@@Joshua-oe1sk As far as a shooter sure Curry is better, but as far as being able to know how to do anything and everything to win... Magic is undeniably better than any other point guard in NBA history. I mean he is a 6'9 point guard that can literally play any position because his basketball IQ was so high that he knew how to play every position. and he obviously cared more about winning than putting up amazing numbers.
I'm one of the older viewers you referenced in your video. I remember the day Magic announced he had HIV. I was devastated. Back then, we were used to people dying less than a year after their diagnosis, and there was a lot of misinformation and speculation about HIV and it's transmission. When Magic decided to make a comeback, there were some players that were outspoken about not wanting to share the court with him. His HIV diagnosis and reveal were so important for education and funding for research. HIV was no longer just a "gay plague" that could be ignored. 14 year old me thought that Magic would likely be dead before I graduated high school. Today, 43 year old me is happy he is still around.
Funny to find this channel again... I was a teen in the 80s growing up in Los Angeles and I didn't normally like to watch sports on TV...Except the Lakers.... Magic Johnson was unbelievable! I could hardly believe how good he was! He was really exciting to watch! The rivalry between him and Larry Bird was also very unique. The ultimate clutch man! Seemed almost like he enjoyed the last second pressure shot! Such a team player and humble cool dude. Growing up i really looked up to him. IdK if the video makes it clear but he was the finals mvp in his rookie year. There is a reason his nickname is Magic. Sometimes it was like he was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters .. I'm glad you are able to appreciate his skills in this video.
SanFranFan30 if we are referring to overall game, bird was the slightly better player, just on his scoring and shooting alone. Elsewhere they are pretty even. The scoring is what sets them apart.
Nice! Happy to see you doing this video. I really think that there are a few players from the past you need to be familiar with to better understand the players of today. Magic is definitely one of them. The Magis v Bird rivalry and how it saved basketball. Bill Russell and the early Celtics dynasty and the 92 Olympic Dream Team when the torch was passed to MJ would be my recommended videos.
I loved when he came back and played forward. Because what he was able to do in such small spaces was even more incredible to me than when he ran the fast break.
He's the greatest passer of all time. I've seen every player since Bill Russell and Magic is still my favorite of all time. As far as the g.o.a.t. his stock has been rising in the last year. Currently top 5 of all time is a common appraisal of his raking as a total player. For his position he is ranked #1 of all time for sure
Bird is the only one even near him in terms of creative passing. if i could go back to any nba era, i'd love to see bird vs magic over even the bulls dynasty.
You reacted to this, now you HAVE to react to Larry Birds' Ultimate mixtape! I have been waiting on that months now. Forget Bird as a player, the video itself is so well crafted that you have to see it.
The 80's and early 90's were the golden age of the NBA in my opinion. When the Lakers played the Celtics in the 80's, there were 6 of the top 50 players of all time on the court, as voted on in 1996. Today with free agency and the massive contracts players are getting, it's hard to keep a team with 2 hall of fame caliber players together for more than a few years, but Magic, Kareem and James Worthy from the Lakers and McHale, Parish and Bird for the Celtics played together for a decade, and in some cases, longer. In the 80's, either the Lakers or the Celtics won the title 8 times out of 10
I think Stockton is the example of how the point guard position is supposed to be played!! It's just that Magic is so creative and flashy, and being one of the top 10 greatest players of all-time helps him excel at the position!!
Magic and Bird are forever intertwined. Watch and react to Magic and Bird A Courtship of Rivals. Produced by HBO and easily one of the best documentaries I've ever watched. The story is actually quite amazing.
Magic was better then Bird, but Bird is still Larry Legend. Look up Magic's stats. If he kept playing he might have had more rings then Jordan and his individual accomplishments are almost at MJ level
Basketball wasn’t live until Magic and Bird played , before them it was taped delayed. Magic only rookie to play all positions and win championship, then the front page LA Times read “ It’s Magic”. Magic and Bird basically bookends. What’s interesting about that time is the enormous competition, so many of the greatest players played then, I swear every game was a classic.
Bird and Magic are inextricably linked and have been since they were in college. Johnson was the more versatile of the two. He was literally an All-Star quality player at all five positions. He also had a better team surrounding him during most of his career. I do think Bird was more clutch and was, for lack of a better description, meaner. Magic was hyper competitive, but Larry Legend was on a different plane. Red-ass level: 1,000,000.
"7 Stories That Prove Pete Maravich was not human" will put Magic Johnson in proper perspective. Pistol Pete Maravich was the first Magic-type player in the game of basketball. Pay proper respect to this legend and react to this video. You won't be disappointed!
In Birds prime he was considered the better player, he had all the personal accolades (mvp's multible years straight), but overall it was Magic imo. They were really comparable talent wise. Best rivalry ive seen in my lifetime. Both 6.9 both unique transcending players. Both "unathletic" BOTH WINNERS. love em. I love those out of the box unique players like Bird/Magic/Barkley/Shaq/Lebron Those Freak of nature once in a lifetime likeplayers.
