I've been an NBA (and particularly, LA Lakers) fan since Magic Johnson was a rookie in 1979-1980. One of my most pleasant childhood memories was watching the 20-year old Magic Johnson take over for an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA World Championship series (they didn't start calling it the "NBA Finals" until 1987) and scored 42 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, dished out 7 assists, and made 2 blocks to win the championship for the Lakers over Dr. J and the Philadelphia 76ers. It was the first of five NBA championships that Magic and the Lakers would win in the decade to come.
The 1990s belonged to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Their first victim was none other than the last of Magic's Lakers teams...which was aging and had already lost Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, and Coach Pat Riley from the glory days of the Showtime years. Jordan's Bulls would dominate the 1990s in a manner not unlike how the Magic's Lakers had dominated the 1980s.
The best of the Lakers teams of the 1980s was undoubtedly the 1986-1987 team, which finished with a record of 69-13 before defeating the Larry Bird-led Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. By comparison, the best of the Bulls teams of the 1990s was the 1995-1996 team, which went an NBA best 72-10 before beating the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA Finals.
So...the 1987 Lakers squad vs. the 1996 Bulls squad in a 7 game series. Who takes it?
Here are the significant players for both teams:
LAKERS:
1G: Magic Johnson
2G: Byron Scott
3F: James Worthy
4F: A.C. Green
5C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bench: Michael Cooper (2G, 3F), Mychal Thompson (5C)
Coach: Pat Riley
BULLS:
1G: Ron Harper
2G: Michael Jordan
3F: Scottie Pippen
4F: Dennis Rodman
5C: Luc Longley
Bench: Steve Kerr (2G), Toni Kukoc (4F)
Coach: Phil Jackson