Showtime 2.0

Thursday’s finally here and so is our Internet connection (blame AT&T for the lack of updates yesterday) and Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
And if you’re tired of all the Lakers-Celtics history lessons, get ready for some more tonight when ABC kicks off its pregame coverage, which is sure to be bogged down with more high-shorts highlights than you can shake a stick at.
Instead of taking a ride on Brent Barry’s way back machine, let’s fast forward to the present where Lakers Showtime is still making a major impact on professional basketball.
A look at the key contributors on the Lakers 1987 NBA Championship team, which beat the Celtics in six games, and where they are now:

• James Worthy: The goggled one is still following the Lakers, working KCAL’s LTV broadcast with a dude named Massengale.
• Michael Cooper: The high-socked one has led the WNBA’s L.A. Sparks to five straight playoff appearances, three straight West crowns and two WNBA titles.
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: The sky-hooked one is now a Special Assistant Coach with the Lakers, i.e. Andrew Bynum’s big man coach, helping the L.A. center to a breakout year before a knee injury shelved the remainder of the season. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer has also joined us in the blogosphere.
• Magic Johnson: The Magic one remains close to the team as a vice president and is a co-host from time to time on TNT.
• Byron Scott: The high-flying one had the upstart New Orleans Hornets within a game of the Western Conference Finals this season, was named Coach of the Year and just signed a two-year extension to keep him in New Orleans. Scott was invited to take part in pregame ceremonies tonight but has said he would skip it as the Lakers are the Hornets’ new rival.
• Kurt Rambis: The glasses-wearing one is an assistant to Phil Jackson’s current Lakers squad and is in the running for the Phoenix Suns job.