Olden Polynice asked to pick between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson . 

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3sFF0185VcU.html

If you asked anyone around 1989 or 1990, probably 9/10 would say Magic. If it was 1984 or 86, it would be flipped. But after the dust settled 30 years later, I have no problem someone saying Bird as a Laker fan. Even Magic said it.

@@Edd1e8 Well sure, when Bird was laid up with Bone spurs in both heels and a bad back I think there were plenty of people who saw the end coming.

Unfortunately, that was True . . . . Bird had Won 3 straight Season MVPs ('84, '85, & '86), and Bird had injured his back during the '85 & '86 Off-Season, AND so his Prime Years ended🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

But Magic was kind of like Jordan . . . . . More Dangerous when They had The🏀Ball, whereas Larry was more Dangerous without The🏀Ball, because Larry would be setting Picks, diving for loose Balls, setting up down low for a Rebound, etc.

@@bryantharris5914 regardless, that was the start of his decline. But both played at an elite level despite being slowed. Magic had tendonitis since 86 with multiple knee surgeries, a torn groin in 89 and then HIV somewhere around 91.

I mean why choose, they both brought out the best in each other and the game was never over with either of those guys. The number of buzzer beaters by both of them was legendary.

@@bryantharris5914 MJ has more buzzer beaters than Bird and Magic combined, more scoring, steal titles, all defensive first team, Finals MVPS, Championships, ASG Mvps, DPOY, slam dunk contest 😆😆😆

@@AIH483 Agreed, Jordan dominated during a weak era for the league. He never beat a Bird lead team in the playoffs, anymore questions?

@@bryantharris5914 MJ was so good and so dominant he made Shaq Olajuwon Robinson Mutombo Ewing Mourning and so many other hall of famers look weak, no wonder why he defeated the most 62+ win teams in the playoffs without an all star. 🤣🤣🤣

@@AIH483 Yet he still never beat Bird.

MJ period, greatest offensive and defensive player of all time, clutchest athlete of all time, greatest basketball passer of all time, elite rebounder 😎😎😎

​@@AIH483 Lebron is better.

@@silewis9396 LeBron isn’t even the best small forward to ever play the game.

AIH483 First off you toolbox The debate is between Magic & Bird. The fact that you say MJ is the greatest passer of all time 🤣😆 The creator of “ME BALL” the biggest BALL HOG of all time to the detriment of his team. Like when he scored 63 yet the Bulls still got smashed by the Celtics. Now go service your man MJ. Get extra slobber in your mouth just how he told you to.

Bird is the top clutch player of all time. MJ sucked at assists and rebounds. He was only great at scoring and 💦 your cheeks.

Oh, but Magic was Magical. Got over on Dr J two finals to one. Got over on Bird two finals to one

@@robmckrobmck5567 But it wasn't Magic alone who beat the Celtics.

@@richardpare3538 wasnt Bird alone who beat Rockets, Lakers.

@@richardpare3538 wasnt Bird alone who beat Rockets, Lakers.

@@robmckrobmck5567 Nor is it any single person on any team. So your point is?

Toward the end of their careers, both were lumbering and just depended on their IQs. They did something that Hill, Penny, McGrady, etc weren’t able to do once their bodies were failing them.

And MJ is way more faster and quicker than these 3 combined 😆😆😆🤣🤣🤣

@@AIH483 That's what your delusional mind tells you but that's again something factually incorrect that you write without proof. What I did see whenever the Showtime Lakers played and easily beat the Bulls was that Jordan couldn't keep up with Magic who would outpace him handling the ball on fastbreaks and Jordan (without the ball mind you) couldn't catch up to him. Michael Jordan fans like you who probably never played basketball think that a tiny guard like Jordan can run faster than taller players with longer legs. Muggsy Bogues can outpace Jordan by your logic 😂 PS: More faster is incorrect English, it's a considered double comparative but I shouldn't expect much from your tiny brain since you're a Michael Jordan idol worshiper.

@@Edd1e8 Bird had back issues that slowed him down later in his career but Magic was never a slow player, he continued to always push the pace and orchestrate fastbreaks whenever possible, even though it wasn't nearly at the same volume after Pat Riley left because Mike Dunleavy had a different basketball philosophy and he slowed down the Lakers making them play more half court basketball.

@@arioca MJ is the fastest quickest and most athletic human being in professional sports history 🤣🤣🤣🤣😆😆😆😆

I don't know why people make it a race thing. Bird was the better all around player, its that simple, nothing more to it!!

The thing is Bird was taught by black players and they taught him well. He even says Basketball is a Blackman's game and he excelled at it.

@@jmcnoneofyourbusiness3553 yeah but like everything else in the world a white man invented it

Magic never lost to the Blazers in the playoffs. In fact beat them in the Western Conference finals in 1991. By 1986-87 Magic was the key player and leading scorer on the Laker teams. Kareem while still good wasn't the 20+ point 10 rebound guy then. In that time frame moving forward, they had Final wins over the Celtics and Pistons. Even the loss to the Pistons in 1989 had Magic only playing a little over 2 games due to injury.