John Stockton is #1 for all time assist (15,806,) but for pure passing ability, Magic was the most creative over his career. Each point guard had his own style. John Stockton worked as a two-man team with Karl (the Mailman) Malone. Considering Karl ended up being a top all time points leader, its easy to see why Stockton had so many assists. While Magic was known for a fastbreak style called "Showtime," he could also play a half court offense with the same ease, which lead to a lot of differing teammates getting the ball. His early retirement held him back from being higher on the assist list. As a contrast to the above players, Steve Nash had soccer endurance and would just run circles around other teams. Under the direction of his coach, he helped create the modern pace of basketball we see today. Score in 7 seconds or less was his coaches motto.
Magic and Bird met 3 times in the finals. 1984, 85, and 87. I suggest watching highlights of them. probably the most intense NBA Basketball you will see.
Magic Johnson is actually a top 5 player ever. Generally people out him slightly ahead of Larry bird becaus he won 2 more world championships. What's crazy is the year before he retired he was in the NBA finals with Michael Jordan
7:45 Magic is known as a notoriously bad shooter generally, I'm pretty sure you were referring to finishing at the rim, but the correct basketball term would be "finishing", while shooting is more of what Curry and Durant are doing, hope this helps.
@Lap Kiu Fan Exactly ! Doesn't change anything about saying to Luka he wasn't known as good shooter tho, we have to tell him in order for him not to misunderstand based on 3 clips
He was actually only 32 when he retired after the 90-91 season. He came to play for 1 season 4 years later in the 95-96 season and then retired for good at 37 years of age. That being said he essentially missed what would have been another 2-3 years of the end of his prime to retirement.
Old school NBA played on heart, ferociousness, and intelligence. Not saying today's game isn't like that but back then there wasn't much athleticism to rely on.
At the 4:47 minute mark, the coach had laughed at him not because he didn't believe in his ability --- but because here was a ROOKIE (very first year in the league) who plays starting Point Guard, asked his coach to let him play the CENTER position since Kareem sustained an injury ---- this question was asked by this rookie DURING the NBA Finals...LMAO And btw, Magic Johnson ended up winning NBA Finals MVP for that series in 1980 as just a 20-year-old rookie. A 6'9" rookie point guard who suddenly played out of position at CENTER in the middle of that NBA Finals. Any coach on the planet would laugh if their 20-year-old rookie asked them that question during a Finals series...lmao
Magic and his Michigan state team defeated Larry Bird and his Indiana state team for the college championship. The next year Magic turned pro and when Kareem got hurt in game 5 of the NBA finals , Magic started at center, played guard and forward and scored 42 points and was named Finals Mvp. No other player in history did this and even Jordan didn't play center, guard and forward . Magic holds the record for most assists per game in a career. He is the greatest point guard ever. His court vision and ability to hit the open man were the best. His height advantage was 6 to 8 inches above most point guards. Laker haters would say oh yeah I hate the Lakers but I love watching Magic he's fun to watch !
His passes were ridiculous. I can't imagine what it was like being a player on the opposite team and having him throw those kinda passes right in your face. I'd be so embarrassed.
You should watch two documentaries. The first is called Magic and Bird: A Courtship of Rivals and the other is called Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies. They’re proper full length docs, over an hour, so don’t feel the need to react. But definitely watch them to get the stories of two of the greatest players ever and the biggest rivalry in basketball and possibly American Sports.
So, Jxmmy Highroller just uploaded a video about how much of a phenom MJ was, that by far is one of the best MJ videos ever, I think it would be a great watch. It's titled, "What They won't tell you in the Bulls Documentary" It's a superb watch...
It was agreed between magic and bird that magic was the better guard and bird better forward. Bird says Magic is better player due to more championships. The bird magic documentary is a must watch
Probably the most selfless player of all time. If he wanted to, he could have averaged 40 points a game but scoring for his ego was never important to him (unless the Lakers were a few points behind near the end of a game). The thing that made Magic so special is how dramatically better he made each of the players on his team with his leadership, vision, basketball IQ and his unbelievable precision passing. He was still getting better when he was forced to retire (90% free throws from the line and a great 3 point shooting average). Who knows how many championship rings he would have today if he had a full career?
Theres a 3 part 30 for 30 documentary from a few years ago about the lakers vs celtics rivalry (featuring a lot of magic vs bird) that you would probably like
Watching the video now, but historically Magic is the best passer to ever live. Sorry, Jason Kidd, J-Will and Rajan Rondo.....and I love me some John Stockton.
Can you react to lamelo ball? He’s referred to some as baby magic, he’s something different for sure, and in terms of passing he’s top 3 in the league as a rookie
Assists Leaders RK PLAYER AST 1 John Stockton 15,806 2 Jason Kidd 12,091 3 Steve Nash 10,335 4 Mark Jackson 10,334 5 Magic Johnson 10,141 6 Oscar Robertson 9,887 7 CHRIS PAUL 9,653 8 LeBRON JAMES 9,346 9 Isiah Thomas 9,061 10 Gary Payton 8,966 And Bird was the better player between the two, but you've got too many young people who think it was Magic, so most people will incorrectly say Magic!! But Magic will tell you straight up that it was Larry Bird! I have Bird at 4th all-time, and Magic at 5th though.
