Splitting hairs a little but most people referred to him as a "point forward" in 1996. The ball fake he put on Latrell Sprewell was epic. I almost cried when it happened.
Fat Magic was a top 50 player after being away for 4 1/2 years. 14/7/6 in 30 minutes a game off the bench on 47/38/86 shooting during THAT ERA is pretty remarkable in hindsight.
those numbers in any era back then, to modern days now are lucrative. He was playing Point Forward, at the Power Forward slot, off the bench... he could have put up his 17 13 7 had he started
I remember this. He came back out of shape but he still had that Magic touch that only he had. It was a real treat for us fans to get to see him go out on his own terms. The two MJ’s coming out of retirement within a few years of each other made me forget all about Penny and Grant Hill lol.
Magic would have no problem in the NBA if you was in his prime healthy and free of the stigma surrounding his illness. A six foot nine point guard with his handles makes any team better.
I was a huge Magic fan since 79. I never thought Magic should have retired the second time after the Olympics. The 96 comeback revealed how much the NBA needed him. He was one the ambassadors that left too early in his career.
I was so excited when I heard this!That 96 Lakers team was actually pretty good!Cebollas, Van Excel, Jones, Divac, and Magic off the bench, they couldve won one!
@@nihongochopsocky808, everything worked out very well for the Lakers. If Earvin stayed another year. Jerry West would never traded for Kobe Bryant in the draft. Also, the Lakers were not a good defensive transition team in 96. This is one of the main reasons the Lakers lost to Houston in the first round of the playoffs. I do believed if Earvin would have gotten himself into shape over the summer and accepted his role as a back up point guard. The Lakers would have beaten the Jazz in the West Conference Finals and played the Bulls for a championship. I had the Lakers in 7 games. Ceballos or Divac winning the finals MVP
he was actually incredible at his age and being away for so long. 6.9 ast! that's a starting PG number. I remember it too and it was kind of weird, but he held his own out there. His shot, vision, pass and ball fakes were still there. And then the next year they signed Shaq and drafted Kobe.
A couple suggestions for videos Tom Chambers The 1994 Nba season-crazy season because so many teams felt like they had a chance. 1994 Atlanta Hawks: 1 seed in the east trades its best player and blows it in the playoffs. Derrick Coleman: so much promise and then nothing.
@Alecsander Hamilton there’s always been a conspiracy that Magic never actually had HIV and they were using him basically as a spokesman. In exchange he would be given lucrative business opportunities. Could have very well been a setup to place Jordan were he is. You have to remember all these guys are members of fraternities and secret societies.
Shall I remind everyone that in the 91 finals both Scott and Worthy were injured? Or else the Lakers would not have lost in 5, may have been a closer series.
Jimmy Gonzales Yes, Magic is so disrespected in the GOAT conversation. He won championships in high school and NCAA, then NBA. Lost 4 times in the finals to 4 different teams with all time greats on them, Bird, Dr J, Isaiah Thomas and MJ. No shame in those defeats at all.
With Scott and Worthy, the Lakers may well have won that series. Scott could defend Jordan and make him less efficient, while Worthy would have made the offense much more dynamic and wouldn't have allowed Pippen and Jordan to basically switch off guarding Magic
I was 15 and this was my first time really being able to see Magic play sadly, at least to the point where I understood the game a little bit. Magic was dope! That pass fake on Spree was timeless and tbh he's the only guy who has mixtapes of JUST passes that I want to watch. I hope Lebron turns into that as he slows down with age.
Since I fist seen Magic play back in 1979, I said if I could start an all time NBA team, I always thought I would start with my point guard, Earvin “Magic” Johnson. That young buck was the man, he was a phenomenon, he could easily play 4 positions. Yes he was that good and he got the whole team involved and started Showtime.
Disagree! To all due respect to magic he would have had to play another 7 plus seasons stay healthy all year and average 10 assists a game. I don't think people understand the feat of John Stockton records. But it's something only people in Utah understand. The dude almost went 20 years without missing a single game and the dude is the poster child of consistency! John Stockton the motha lovin point God!