@@jeremyfoster8366 Yes, my bad, LA lost to Phoenix that year. Kareem still averaged 19ppg in the 1987 play-offs, dropping to 14 in 1988. Sure, Magic was the better player by then, but nonetheless he still never won a ring without Kareem. He was injured in 89 finals but they weren't winning that series anyway. In 1990 they got handled easily by a Phoenix team led by KJ and Chambers. In 1991 they got beaten 4-1 by the Bulls. I think if you took Magic and Jordan off their respective teams, the Lakers had a better team than the Bulls that year, which shows that Jordan was much, much more influential than Magic when Magic was in his prime. I do love Magic, and think he's a top 10 all time player, I just think he gets slightly overreated because of his charisma, playing for LA, and winning 5 rings playing alongside of a GOAT contender. If he had the personality of a door-knob, played for Milwaukee, and wasn't teamed up with Kareem, I don't think he'd be put on Mt Rushmore; he'd but around number 10 all time.

@@seamusb1047 the shame with Magic was we didn’t get to see the latter part of his prime. His game was shifting to a more half-court game and he was getting better behind the arch hitting at 38% in ‘90 and even when he came back in ‘96 he was still at that 38% mark. I think had he played through 1996 with no missed seasons and continued to improve at 3’s and keep that FT% at 90 which was also happening in that late 80s-early 90s window his scoring could have been more consistently in that 22-23 ppg perhaps even higher. Would have been nice to see how it would have played out. I think he had at least 1-3 more borderline MVP type seasons left in him.

Birds impact when he joined the Celtics taking the same team that won 29 games to over 60 wins after he joined them would have me selecting Bird over Magic

Spot on everything you said. Except the rings won by Magic & Kareem were in 1980 1982 1985 1987 1988

1984-1993 Mike 1995-1998 Mike 2001-2003 Mike. The 3 greatest basketball players of all time 😆😆😆😆

Jordan Kareem Kobe Bird Magic Wilt

Correct Sonja. And I think that it was Jordan who said you can't compare players who played different positions as a different skill set was required. A lot of people say Bird had a better all round game, and maybe so. But Magic could play every position to the highest level. Probably more so than anyone else in the history of the game.

☘️

Bird was a helluva passer too

That’s a great way of looking at it. Bird & Bird VS Magic & Magic. Gonna apply that with other “who’s better” debates.

@@ezsmith3765 yes he was! Magic fit the Laker style then, but Bird could fit anyone’s style! One on one doesn’t really solve anything with a game like basketball! Rebounding, shooting, defense, passing, running an offense, those things do! Only way to evaluate who’s better, sometimes the better player elevates his teammates play! You don’t get that with one on one!

1977. Miss AL

MJ destroyed your Sonics in the 1996 Finals 🤣🤣🤣🤣😆😆😆😆

You realize Olden Polynice was actually on the floor with these guys ... and you were not?

@@tatesinclair1059 u do realize these are my eyes and I know what I saw?

@@randybutler1697 I think I'll trust a guy that was on the court and saw it up close over a fan watching on TV. They've got a better perspective. I was watching them both as it went down ... they were both slow, especially after Johnson's knee injury in college.

Thank you! I'm kinda confused on the comments! Magic was slow is a joke! Lmao, that's way they called it showtime, because they ran up and down the court! Olden was a wack , injury prone player, he never ever reached the ranks of A Magic! If anything I think he meant to say Magic couldn't jump very high. But at 6'9 he managed! Put sum respect on his basketball name!

@@randybutler1697 shutup troll

A very well paid injury prone player who wasted a lot of money!@@😂

@@Paula-nt2uc Thank you!

Yes, Bird did have Magic's court vision. Watch his passing highlights. And he was a small forward, so didn't get as many assist "opportunities"...but ever did Bird capitalize on the ones he had.

Michel Jordan never had the pressure to play for the two most important NBA teams, and had no expectations to win at all because he wasn't the top player in high school and college (like Magic and Bird were), and most importantly Jordan's Bulls only started to be contenders after both the Celtics and Lakers teams in addition to many legendary players such as Kareem, Dr. J, Moses Malone were old or retired so the competition was much weaker, thus easier to win for Jordan and the Bulls. You clearly don't know NBA history, you're just another casual Jordan fan who didn't watch the NBA and was brainwashed by marketing. When Magic's Lakers were facing Bird's Celtics, your idol Jordan was home watching the games. No #1 NBA player of all time has to wait for the best players to age or retire and lead his team to a title. Magic and Bird both immediately impacted their teams and won titles, while it took Jordan more than half a decade to win.

@@arioca Not reading all that, still 6-0 in the Finals 😎😆😆😆🤣🤣🤣

@@AIH483 Jordan: 6 appearances in the NBA finals in 15 seasons, not even leading his teams to the playoffs multiple times 🤣🤣🤣

@@AIH483 basketball is a team sport. Jordan would have never won six championships without pippen and kukoc and Kerr. Yes he's the best player but Charles Barkley never won a championship and neither did pistol Pete . Lamar Odom won a championship or 2. Does that make him better than Barkley? Or Maravich? Championships don't tell even half the story.

@@AIH483 not to mention the Western division teams couldn't touch the teams from the East like Boston,Philly,Detroit,etc during Birds prime. You had to beat top-level team from start to finish,every single year. Even during Magic's run, the West was weak