Los Angeles Lakers: Ranking the 4 greatest duos of all-time

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson

Widely considered to be the greatest center/point guard duo of all-time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson played 10 seasons together. They advanced to the Finals in eight of those seasons and won five championships between 1980 and 1988.

Both players have won three regular season MVP awards apiece with the Lakers while Magic earned earned three Finals MVP’s while Abdul-Jabbar has one. The idea of combining Abdul-Jabbar’s commanding low post presence with Johnson’s outstanding play allowed them to have success as they dominated the entire 1980’s.

Johnson, the undisputed leader of the “Showtime Lakers,” made the brand popular as he orchestrated their offensive attack of the captivating run-and-gun style of basketball that complimented the duo perfectly.  Johnson was an excellent distributor and floor general with the command of the game while Abdul-Jabbar was an elite offensive threat in the post while armed with an unstoppable skyhook as he became the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.

Johnson’s ability to find open teammates helped him to become the all-time leader in assists per game. This 1-2 punch had lots of success as they formed an inside/outside combination that was unlike anything the NBA had seen before.