My dad took me (and I believe my brother, Miles) to see the Lakers vs Hawks in Atlanta, on a school night. This was in the '80s and towards the end of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career. I remember we arrived early enough at the Omni to see the Lakers bus pull into the arena. I can remember seeing the team getting off the bus. And although they were at a pretty far-off distance, I spotted Magic Johnson. During warm-ups, Coach Pat Riley was sitting in the stands - lower level, by himself. My dad encouraged me to go get his autograph. And he said to say "War Eagle" to him. I did just that! "Riles" just looked at me. Anyway, I didn't know it, but he had played at the University of Kentucky. The game was exciting. The Lakers won, but not by much. I do remember as we were leaving, seeing Magic sink some free throws to seal it.
I was the biggest Lakers fan in the 80s! I read almost any Sporting News and Sports Illustrated article on them that I could. I read biographies of Kareem and Magic, and Showtime by Pat Riley.
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