Kupchak’s Comeback Is Now Complete : He Comes Off Bench to Do His Share in Helping Lakers Win the Title

Exactly three years ago Sunday, the day after the Lakers beat Philadelphia to win the NBA title, forward Mitch Kupchak underwent a second surgery on his shredded left knee. Doctors told Kupchak afterward that he probably would never play basketball again.

If Kupchak had accepted that diagnosis, he wouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the Lakers’ locker room Sunday afternoon, chugging bottles of champagne in celebration of the Lakers’ NBA championship.

It would be stretching it too far to say that the Lakers would not have beaten the Celtics without Kupchak, but his contribution off the bench certainly helped make it easier. In fact, the entire corps of Laker reserves played a major role in winning the championship.

Game 6 on Sunday at the Boston Garden was an example of the Lakers’ bench strength. The Lakers used nine players; the Celtics seven. The Lakers received 17 points off the bench; the Celtics 9. Lakers reserves played a total of 63 minutes; Celtic reserves 26.

Kupchak typifies the work-ethic attitude among Laker reserves. In a December, 1981 game against San Diego, Kupchak tore ligaments and broke a bone in his left knee. He underwent surgery shortly thereafter and had a second operation on June 9, 1982--the day after the Lakers beat Philadelphia to win the NBA title.

He returned the next season, but limped around and played sparingly. This season, though, Kupchak made a significant contribution to the Lakers’ championship effort.

In the championship series, Kupchak averaged 14 minutes, 5 points and 4 rebounds per game. Laker Coach Pat Riley often went with Kupchak over Bob McAdoo when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar needed a rest.

So, in Kupchak’s mind, he has finally starting to earn at least part of the $1.15 million contract owner Jerry Buss signed him to before the 1981-82 season. That may have been part of the reason Kupchak was more emotional than the rest of his teammates on Sunday.

“Whatever happens to you, you try to look at the positive side of it,” Kupchak said. “If Dr. Buss had so much faith in me that he’d want me to try a comeback, the least I could do is work hard to get back. It was turning a negative situation into something positive.

“There were points in time when I would became frustrated, when I was down and out. There were times (after he returned to action) I’d be frustrated when Pat didn’t play me, or some other coaching decision. But over a sustained period of time, I was always confident that I could contribute.”

Kupchak’s comeback was a source of inspiration to his teammates.

“So many people counted Mitch out,” Kurt Rambis said. “There was even talk about him retiring so that they could free up some money (in the salary cap) for another player on the roster. But I remember something (assistant Coach Bill) Bertka said once. He said that, some day, Mitch is going to be the key in a playoff series.

“For a man they said shouldn’t do anything more than just walk, he really helped us win it.”

Kupchak knows he’ll never be the player he was before the injury. He can accept that now, because he’s at least contributing in some way.

“I still see myself doing things that I can’t do,” Kupchak said. “But the team doesn’t need a lot of that from me. I have shown that I can be productive.”