His Rookie Challenge Was Simply to Relax

In Magic Johnson’s first regular-season game as a Laker in 1979, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made the winning shot at the buzzer against the San Diego Clippers.

But the most memorable moment from that game was when Johnson jumped on Abdul-Jabbar and hugged him.

“I thought I’d become a Siamese twin,” Abdul-Jabbar said Wednesday at the unveiling of Johnson’s statue at Staples Center.

“In the locker room after the game, I said, ‘Magic, we’ve got 81 more games.’ He understood where I was coming from. We were in this for the long haul.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for most consecutive free throws made?

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In awe: TNT’s Kenny Smith, recalling his first All-Star game in 1990, when he competed in the dunk contest at Miami, said, “I went down to the hotel lobby and there were guys there I’d dream of being. Nate Archibald and Walt Frazier came up to me to tell me I was having a good season. I ran up to my room to call my dad and tell him, ‘Hey, Dad, Nate Archibald and Walt Frazier know who I am.’ ”

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Ultimate party host: Smith’s stature has grown a bit since those days. At last year’s All-Star game in Atlanta, he had so many friends coming into town that he decided to throw a party. It turned out to be the party of All-Star weekend.

And the Kenny Smith party tonight at Bliss may be the hottest party ticket of All-Star weekend.

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Going Hollywood: Smith is moving from Houston, where he played for the Rockets, to Valencia.

The reason? His children, Kayla, 10, and K.J., 7, have been bitten by the acting bug. They came to Southern California with their mother a month ago to pursue careers in show business.

“Three years ago, I took Kayla to see ‘Nutcracker,’ and she said, ‘I want to do that.’ Then K.J. went on a shoot with her, and he got recruited.”

Now both are represented by a Hollywood talent agency.

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A natural: Charles Barkley says he works for TNT to cover his gambling debts. Kenny Smith says he does it mainly for fun.

“When I’m not on television talking basketball, I’m still talking basketball,” Smith said. “My brother Vincent and I talk just like Charles and I do on the air. Vincent was having a weight problem a while back, so I could even practice my fat jokes about Charles on Vincent.”

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Trivia answer: Michael Williams of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who made 97, beginning in March 1993 and ending in November of that year. Coincidentally, over the same span, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (formerly Chris Jackson) of the Denver Nuggets made 81 in succession, which rank second. Calvin Murphy of the Houston Rockets made 78 in a row in 1981.

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And finally: Sometimes it’s nice how things work out.

“It’s fitting that Jerry West is the logo for the NBA,” Pat Riley said during a guest appearance on XTRA’s “Loose Cannons” show, “and now they have a statue of Magic at Staples.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.