@@lonniethompson758 With all due respect to Stockton, Magic was a much better passer PG leader and player, and part of the reason Stockton lasted 20yrs is because the Jazz's seasons didnt extend into June more than twice during that entire 20yr span...Not as hard to play 20seasons when its only an 85 game season most of the time, a whole different task when youre asking someone to play 100+games per yr every yr- with the last 4-7 of them being against Drjs76ers the Bad Boys Birds Celtics, or Mjs Bulls...
@@dp233332 you have no clue what you're talking about. Jazz had one of the record for most consecutive years for making the playoffs. 1984 to 2003. Magic was the better player but Stockton was the better floor general. Magic played in a run and gun system and Stockton played in a half court set. Which makes Stockton's record even more amazing. Here's a link if you don't believe me. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_franchise_post-season_streaks
Absolutely no question. Nobody want to admit, but it was in their heads and they were playing him soft. He was still good, but he was definitely being given more space by many (not all) defenders. And I don't blame them tbh.
As a kid I really enjoyed his comeback! I look at Magic as my "Basketball Dad" lol cause he taught me so much by watching him play as I'm sure as he's taught all of us! Now as a man, we know the backstory about how his teammates such as Cedric Ceballos thought Magic was stealing his shine and a few others on the team thought it wasn't exactly a good fit. His comeback had its pros and cons of course! But if you have a player like Magic on your team and the ultimate goal is to play for the championship and win, you should want to buy in. That team could've went further than that if they would have let their egos outside the Fourm and bought in to what Magic brought to the table which was a winning mentality! And if he played with Shaq and Kobe that following season......................mannnnnnnnnnn!!!
When he shook Latrell Sprewell out of his shoes in his first game back I knew he would be just fine. We'll see his old self? Of course not but he was still very effective and help that team out that Year. I wish she had a hung around another year actually when the diesel got there.
@quinton cornelius easily?? You must not have watched the series. Also that Lakers squad was a player or 2 away from being a legit contender and really should not have been in the finals 91 in the first place. Magic doesn't retire, the Lakers make a move for a big time scorer and Jordan is down a ring.
It's dazzling to see Magic play at 36 years old after being retired for 3 years. I badly wish I saw him play in the 80s. I'm searching the internet for full games, I'm not content with highlights.
It was horrible. Nobody wanted to guard him because they thought they could become infected, he got fat, he was a shell of his former self, and took play time from Nick at Night.
finally someone agrees that he had no business coming back he could have given someone else the HIV if he had bled or something so people were afraid to guard him. Not hard to have a good comeback when no one wants to get too close to you.
Very moving. Had we only known in ‘91 what we know today about the HIV virus. Truly one of sports history’s most beautiful moments when Magic entered the court again in ‘96
The part when the lakers were 6-1 in 7 games i couldnt help but think "Well thats what happens when you have a generational talent usually who is a great all around talent."
And make no mistake, I mean Magic accepted it gratefully. But what MJ was doing with that game was sending a strong message. And the message was this is MY LEAGUE now. And don’t even think that you can come back and challenge me with your team.
Man Magic was barely over 30 when he had to retire. Imagine the assist totals if he had been able to play all those 4 seasons he was away! Stockton might not be the all time assist leader if Magic played 4-5 more full seasons...
He would not have passed Stockton. Stockton passed him while they were still playing and Stockton kept playing those same years and put up more assists per year than Magic did when they were both playing. I love Magic, he's my favorite player; but Stockton is the assist king.
Note that he shot 38% from 3 that year. If he played in the modern era and practiced 3s from childhood like today's players I think we can assume 38% is a much better estimate as to his shooting potential than his career % which was very low until the 89-90 season.
It was really weird because one of the Lakers strongest players was PG Nick Van Exel. They both would run to the outlet spot at the same time, I think Magic only retired (for the 3rd time) to let Nick have the spot to himself.
Magic Johnson return was a huge Success. He may not have played like a Super Star, but he definitely played like an All star. 6.9 Assist per game was very high, despite playing less than 30 minutes and not playing Point guard. Almost 15 Point per game, that would translate to almost 18 ppg if he played 36 minutes a game, very good numbers. 117 Offensive rating vs 107 defensive rating, very good. And 22.1 PER. That team was very good, but they weren't contenders. 61% true shooting was the best of that lakers team, even higher than Michael Jordan True shooting percent.
If memory servers his 96' comeback had mixed results. On one hand people were happy to have him back. But on the other hand he was older. Trying to fit into a young Lakers team with an attitude problem. Also the Lakers were doing good in the standings, but magic coming back disrupted the chemistry of the team. They got knocked out in the first round by the rockets.
