Published December 6, 1966
My first cover was shot by Neil Leifer. I had great conversations with him about photography. I was amazed that he could get a job at SI without a college degree. This magazine was publilshed on my mom's birthday so it was a great present for her. Pretty soon I was seeing a lot of kids on campus reading this issue and I realized how big of a deal basketball was at UCLA.
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Published April 3, 1967
This cover commemorates my 1st NCAA title. It was the easiest year of my three varsity seasons. I never expected to get that far that quickly but all the elements fell into place for our team that season. I think the fact that we had no seniors made it easy for many people to write us off but we ignored all of the so-called 'experts' and methodically got our objectives.
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Published December 29, 1968
This cover commemorates the most disapointing loss of my college career. People were quick to jump on the Houston bandwagon. I used that cover as a motivating tool by placing it in my locker. I had to see it every day before and after practice. By having it in my locker, I knew that I would be reminded to be at my best if we got another shot at Houston in the NCAA Tourney.
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Published April 1. 1968
This is my favorite cover from my college career. The photo shows me shooting my favorite shot against a team that cannot defend it and Elvin Hayes is on the ground watching helplessly with a couple of his team-mates, hoping that I would miss. This game also showed the fans how much trouble the UCLA full court press could cause for a team trying to get back into a game.
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Published March 31, 1969
The title "Million Dollar Finish" says it all. The look on my face is one of pride and relief. Our team was always expected to win and we could be remarkable only if we lost a game. That is a lot of pressure but we were able to overcome that pressure and prevail. I could have signed a professional contract a couple of years earlier than my senior year but I felt that my value would increase if UCLA could win consecutives NCAA titles. By winning an unprecedent three in a row our success at UCLA put my value much higher than it would have been if I had signed earlier.
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Published October 27, 1969
This cover marks my passage into the Pro ranks. I felt that I could do well even though some writers felt that I might not be physical enough to make it. I was able to overcome any physical play by going to my strenghts which were speed and agility. All of the centers who wanted to use roughhouse tactics were at a disadvantage because they couldn't run the court consistently. I remember one center for Detroit asking me to slow down his coach wouldn't get on his case for not keeping pace with me.
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Published March 9, 1970
This cover gives me credit for being a dominant center. I felt that I had earned this distinction and I really enjoyed the photo. It is a fold out photo and the one of the Philly player is Archie Clark. Archie was like a mentor for me my first few years in the league. Players like Arch, Woody Saulsberry and Chet Walker were kind to give me a sound advice with regard to having a succesful career. We are still friends.
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Published April 27, 1970
The Bucks gave it their best but the Knicks had the better team. The sports writers at the time tried to say that the Knicks were better because Willis Reed was a more dominant player than I was. Over the next few seasons I would blow that myth out of the water. That led me to becoming the villain whenever I played at MSG. But the pleasure of beating the Knicks was always a special treat for me.
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Published February 8, 1971
There was much anticipation for a knicks/Bucks playoff match-up but the Baltimore Bullets had other ideas. So this cover was not an accurate prediction for the NBA Finals. The Bullets, led by Earl Monroe and Fred Carter beat the Knicks for the Eastern Conference Title.
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Published April 24, 1972
As defending world champs the Bucks lose to the Lakers. Bucks seemed to be just one player short of the team they wanted to go all the way. The Lakers had all of the elments fall into place for them that year and the consistent team effort they put out made them world champs.
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Published February 19, 1973
I enjoyed this cover because it shows how the hook shot can be used against the most physically dominant player I ever competed against. Wilt was never able to solve that particular problem.
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Published May 20, 1974
This picture of John Havlvcek running the floor is a perfect encapsulation of that series. The Bucks were unable to match the Celtics due to injuries suffered by Lucius Allen and Oscar Robertson. The Bucks gave a tremendous effort but lost in 7 games.
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Published October 14, 1974
This cover reminds me of the connection I had with Bill Walton over his career. I played against him in his first exhibition game and hislast playoff game with many memorable games in between. It reminds me of how intense the competition gets on the court. When Bill retired we were not on speaking terms. That lasted a couple of years. Finally we were at a function and Bill offered his hand and I took it and we both laughed. At some point we both realized that we had a great competition against each other rivalry was not something to cause any long lasting hostility. The competition in the end created mutual respect and appreciation and I'm happy to call Bill my friend and colleague.
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Published February 14, 1977
'77 was another year when it seemed that fate had it in for the Lakers. Injuries made it impossible for us to put our best team on the court in the playoffs. If Kermit Washington had played for the Lakers I am sure that the results would have been quite different.
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Published May 23, 1977
Portland sweeps the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Probably Bill Walton's best year in the NBA. It was ironic that the next year, with a better team the Blazers lost because of key injuries.
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Published May5, 1980
1980 was a great year for me personally and it was great year for the team because it made it very clear that Magic Johnson would be a superbly dominant player. Magic's presence on the Lakers took a lot of pressure off me because he was so good on the court and was equally great with the press. His performance in the final game made us world champs.
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Published May 9, 1983
This cover reminds me of how often I was double-teamed. It never seemed to work out for the defense because Coach McKinney and Coach Riley were able to prepare us to deal with any defensive adjustments the other teams made against us.
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Published June 10, 1985
By mentioning my age SI made me start thinking about where and when my career would end. I never felt I would last that long when I started playing but it was worth the wait to get the opportunities that my longevity made possible.
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Published June 17, 1985
This is my favorite cover from my professional career. It was quite an honor to be the MVP in the most important series in laker history. Until '85 the Lakers were 0-8 against the Celtics in world championship play. We finally changed that and had the added thrill of winning it in Boston Garden... It doesn't get any better than that! The look on Danny Ainge's face reminds me of Yogi Berra's compalint to the um after Jackie Robinson stole home in the world series.
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Published December 23, 1985
It was kind of alarming seeing myself with an eye missing, but a great honor to be chosen as Sportsman of the Year. I always thought that award went to someone in horseracing or sailing or golf. Winning the award really made it sink in as to know far I had come as an athlete. It's a special moment when you are honored in the same fashion as yuor heroes.
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Published June 22, 1987
Our way of beating the Celtics again for the first of back to back titles. This one was especially pleasant for me because I turned 40 as the playoffs began. Despite that, I was able to lead the team in scoring for the playoffs. This victory also made us of the first team to win back to back titles in 18 years.
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Published April 18, 1988
This is a great tribute to the Laker franchise because being able to be that good that often requires excellence throughout the franchise. So that means that the owner, the general manager, the coaching staff and the players all had to maintain high standards.
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Published January 23, 1989
This photo will alaways signify my twilight years in the NBA. '89 was such an emotional rollercoaster for me with ceremonies at the arenas that I would never play in again. it was often emotionally draining but the affection from the fans was something I could not ignore. A knee injury in December made things worse but hearing the fans respond the way they did made the time and effort worth it.
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Published November 11, 1996
Three eras of Laker centers are quite a statement. I always felt that Wilt should have been in this photo because Shaq hadn't yet been on a world championship team. However, Shaq has certainly proven his status as an all-time great in the ensuing years.
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Published December 27, 2004
Representing N.Y. in this way was a great surprise for me. The NY fans always went out of their way to knock me and any of my accomplishments. It was like they wanted to make a point by belittling me at any and every opportunity. Most great players are given some kind of positive acknowledgement in NY, but I was an exception.
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