What was the issue with Westhead and what made the 1981 season so difficult for the Lakers?
28:52 - 33:15 - Pat Riley becoming Westhead’s assistant and the struggles for the Lakers in 1983
33:16 - 35:33 - The firing of Paul Westhead and what actually happened form Coop’s perspective
35:34 - 37:06 - How Magic needed to be free to play through his feel and Westhead affected that from happening
37:07 - 38:16 - Coop’s impressions of Pat Riley before he became the head coach of the Lakers
38:17 - 39:24 - How did Riley change from being the assistant coach to the head coach
39:25 - 44:38 - How did the offense and scheme change when Riley took over the head coaching role for Westhead, what was Riley best at as a head coach
44:39 - 50:07 - Do the Lakers still win five championships if Jack McKinney is the head coach the entire time? Plus some more on Riley’s greatness as a head coach
50:08 - 50:22 - Outro
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