On EVERY play Magic was pushing the ball or making a play. His aura transcended any stats and kept every teammate engaged in the action. Had he won in ‘89 he would be The undisputed GOAT.
Magic could do it all,could play all 5 positions if needed at a high level.Magic ,Bird,and Russell were probably the best all around team players with High IQ in the game.But I would rank Magic higher because with the ball in his hands he controls tempo much more than Bird and Russell.He could dominate by scoring no points,or by scoring 30+ along 17assists 10 rebounds etc,he did what was needed within the team concept.Hey 1984 was a laker give way,1983 was like you could have it Dr J (even the Lakers wanted Doc to win one)before you get too old,1989 we know what happened with those hamstrings,Pat Riley was a practice workaholic maniac,burned Magic and Scott down.But regardless of wether he could have won 7 or even 8 don't matter,the 5 he won was in the 1980s much tougher than the water down 90s,no team of the 90s can be compared to the Lakers,Celtics,Sixers,Pistons of the 80s ,they were the much more fundamentally sound teams.
As a long-time Laker fan, I'm not so sure if the Lakers would have beaten the Pistons that year even if both Magic and Scott were healthy. Remember that the Pistons did beat the Lakers in both regular season games and the Pistons did have a slightly better regular season record that year (59-23 vs 57-25). I think that this series would have been very close like the previous year.
Drexler was an awesome player. Lakers were just too high powered. I wonder what would've happened if Bowie had been able to stay healthy. Duckworth was never really a starting caliber center. Just never was in shape. Could've been great coming off the bench tho
Kareem didn't need to score double digits. Hell Magic,Scott,and Worthy avg 20ppg themselves! A.C. Green avgd 13ppg himself,Kareem just cruised his last go round. But Google his stats and you'll understand who he is.
He had several All Stars though many in the same years while Drexler was team mate...(Porter, Kersey, Duckworth and I think Buck Williams made All Star team also) They just wasn't as good as Showtime
+Ernesto Hendrix Somehow I´m not impressed by Lebron´s 30% shooting and his choking in too many big games. Great player, the best of his generation, but definitely not in the conversation for GOAT, or even top 5.
Magic was the GPGOAT. He proved you did not need to jump 4 ft everytime you shoot. He adapted and over-came. Russell Westbrook is the opposite of Magic. Flash, athleticism, but can't figure out how to win in the playoffs
Magic Johnson played with one of the all time greats in his first ten years. You cannot give him all the g\credit when Kareem was on the team, I do not believe he won any championships without Kareem.
Stuart Perry The only time Kareem won a title is when he was paired with an all time point guard. Magic and Oscar Robertson. So who helped who? I loved Kareem but, don't devalued Magic Johnson's greatness to make a point that is true but doesn't prove much. Magic also, Magic won his first title by closing out Philly in a game 6 with a injured Kareem not even making the trip.
Magic just knows how to play ball. It's not about crossovers, pull ups etc. Some players just figure it out early and some never at all. Bird, Magic, MJ, , Bill Walton, Bill Russel, Duncan, Wade, Lebron etc just understood how to play this game.
@@imperiousrex1873 I totally agree with you on everything but look on the last sentence again. Kareem averaged 33ppg 15rpg 3bpg for almost the entire series. He deserved the fmvp so much . He was robbed.
Magic vs Drexler Magic vs Hakeem Magic vs KJ Magic vs K. Malone Magic vs Stockton In that order probably Magic's biggest West threats from 88-91... East was Isiah & Jordan. West was Portland in the Pacific growing 💗 into the 90-92 Blazers and Drexler coming into his own at 6'7" SG, Blazers 0-2 in 89 & 91 playoffs vs Magic and Los Angeles Houston with Hakeem who got Magic in 86 and was the best Center arguably from 88-91 though Houston couldn't get out the first round. Rockets 🚀🌌 0-2 vs Magic and Los Angeles from 90-91 Magic vs KJ... KJ tuned him up with paper cuts and jumping up his back slasher Chucky action doll 🎎 style .. 90 Suns spanked Riley and LA and ended an era. Phoenix 1-1 vs Magic in 89 & 90... Magic swept KJ in 89 WCF... KJ gentleman swept Magic in 90 4-1. KJ had the Isiah Thomas flair for dramatics with HOPS ... Karl Malone and Stockton 0-1 in 88 playoffs vs Magic and LA then the Jazz were stifled by Golden State, Phoenix and Portland before revisiting their playoff rivalry with Magic. They took the first big chunk out the latter year Magic era Lakers in 88 WCSF. Dallas took another good hack. 88 Pistons nearly hacked them all the way up. 89 Pistons knocked their heads off. 90 Suns took their head coach out and the 91 Bulls 🐂 humbled them in the 91 Finals. But the 88 Jazz after the 86 Rockets were the first to initiate the big dagger 🗡️ to the crown 👑 of Los Angeles... Houston and Hakeem Olajuwon and he and Sampson as Twin Towers 🗼🗼 effectively stole the crown 👑 from Los Angeles after they wrestled it from Boston... But Houston gave it back via Seattle in 87... Nothing like stealing something someone else steals from you to return it back to the original King 👑. Happy trails.
To think if a guy like magic had today medical training and advancements AND he wasn’t partying and banging every women in LA how great he’d be He was great then, and the way he played is similar to what you see today
@alecsanderhamilton9224 best early 90's 88-93 players? 1 Jordan 3x MVP 3x Champ 🏆🏆🏆 2 Magic 2x MVP 1x Champ 🏆 retired by 91 3 Charles Barkley 1x MVP out of playoffs in 92 4 Olajuwon 1x DPOY 92 no playoffs 5 Isiah Thomas 2x Champ 🏆🏆 93 no playoffs 91 walk off head down vs Chicago no Dream Team 6 Ewing 93 East #1 seed 7 Drexler end of run with Portland near by 93 8 Larry Bird retired by 92, bad back from bout 87-89 thru 92 9 Karl Malone playoff choker rep beginning to manifest 10 David Robinson rookie in 90, on the rise challenging Hakeem for best Center title 11 Dominique Wilkins mixed team success with no real deep runs none past 1st round since 88 but he could still flat out light 🚨 up scoreboards 12 Kevin Johnson 13 SHAQUILLE O'Neal 14 John Stockton 15 Scottie Pippen 16 Joe Dumars 17 Brad Daugherty 18 Mitch Richmond 19 Tim Hardaway 20 Chris Mullin 21 Mark Price 22 Alonzo Mourning 23 Shawn Kemp 24 Larry Johnson ?
