In December, the team traded Armen Gilliam to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Kurt Rambis, who won four championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Cotton Fitzsimmons was head coach for a club that returned to the Western Conference Finals. ![]() The 1989–90 NBA season was the 21st season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association.record. 24 at Denver.NBA professional basketball team season 1989–90 Phoenix Suns season They got down there, and just started working.”Īnd on Thursday, the Lakers will again get to work in Palm Springs as they go through final preparations for the regular season opener on Oct. “The vibe down there was really good,” Lantz recalls. The team’s longtime television analyst, the great Stu Lantz, recalled trips to Palm Springs as a broadcaster, but just to observe practice and be a part of the team, since there were no games to call. The team obliged, and Thompson drove back to Los Angeles before jumping on a plane to Europe. Mychal’s last memory of Palm Springs as a Laker came in 1991, when he approached management early in training camp to request to be released, due to an opportunity he had to play professionally in Italy. *The players did receive per diem to cover the meals. Just tried to eat healthy and something to digest easily so I could get up and sprint again.” I’d go with a chicken sandwich, a dinner salad, some pasta. We were responsible for getting our own meals*. “We also didn’t have team dinners like they do now. “Let’s put it this way: nobody brought their golf clubs,” he explained. Thompson wishes the players had more time to enjoy Palm Springs, but they were there on a business trip. He maybe didn’t run as fast as Coop or Byron, but he was out there running!” “They did give Kareem a little leeway since he was older, and he didn’t ask of any drill. Magic, Kareem, Cooper, Byron would get on you if you couldn’t keep up. ![]() Everybody on that Showtime Lakers team was professional and in shape. “If he said jump, I just asked him how high. “Riley didn’t yell at me much,” allowed Thompson. Thompson typically spent the month prior to camp doing cardio training, trying to make sure he was in shape, and that he didn’t get yelled at. Some guys like AC Green were built for it. Hall of Famer Pat Riley was “A disciplinarian” in that setting, according to Thompson. “Try that today in the NBA!”, laughed Thompson. Practices would resume at 5 p.m., typically lasting until 8 p.m. ![]() Then most players would collapse in their hotel rooms, hoping for a nap. “I don’t understand how anybody complains in the league today compared to what we did. “Hell!” he exclaimed when asked what a Pat Riley training camp was like. But all he can recall about Showtime Lakers training camps is … well … being exhausted. Palm Springs is a beautiful place that Thompson likes very much. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the Lakers often held training camp in Palm Springs, and on Thursday, they’ll be playing a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns in the brand new Acrisure Arena*, giving local fans of the Purple and Gold a chance to see the Lake Show up close and personal.įormer Showtime Lakers big man and current radio analyst Mychal Thompson will be in attendance, calling the game on ESPN Radio … and trying not to think too much about his time as a player. For the first time in many years, the Lakers are heading 120 miles almost directly east, to sunny Palm Springs, one of the favorite locals of Dr.
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