Lakers Moments: Time to work and time to play

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Soak it up: The Lakers take a poolside break during their Palm Springs training camp Sept. 12, 1980. From left: Coach Paul Westhead, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, Jim Chones, Michael Cooper, Brad Holland, assistant coach Pat Riley and Mark Landsberger. In the back on the diving board are Magic Johnson and Norm Nixon.

Despite the sunny weather, the rest of the year did not go too well. The 1980-81 season was a huge disappointment and set the stage for Westhead’s departure as coach of the team early the following season. The Lakers lost Magic Johnson for much of the season to a knee injury and finished second in their division.

Read more about the 1980-81 season in All Things Lakers, the L.A. Times’ interactive database of all things purple and gold.

-- Sarah Ardalani