He had a decent hook shot

We need to see this picture! ❤

@@Julianvanderheijden My profile pic

Do you know around where he was sitting? I was at this game too as a kid, but sitting way up in the nosebleeds (by where the retired jerseys were). I had no idea Tupac was at this game until a few years ago!

Where's the picture?!!1

Profile pic

It's been 11 years. And you forgot Rodman

and Eddie Jones

8:49

🥴

Ermo Time Pac died in 97’

Stick Talk Gorilla 1996 man..

Great defensive player

Crowd was glad to see magic back on the Lakers.

With their accomplishments

That is Tupac walking across at the bottom of your screen not at the very front but close to it 9:02. You can also see his Death Row chain shining when the light hits his death row chain

julius henry who gives a fuck

Steve Moran you commented so you do

People who comment "who gives a fuck" are just attention seekers. If they didn't care, they would've kept scrolling.

Magic + Shaq + Kobe ... yeah add Magic to any team they get better, because he is a "once in a generation passer".

I think the 97 Lakers win it all with Van Exel, Magic Johnson, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell and Shaq with Jerome Kersey, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Byron Scott and Kobe Bryant. Or at least the 1997 NBA Finals vs the 69-13 1997 Bulls 🐂♉ and maybe Chicago still wins cuz do not forget 🚫 the 1997 Bulls 🐂 are maybe the 2nd or 3rd best Jordan led Bulls squad of the dynasty, so they could beat anyone in history, but I do not 🚫 forget, that Magic Johnson is one of the greatest winners in NBA History, and that he won 5 titles and went to 9 NBA Finals and was in the Finals in 1991 so Magic never did actually exit his prime and played a game that translated well into old age like John Stockton, he didn't need to dribble flashy, dunk, alot of shots, etc. Defense he'd be a liability but you use Eddie Jones to guard the better wing position on the opponent. You make Van Exel 2 guard on offense on occasion and vice versa let Van Exel run point like Norm Nixon with Magic a big guard playing 1,2 or whatever but he will still play the same way he always played anyway and make the best basketball play every play like he did better than anyone else in history. Shaq is a younger Kareem in 1997. A younger Wilt than Wilt was ever as a Laker. So with old Magic Johnson he plays the reverse tail end Kareem role and stabilizes Shaq s youth. I think Magic's winning pedigree alone gets L.A. to the title series. In 1997, the Sonics, Jazz and Rockets are the best Western Conference teams and the Lakers were right there with those 3 teams even without Magic Johnson and with Shaq only playing 51 games.

Good insights. I actually felt he had a bigger impact the 1st year and the 2nd year was kind of 'flat'. I do believe Michael winning ways rubbed off on people. Richard Hamilton, went on to win a championship. It seemed like playing with Michael was a positive experience and he soaked up a lot of Michael's teachings and "MO". When Michael played for the Whitesox farm team, the manager Francona went on to win two championships with the Red Sox. Michael's winning spirit did seem to influence others. I noticed Scott Pippen was a better player with Michael and the Bulls, then his time with the Rockets and Blazers. Anyway, good insights.

+mikem987 - and Magic proved your point when he immediately led the Lakers to a title in 1980. =)

Yes. Jordan had FIVE losing seasons in the NBA. Magic had NONE. 1996 showed it wasn't "talent", but HOW Magic played the game. Pippen is really a Magic clone, and so, in a lesser way, is Rodman. They both did all the little things that led to victory. Jordan was more like a Kevin Durant.

Emmanuel Enyinwa - you continue with your moronic crusade against MJ and are as usual, intentionally disingenuous by leaving out context and facts. From '84 to '89, MJ had 43 different teammates, 3 different starters each season and 3 different coaches. Magic was drafted in to an already great and stacked Lakers squad you fool. It wasn't his superlative play only. He also had one of the greatest coaches of all time in Pat Riley. Same thing with Bird - he was drafted to a super squad. MJ however was drafted on to a 27-55 Bulls team without one single player from his championship squad. And yet he dominated individually anyway. I don't get your ridiculous hatred for MJ but considering he's the greatest of all time and considering Magic himself has said this constantly about MJ - his exact words, "MJ's the GOAT. No doubt about it. He did it on the highest stage" - your intentionally deceptive points mean nothing. That's one of the countless things that separates MJ from the rest. He started with NOTHING and yet he overcame more adversity than nearly any other Champion ever. He never ran away and quite frankly, his championship squad from '91 to '93 was on paper, not as good as Magic's teams but they still won anyway. That is the hallmark of true greatness. If MJ was lucky enough to be drafted on to the Lakers, he probably would have played point guard also considering that's what Dean Smith wanted for him - he'd have won countless more championships but he had to start from zero unlike Magic Johnson - but again, he succeeded anyway and more so than Magic.

"Same thing with Bird - he was drafted to a super squad." No. Bird was added to a team that had NO McHale and NO Parish, added 31 games. How similar the pre and post Bird teams were I leave as an exercise to you.

The Lakers were VERY beat-up through that 1st Bulls championship series, and the team improved talent-wise after that year. That year, Magic averaged 19.4 pts, 12.5 ast, and 7 reb a game. The '95-'96 season saw him avg 14.6 pts, 6.9 ast, and 5.7 reb a game after being out of the league 4 years! Those are starter numbers, not just role player numbers. Pippin's avg was 19.4, 5.9 ast, 6.4 reb that year, and nobody would call him a role player. Basketball-reference.com can help a lot with actual facts and stats in the future.

You delusional Lakers fans are hilarious. Would have, should have and could have. And measuring stats while not considering context is ridiculous and obviously inconclusive. The Bulls would have dismantled them defensively which is an area that LA just couldn't compete with the Bulls. That's what the Bulls did to them in the '91 Finals and everybody else throughout the decade. They won through defense.

" the next year Shaq actually tried to talk Magic out of retiring" Magic is 36 in this game & doesn't need super-duper athleticism to pass like a legend. I wish he had come for another season, maybe given the Bulls a run for their money.

The year Michael came back

And Brian Williams (Bison Dele).

You didn't see the 91 finals?

Magic made his return the game before this. This was his second game back.

Cash Young I