become Julius Erving's most famous move. This was also the first NBA Finals to make use of the three-point line, which debuted that season. Many consider this victory as the birth of Showtime. Background Los Angeles Lakers The last time the Lakers had won the NBA championship was in 1972. In the eight years between championships, the Lakers made the NBA Finals again in 1973 and lost to the New York Knicks in five games. Then Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West retired, and the Lakers missed the playoffs in 1975 and 1976. In between, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was acquired, and the Lakers returned to prominence in 1977, but Kareem couldn't do it alone. The Lakers earned the top pick of the 1979 NBA draft (traded as compensation by the New Orleans Jazz after signing Gail Goodrich in 1976) and selected Magic Johnson from Michigan State. It was one of then-owner Jack Kent Cooke's final acts before selling the team to Jerry Buss during that summer. While Magic dazzled in his rookie season, Kareem would enjoy an MVP campaign in the Lakers' 60–22 regular season. The Lakers began the season being coached by Jack McKinney as owner Jerry Buss, who had recently acquired the team, wanted games to be entertaining, and hired the coach to install a running offense. On November 8, 1979, the Lakers were 9–4 after 13 games, when McKinney suffered a near fatal head injury after falling while bicycling. Assistant coach Paul Westhead, who also worked under McKinney at St. Joseph's, was named the interim head coach. However, the length of the recovery and lingering doubts about the complete return of McKinney's mental faculties, combined with the team's level of success under Westhead, ultimately meant that McKinney would never get the chance to return to the job. Westhead continued to use McKinney's offense, a creative and spontaneous offense that came to be known as Showtime, and the team finished the season with a record of 60–22. The Lakers advanced to that year's NBA Finals and McKinney was fired by Buss mid-series on May 13, 1980. After the Lakers won the series for their first of five NBA titles in nine seasons, Buss hired Westhead to permanently replace McKinney. Behind Johnson's passing, Abdul-Jabbar's post play and Michael Cooper's perimeter shooting and defense, the trio formed the core of the Lakers' Showtime-era teams. The chemistry between the three was evident early