This year, the Lakers pulled off one of the biggest shocks in sports history—selling the franchise for a record-breaking $10 billion to billionaire Mark Walter. The deal made history, topping the charts as the most expensive U.S. sports team sale ever, beating out the Celtics’ $6.1 billion and the Commanders’ $6.05 billion sales back in 2023. With that, the Lakers officially became the most valuable franchise in sports. And now? Whispers of a front office shakeup are already picking up steam. But before all that, something just as interesting went down last year—a new coach joined the Lakers, one with a real history with the franchise and especially with Magic Johnson.

Last year, the Lakers made a pretty interesting addition, bringing in former Pacers head coach Nate McMillan as a lead assistant coach. McMillan had a solid run in Indiana, first as Frank Vogel’s lead assistant from 2013 to 2016, then stepping up as head coach for the next four seasons. He made the playoffs every year, though his teams fell short in the first round. After being let go in 2020, he moved on to coach the Hawks but was dismissed during the 2022-23 season. Now, with a year under his belt in L.A., the veteran coach sat down to reflect on his journey—and what it’s been like adjusting to a new chapter with the Lakers.

On The Shop with Reese and K-Mac, Nate McMillan kept it real about what it felt like joining the Lakers, especially after going head-to-head with Magic Johnson back in the day. “It was a little challenging at first,” Nate admitted. “Because I’m putting on the purple and gold, and you know, Magic and all of us, you know, we went at each other back in the 90s.” Yeah, talk about full circle. One minute you’re battling the Lakers on the court, the next you’re coaching from their bench. Though Magic hasn’t been part of the Lakers’ ownership since selling his shares in 2010, his history with Nate still lingers. And for Nate, that past was enough to make things complicated.

But despite the history, Nate made it clear how grateful he is: “It was absolute great opportunity to, you know, be coaching with the Lakers or for the Lakers and then to have the opportunity at that time to work with LeBron and Anthony Davis and in that Lakers organization.”And he didn’t hold back on just how big that felt: “This got to be one of the top five organizations in the world… far as sports. You’re going to get that opportunity to go in there and work… It’s been great. It’s been just unbelievable opportunity.”

Back in the day, Magic Johnson and Nate McMillan went at it a lot—Magic running the show for the Lakers, and Nate locking in for the Seattle SuperSonics. These two were constant matchups through the ‘80s and ‘90s, and the respect between them was real. “The guy that gives me the most trouble, night in and night out, is Nate McMillan of Seattle,” Magic once said after Game 1 of the NBA Finals in ’89.

“He does to me what I do to other people.” Nate, of course, had a cool explanation for it: “I knew what he liked to do because I do similar things. When I played against him, I pretty much tried to read him when he was coming downcourt. As he would come at me, I’d try to think of what I would do, and try to react before he did it. A lot of times, it worked.” The rivalry has been buried deep now, but it is still there beneath it all.

A forgotten West Coast rivalry: Sonics vs Lakers

If you’re from the Pacific Northwest, there’s one thing you probably grew up knowing—no one likes the Lakers. Not in Portland, and definitely not in Seattle. The Sonics and Lakers weren’t just two teams on opposite ends of the West Coast; they were rivals with real tension. The Sonics gave the Lakers early trouble in the playoffs, winning the series in ’78 and ’79. But after that? LA got their revenge, taking the next five postseason matchups and building a 21-8 all-time playoff record against Seattle. From Magic vs. Payton to Kareem vs. Sikma, every game was a slugfest, full of fire, physicality, and zero love lost.

Even though the Lakers tried to shift that rivalry onto the Thunder after the Sonics moved, let’s be real, it never hit the same. Seattle was the original West Coast thorn in LA’s side. They battled seven times in the playoffs, with moments that still sting for Sonics fans—like the 1980 Conference Finals, when a rookie named Magic Johnson helped take down the reigning Western champs. That series was the beginning of the Lakers’ dynasty and the end of the Sonics’ run at the top. By ’87 and ’89, the Lakers were flat-out dominant, but Seattle always brought the fight. Yet, the Lakers were just always that mountain Seattle couldn’t quite climb again.

If you want a perfect snapshot of how intense things got, look no further than the New York Times recap of Game 2 of the 1980 Western Conference Finals. “There has built up an intensity in individual matchups that at times resembles warfare,” it read. Norm Nixon and Gus Williams nearly tore each other apart—twice Nixon fouled Williams so hard he ended up crashing into the first row of seats. Williams still dropped 24, but only four came in the second half. Ironically, though, as heated as it got on the floor, both sides downplayed the rivalry. “There’s no rivalry, no bad blood between us. Just good hard basketball,” Williams said. Even Magic echoed that, insisting it was just guards doing their job. But to anyone watching? It felt like war.