USA TODAY Sports

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The Lakers are in.

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Shaq joins some elite company.

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Today in sports history…

March 27, 1994: Hey, remember that time when Magic Johnson became coach of the Los Angeles Lakers?

After starting off by losing five games out of six, Magic announced that he would abandon the head coaching post at the end of the season. His total tenure: Just 16 games.

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On this day in sports history…

March 20, 1990: #33 was officially retired. The Los Angeles Lakers retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s jersey one year after he announced the end of his NBA career. The storied sky-hooker left the game with more championship rings than fingers on his right hand, and remains the all-time leading NBA scorer (38,387 lifetime points).

You might be saying to yourself, “Hey, I wonder what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is up to these days?”…and we have an update! 65-year-old, 7-foot-2 Kareem made a spectacular bellyflopping debut on ABC’s Splash last night. (Splash is a celebrity diving contest, in case you’re mercifully unaware of its existence).

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Kobe is out indefinitely after severely spraining his left ankle.

Here’s more.

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Keaton Palmer, 22 of Orlando, was a Howard fan. Also wearing No. 12 Magic jersey, he covered –o-w-a-r-d with duct tape and wrote a-r-r-i-s, for recently acquired forward Tobias Harris.
“Yep, I was,” he said. “It started when he signed that one-year extension and opted in. Then he wanted out. That was really, really strange and just rubbed the town the wrong way. If he just took the route Shaq did and said, ‘Hey, I’m leaving,’ it wouldn’t have been as painful. But he did this whole charade, ‘I love you guys. I’m loyal.’ It definitely stung.”
Rick Herrera made the 140-mile drive from Jacksonville for the game. He, too, wore a No. 12 Magic jersey, and on the back, he wrote on duct tape covering the name, “Who?”
“The whole thing about leading Orlando on, saying he loves the city and he’s loyal, bothered everyone,” Herrera said.
Orlando fans reserved their cheers for Magic point guard Jameer Nelson, whose relationship with Howard has waned since the trade. The gameday production staff showed highlights of Orlando’s 113-103 road victory against the Lakers.
Early in the game, fans booed Howard every time he touched the ball and cheered when he missed a shot, especially when he bricked two free throws.
— USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt

Keaton Palmer, 22 of Orlando, was a Howard fan. Also wearing No. 12 Magic jersey, he covered –o-w-a-r-d with duct tape and wrote a-r-r-i-s, for recently acquired forward Tobias Harris.

“Yep, I was,” he said. “It started when he signed that one-year extension and opted in. Then he wanted out. That was really, really strange and just rubbed the town the wrong way. If he just took the route Shaq did and said, ‘Hey, I’m leaving,’ it wouldn’t have been as painful. But he did this whole charade, ‘I love you guys. I’m loyal.’ It definitely stung.”

Rick Herrera made the 140-mile drive from Jacksonville for the game. He, too, wore a No. 12 Magic jersey, and on the back, he wrote on duct tape covering the name, “Who?”

“The whole thing about leading Orlando on, saying he loves the city and he’s loyal, bothered everyone,” Herrera said.

Orlando fans reserved their cheers for Magic point guard Jameer Nelson, whose relationship with Howard has waned since the trade. The gameday production staff showed highlights of Orlando’s 113-103 road victory against the Lakers.

Early in the game, fans booed Howard every time he touched the ball and cheered when he missed a shot, especially when he bricked two free throws.

— USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt