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Magic had much better players on all those championship teams.
If Lebron had Kareem(1st pick in draft, 6 time MVP), Worthy(1st pick in draft, Finals MVP) McAdoo (2nd pick in draft, MVP & 3 time NBA leading scorer), Jamaal Wilkes(10th all time Laker in scoring, scored 37 in 1980 championship game to beat 76ers, led UCLA to 2 NCAA championships, 1975 rookie of the year when he won an NBA championship with Rick Barry on the Warriors team), Byron Scott (8th all time Laker in scoring, 4th all time in steals), Michael Cooper (1987 defensive player of the year).
Magic was a great player but if he was on an average team or on a better than average team there is no way he would have had all those assists, rings, and points. I’ve never liked Lebron. Was always a Laker fan and went to the finals against Detroit when the Lakers won and again the following season when the they lost to Detroit.
Imagine Magic on the teams Lebron has had and Lebron on the teams Magic has had. Magic is probably the best point guard ever. Lebron going on 20 years and scoring 29? Ppg last season along w/ those assists and boards. Crazy.
Magic had much better players on all those championship teams.
If Lebron had Kareem(1st pick in draft, 6 time MVP), Worthy(1st pick in draft, Finals MVP) McAdoo (2nd pick in draft, MVP & 3 time NBA leading scorer), Jamaal Wilkes(10th all time Laker in scoring, scored 37 in 1980 championship game to beat 76ers, led UCLA to 2 NCAA championships, 1975 rookie of the year when he won an NBA championship with Rick Barry on the Warriors team), Byron Scott (8th all time Laker in scoring, 4th all time in steals), Michael Cooper (1987 defensive player of the year).
Magic was a great player but if he was on an average team or on a better than average team there is no way he would have had all those assists, rings, and points. I’ve never liked Lebron. Was always a Laker fan and went to the finals against Detroit when the Lakers won and again the following season when the they lost to Detroit.
Imagine Magic on the teams Lebron has had and Lebron on the teams Magic has had. Magic is probably the best point guard ever. Lebron going on 20 years and scoring 29? Ppg last season along w/ those assists and boards. Crazy.
Its true. Magic over his career had more talented players around him overall. But Lebron had the superteam in Miami where he won 2 of his 4 championships and in LA with AD was also a very talented team. Only that one year in Cleveland did he win a title with less talent than a Magic Johnson Laker team.
I do think Magic could have been a more prolific scorer if he needed to be. But as a rookie he joins a team with more than enough firepower so it was never necessary. His elite talent was passing the ball. With lesser shooters he could have averaged 30 points a game in a season.
If it was 1978 and the NBA Finals were being shown tape delayed because not enough people cared then it would have been Magic. A charismatic showman was needed to go with all the great Hall of Fame players of the late 70s and early 80s, including Dr. J. The Bird Magic rivalry and their charisma not just skills which made the league what it is today.
With that prejudice Lebron is just another greatest of his era player, little different from the others who hold that distinction yet did not draw the crowds that changed the game. However with basketball and the NBA in particular secure as one of the world's premiere entertain events the happy showman is not as needed as much and James' physical gifts were beyond arguably all of his peers in his prime and that could not be said of Johnson even if he towered over other guards in a game that had more specialized position play.
In my opinion, gotta be Lebron.
You take Magic in his prime (guessing 87-90 when they won back to back) and put him in today's game? To me, he roughly equates to Jason Kidd; a big, gifted passer especially on the fast break who made teammates better and could swing a team's win loss record by 10 wins easy. It's not a perfect comparison because Magic was a better scorer while Kidd was a better defender. So Kidd was an all star player so I'm saying Magic would have been great today, yet it's interesting to point out that since Magic first retired in 92, till now there has only been one pure pg who won MVP in Steve Nash, and even those were debatable to a lot of people (some people will say what about Curry, but I personally dont consider him a pg, he's more of a two guard and Draymond plays point forward for the Dubs).
Now if you take prime Lebron (probably the Miami Heat version) and stick him back in 1978? pure mayhem. Karl Malone if he could shoot, run and pass. He would easily average 40 ppg back then. And he could play defense when he felt like it. It would basically be unfair. Lebron is a hall of famer in this era. He would be the goat back then.
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