75 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE LAKERS

<< NICKNAMES Zeke from Cabin Creek. Cap. Magic. Mr. Clutch. Mr. Basketball. The Black Mamba. The Logo. The Big Smooth. Superman. Clark Kent. Big Game James. Big Shot Rob. No team has had better nicknames.

WELCOME TO L.A. Maybe this should be first on the list, because if they don’t move to L.A. from Minneapolis, this list doesn’t exist. Or it’s about, shudder, the Clippers (and would be a lot shorter). PAT RILEY The coolest coach in town. Did you know the part of the cop in “Tequila Sunrise” was written for, and offered to, Riley? He turned it down. Kurt Russell got the part.

GUARANTEED At the parade for the 1986-87 champion Lakers, coach Pat Riley stepped to the microphone and guaranteed the Lakers would win the title again the following season. They did. PHIL JACKSON So laid back and averse to timeouts that you worried he might have fallen asleep on the bench. But his style led the Lakers to four titles.

GAME 6, 1980 NBA FINALS

The Lakers led the 76ers 3-2 in the series, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was out with a sprained ankle. Rookie Magic Johnson, 20, took the opening tip at center and put on a performance of the ages: 42 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and the Lakers were kings of the NBA again.

BILL BERTKA

Usually an assistant coach, he is one of the few links from Showtime to Shaq-Kobe to Kobe-Gasol to present day. He was one of the first people new Lakers coach Darvin Ham called when he got the job.

BILL SHARMAN

Coach of the 1971-72 title team. And, while the shootaround the afternoon prior to a night game is taken for granted today, Sharman invented the idea during the 1971-72 season.

JUNIOR SKYHOOK

Five seconds remain in Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals. Boston leads the Lakers by one. Magic Johnson dribbles across the top of the key. Kevin McHale and Robert Parish are between him and the basket. Junior skyhook. Swish. Lakers win.

KURT RAMBIS

Ifa guy who looked like Rambis could play for the Lakers, it kept alive our secret hope of playing for them too. And the secret to the Lakers’ fast break? Watch how fast Rambis inbounds the ball after the other team scores.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE

The term, used everywhere today, was coined by Bruce Jolesch, the former Lakers public relations director who needed a way to summarize Magic Johnson always recording double figures in points, rebounds and assists.