Magic vs. Kobe? Wooden vs. Kareem? Vote in fourth round of ‘Biggest L.A. Sports Icon’ tournament
Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the tournament.
The third round in the basketball regional “Biggest Icon in L.A. Sports History†is over, and we are now down to the final four people remaining out of the 32 who began in the regional. Now it is time to vote in the fourth round.
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Some rules.
1. There are four regionals, with 32 people in each regional, seeded from No. 1 to No. 32. The winner of each regional will face off in the Final Four. Those two winners will meet in the championship round.
2. With each matchup, there will be a link for you to click on to vote. You can also send your votes by email by clicking here. Or you can vote on Twitter by clicking here.
3. When voting, ask yourself “When I think L.A. sports, whom do I think of first?†and vote for that person.
4. A brief sentence or two accompanies each entrant below. It is not meant to be an all-encompassing list of their accomplishments, just a brief reminder of why they are on this list.
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So without further ado, let’s get to the fourth round of the basketball regional. Voting ends at midnight Sunday. Remember, you can vote by email by clicking here, on Twitter by clicking here, or you can click on the link after each matchup.
Biggest L.A. Sports Icon tournament, fourth round (basketball regional)
No. 1 Magic Johnson vs. No. 4 Kobe Bryant
Magic Johnson: Led the Lakers to five NBA titles and was the floor general behind the “Showtime†era. Now part-owner of the Dodgers and noted businessman.
How he got here
Routed No. 32 Paul Westphal in the first round, 98.6%-1.4%
Defeated No. 16 Cheryl Miller in the second round, 96.7%-3.3%.
Defeated No. 9 Chick Hearn in the third round, 75%-25%.
Kobe Bryant: All he did with the Lakers is lead them to five titles, make 18 All-Star teams, win a league MVP award and be named to the all-defensive team 12 times.
How he got here
Defeated No. 29 Harold Miner in the first round, 98.5%-1.5%
Defeated No. 13 Wilt Chamberlain in the second round, 86.7%-13.3%
Defeated No. 5 Jerry West in the third round, 58.3%-41.7%
No. 2 John Wooden vs. No. 3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
John Wooden: The legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach guided the team to 10 national titles, including seven in a row. Renowned for his “Pyramid of Success.â€
How he got here
Defeated No. 31 Chris Paul in the first round, 92.5%-7.5%
Defeated No. 15 Pat Riley in the second round, 90.5%-9.5%
Defeated No. 7 Shaquille O’Neal in the third round, 85.7%-14.3%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Played at UCLA from 1966 to 1969 and was twice named player of the year (1967, 1969). Led Bruins to three consecutive NCAA titles. Became a Laker in 1975 and was the central force for five NBA title teams.
How he got here
Defeated No. 30 Reggie Miller in the first round, 98.6%-1.4%
Defeated No. 14 Phil Jackson in the second round, 93.6%-6.4%
Defeated No. 6 Elgin Baylor in the third round, 91.2%-8.8%
Don’t forget to vote
You can vote one of three ways: Click on each individual Polldaddy link above, click here to vote via email (with all your picks in one email) or vote here via Twitter.
BORN ON THIS DAY
1896: Baseball player Rogers Hornsby (d. 1963)
1899: Golfer Leo Diegel (d. 1951)
1916: Baseball player Enos “Country†Slaughter (d. 2002)
1932: Rams coach Chuck Knox (d. 2018)
1952: Basketball player George Gervin
1990: Race car driver Austin Dillon
DIED ON THIS DAY
2012: Former Dodger and Angel Bill “Moose†Skowron, 81
2015: Boxer Gene Fullmer, 83
AND FINALLY
The St. Louis Cardinals celebrate the 70th anniversary of Enos Slaughter‘s “Mad Dash.†Watch it here.
Until next time...
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.