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.)
