Ranking Magic Johnson's 5 Titles

#4 1987-88 season defeated Detroit 4-3 in the Finals

What started with a kiss, ended with another Magic title.

The only time a Magic led Lakers team repeated as Finals winners and a playoff run that was very hard fought. This was a team bridging eras, as they still had some holdovers from early titles (Kareem, Michael Cooper) while also having younger, in their prime players (James Worthy, Byron Scott) to keep Showtime going. The one constant from the first title to this, the last of the Magic era, was Johnson. He finished 3rd in the MVP voting this year and his superb play in the Playoffs is the reason they were able to prevail.

Despite winning 62 games on the year, the reason this title checks in at #4 is the playoffs were a test round after round. After a sweep of the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, the Lakers went the distance in each of the next three series, including winning the last two games of the Finals by a total of four points.

This team was almost a carbon copy of the 81-82 title team, being led by one of the best offenses in the league while having a slightly above average defense. It seems like the older Kareem, 40 years old during this season, made the Lakers slightly more vulnerable than previous years. But the consistency of Pat Riley and Magic, now in their 7th season working together, had a perfect symbiosis that allowed them to adjust and cover for any hole that sprang up during the season. This consistency proved very valuable for them in the playoffs.