BOB MCADOO; DID HE PLAY FOR LA LAKERS AND WHY DOES WINNING TIME INTRODUCES HIM AS SUCH.
NBA great Bob McAdoo has been added to the cast of Winning Time, but did he ever play for the LA Lakers? What happened to McAdoo?
Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers dynasty is coming to an end, with just two episodes left in the run after episode eight was broadcast on April 24th.
The eighth episode is built around the 1980 All-Star game and its aftermath for the Lakers and key players such as Magic Johnson, both on and off court.
One former NBA star who was a key part of Winning Time’s eighth episode was Bob McAdoo.
Why was McAdoo in the show, and did he ever play for the LA Lakers in the NBA?
BOB MCADOO WINNING TIME
By the time McAdoo is introduced to Winning Time, he is already an established NBA star.
The centre was second pick overall in the 1972 draft and was signed to the Buffalo Braves.
Stints in New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons followed by 1980 – when the Jerry Buss-owned Lakers were interested.
Coach Pat Riley suggests trading newly signed Spencer Heyward to the Pistons in exchange for McAdoo during the episode.
Heyward had only arrived in California earlier in the 1979-80 season.
It’s not known whether the Lakers seriously wanted to trade Heyward or whether it is some artistic licence on the behalf of the Winning Time producers.
DID HE EVER PLAY FOR THE LAKERS?
Although any potential Heyward/McAdoo swap never happened in real life – the latter did get a shot.
McAdoo, the 1975 MVP, traded to the Lakers in 1981, staying until 1985.
Luckily for the man who had never won the NBA championship – he joined at just the right time.
As episodes nine and 10 of Winning Time will explore in the next couple of weeks, Bob McAdoo was part of a two-time championship winning squad.
In 1982, the Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers.
Come 1985, they won again – this time against old rivals the Boston Celtics.
McAdoo was a key reserve in the two title winning teams – something was not overly keen on, but did to ensure he could finally win a championship – or two.
He left LA for the 76ers in 1986 before retiring from the NBA.
McAdoo would later win three NBA titles as an assistant coach at the Miami Heat in 2006, 2012 and 2013.
