I remember this like it was yesterday. An amazing NBA moment.
But only watching this new commercial in beautiful super slow motion do I realize: Whoa, how freaking open was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! One of the greatest scorers in NBA history was 100% all alone under the hoop. (And don't tell me there was another defender there who has been digitally removed -- all five Celtics are in the shot by the end of the play.)
You can look at that two ways: The shot is smarter, because the Lakers had that rebound, in all likelihood. But you can also look at as a shot that was higher-risk than the pass that would have led to an easy dunk.
Also, those of you who are convinced that back in the good ol' days NBA players only took one step after picking up their dribble ... this is a good, honest two full steps by Johnson.