People forgot he signed a 25 year contract in '79. Had he never got the HIV he would got 6 rings. When he came back he actually revolutionize (along with Bob McAdoo in the 80's and Scottie Pippen of the 90's) the "Point Forward" position and would've retired at 40 with 6 rings with Kobe and Shaq
Too bad he didn't play with Shaq and Kobe. He would've gotten another ring. Shaq and Kobe didn't have the experience to over take the bulls but they did have the talent. You add Magic to them they could've beaten Chicago or at least given them the scare of all of their title runs. Just my opinion
Thank god for that moment becouse i wouldn have the chance to by my self an Magic Jonson jersey. Becouse think a baut it at that time they was no online Service where you can buy an jersey spechaly no one of his. So i think 1 month After his Comeback is was able to buy me an Magic jonson jersey. And i gat that to this day. Wouldn have he not return to the NBA it wouldn be passuble for me to get it at that Time and Ähra. So thank M.Jonson for that Comback
@@raurman4946 True but it was still an issue for a lot of players in 96 like when he got a minor scratch during a game and it was nearly the top news in sports.
His performance was great. Buuuut the team meaning the players they just didn’t want him there sadly and VERY SELFISHLY. Those young players resented the attention he got. They resented even more the playing time that they would lose to Magic. Sadly it just wasn’t a good fit. They couldn’t see the big picture or how their games would benefit by having Magic on the floor. But there is NO DOUBT the man could still play at the highest level.
If you've watched "They call me Magic" on Apple TV, you'll see he doesn't view his comeback as a success. Even the clips from Rambis and Jordan talk about how he was just 2 steps slower and was just a shell of himself.
Well perhaps just people being aware of it and practicing safe sex and taking medicines. Remember that Aids and HIV is something that Exploded on the scene, killed thousands and when people finally realized what was going on everyone was able to contain it till the point today where its relatively rare.
I've always wondered how Magic's career would have gone if he hadn't gotten HIV. I don't think the 90s version of the Lakers would have been good enough to win the finals - Worthy was just about done and none of the younger players they had were even close to the same caliber of the Showtime crew at their peak.
The Notorious ROC facts the lobs would’ve been insane. This video was real informative. I just assumed Magic was washed. I think he had another year or 2 in him.
I watched the whole season as it happened. Van Exel and EJ begged him to come back. All went well until he was taking the ball out of Van Exel's hands a bit too much, which started to corrupt the team chemistry formed the previous season. Then Van Exel shoved a ref. Then Ceballos got caught spending company time in Lake Havisu. Then Magic got suspended for bumping a ref after he publicly chastised Van Exel for doing the same kinda thing. Then they went from from pushing the Spurs to 6 highly contested games in the semi finals to this season being bumped out of the first round in four games. Now I'm not saying this was all because of Magics return but the fact of the matter is that he returned to a team that was no longer his and he expected for everyone to fall in line. They didn't. And the team concept suffered because of it. It would have been great had he never retired and that was his finale. He could have groomed Van Exel as his replacement. But he returned when he did and eventually disrupted team chemistry after a good "honeymoon " start. But it was really good television.
@@JD37 Ah, Eddie Jones! I was sad to see him and Elden traded away for Glen Rice. That bit them in 2004 when Elden would guard Shaq. EJ also made it to Miami as part of Pat Riley's teams.
NameCallingIsWeak True. Good points. I believe Eddie did meet up with Shaq again briefly in Miami but it was star crossed as far as a title was concerned.
Good video man, but It seems like you're making excuses for him. He was great in his prime, but his comeback was amazing as well! A post specialist that put up 7 assists a game, would rebound the ball and help out with a bit of shooting... sounds kinda like a Sabonis without the rebounding. Not an all-star player, but 6moty calibre Magic was about 3-4 more rebounds and mayb 3-4 more ppg away from being an all-star, at 36 years of age. imagine if he didn't retire what he'd have done in the 96 season if he didn't take a break, he's the goat PG.
@@conradyo9274 Throwing hooks! Yes, I forgot that. You see that hook he threw over Rodman? Nice! Yeah, hooks, 3s, and assists, ... he could do that till his mid 40s.
