Magic chimes in on MJ’s ill-advised LeBron comparison
On Monday, I wrote a long piece about how Michael Jordan’s assertion that he never would have called Larry Bird or Magic Johnson up and figured out a way to join forces with them isn’t a fair comparison to Miami’s new Super Friends.
Now Magic Johnson is getting into the act, per Bloomberg News:
“We didn’t think about it cause that’s not what we were about,” said Johnson, whose Michigan State squad beat Bird’s Indiana State team in the 1979 National Collegiate Athletic Association championship. “From college, I was trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird.”
“It was never a question in our mind because nobody has ever done that,” he said.
So which is it, Magic? You didn’t think about it because that’s not what you were about or because nobody had ever done it before? Because those are two completely different reasons not to do something.
While Michael’s comparison holds a little bit of water since the Bulls didn’t look like a championship-caliber team until after his fourth season (when he signed his eight-year deal), Magic Johnson joined a stacked Lakers team and won a title as a rookie. In fact, he won two titles in his first three years and went to eight Finals in his first 10 years (winning five titles total). What about that situation gives him the perspective to comment on LeBron’s decision to leave Cleveland to chase a ring? Of course he didn’t try to join forces with Larry or Michael — HE WAS ALREADY ON A STACKED TEAM.
Next up, Larry Bird. Let’s get this over with.
(By the way, I’m still trying to figure out who Chris Bosh is supposed to be in this comparison. He’s a good player, but Larry or Magic he’s not.)
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“So which is it, Magic? You didn’t think about it because that’s not what you were about or because nobody had ever done it before? Because those are two completely different reasons not to do something.”
Actually they are not completely different reasons, taking them into context. You didn’t think about it because leaving a team to join a rival is not what you were about if you were a top competitor. There was something to “if you want to be the best you’ve got to beat the best”. Apparently James’ motto is “if you want to be the best you’ve got JOIN the best”. Johnson wouldn’t have thought about joining a rival just to win a championship because it just wasn’t done…you actually had to prove yourself to be THE man rather than have ESPN do it for you. Those Lakers didn’t win until Johnson was drafted and seeing as he practically carried them on his back when Jabbar was out in the final game, I’d say he proved himself as THE man. Nobody had ever bolted liked Lebron because a guy who was really THE guy would never consider it.
Perhaps I should remind you since your article made no mention of it, Johnson was drafted into his situation with the Lakers, he didn’t choose to go to a “stacked” team as Lebron and his fellow colluders did. And really, how stacked were those Lakers? Jabbar had been there 4 years and didn’t get as close as Lebron did in his last year at Cleveland.
I know it’s difficult for the Lebron apologists to admit, but the guy bailed on a team that was close to get help from others. Rather than stick around and be part of something special, he jumped ship to be part of a trivia question.
They are absolutely two different reasons not to do something. One is an intrinsic characteristic of a person/player and the other is the (lack of a) precedent. If it’s some combination of the two, fine, but that’s not what he said. First he said it was one and then he said it was the other.
It’s easy for Magic and Michael to lob grenades in hindsight because they were never in LeBron’s position. Part of that is because LeBron wasn’t good enough to drag his team to a title. But I don’t think anyone would argue that Magic or Michael’s supporting cast was worse than LeBron’s in any year of his career. Magic had Kareem and Worthy and Jordan had a Top 50 all-time player in Pippen. (And your point about Magic being drafted into the Lakers is irrelevant — the point is he had a great situation from the start.)
The simple truth is we will never know what Magic/Michael/Larry truly would have done because they were never in position to join forces after seven years of losing. They can say that they would never do it, and we can choose to believe them or not to believe them. But I’d wager one thing — if any of those guys, with their well-known competitive natures, finished their first seven years without a title as part of a franchise without a direction, they’d be really frustrated too.
“(And your point about Magic being drafted into the Lakers is irrelevant — the point is he had a great situation from the start.)”
It’s completely relevant. Magic didn’t “join” the team, he was drafted as opposed to Lebron who went to Miami by choice. It’s not like Magic reviewed the roster or got together with other draftees and chose to go to LA. Worthy didn’t get to LA until Magic’s 3rd season so I hope you’re not counting him into that “stack” of talent the Lakers had when Magic “joined” them. And in terms of today’s more watered down NBA, that team was possibly stacked however in terms of the day, they were good when Magic got there, not great. And every star needs a supporting player…I can’t recall a team that didn’t have one. Funny that James chose to be the 3rd.
I’m thinking if Jordan’s or Magic’s teams were without a championship but improving, as Lebron’s was, neither of them would have bolted to be the other star (or other-other star in this case) just to get a ring, given their competitive nature.
Who is saying that Magic chose to go to the Lakers? I certainly didn’t. The point is that he wouldn’t ever leave because his situation was GREAT. Can you say that LeBron’s situation was GREAT in Cleveland? If not, then Magic can’t relate to LeBron’s situation. I’m not faulting Magic for landing on a great team (or making a good team great), I’m criticizing him for throwing grenades at LeBron when he simply can’t relate.
And the Cavs weren’t improving. They made the Finals, then the Semis, then the Conference Finals and then the Semis. At best, they were treading water. At worst, they were starting to drown.
I’m just wondering if a guy who played the game and spent years of his life in the locker room around all kinds of players, knows what it takes to win a championship, understands rivalry at the highest level, etc, etc, gets criticized for making comments because he can’t relate (pretty definitive if you ask me)…how much criticism should a sports journalist get for commenting on the same subject?
He can’t relate specifically to LeBron’s situation, since he had success right away and landed in a great situation. And given the admission that he was only going to enter the draft if the Lakers won the top pick, his criticisms are awfully hypocritical.
It would be nice to have parity in the NBA. I wouldn’t blame Lebron for choosing Miami or Magic for that comment. The mindset of our young athletes is to win. That’s a very good sign because when Greece beat USA in FIBA World Championship. Lebron James and Dwane Wade were on that team. It was embarrassing !! I thought I would never see USA loses with our professional basketball athletes. It happened. When they got together in Beijing Olympics and won the gold medal…they have a different perspective about winning and their friendship became stronger.They wanted to play together ( no feeling of animosity and rivalry like Lakers and Celtics ).