The Legacy of Magic

Highlight Reel

My new perspective of researching this topic leads me to believe that more and more people are now discussing and discovering the greats from all eras, rather than the Jordan era. It also helps me to appreciate the game today and to see the greats that are developing and will one day be in the hall of fame. Knowing this, the greats of yesterday and today will be talked about as each franchise has its own thread of amazing moments, players, teams and accomplishments. Even though this is my opinion, it really is just that, an opinion, so there will also be somebody with different beliefs and can back them up with evidence. I feel that by naming "The Greatest" to a player, it distracts the sole enjoyment of why I care about basketball. All great players deserve equal recognition and praise for their accolades and achievements that brought to their team and to the league itself. I consider Magic Johnson my favorite player because of his abilities, his leadership qualities but most importantly, his attitude on and off the court. He was and is a lover of the game and you see it on his face every time he stepped on that hardwood. Also, there was not one person who had any regret of knowing and playing with him and whoever he had played with or against never had any negative comments towards him. He was very unselfish too, which you do not see a lot of when discussing player accolades. Writing in this fashion makes me think about sports journalism and reporting because I have such an opinion of sports. I am not sure who you think is the greatest, but as I have stated time and time again, I feel that Earvin "Magic" Johnson is the greatest player in the history of the NBA.

Magic's Entrance to the NBA

Here is a specific point in Magic's career where he showcased his abilities, even as a rookie. Who can forget the sixth game of the 1980 NBA Finals, when Johnson and the Lakers played against the Sixers for the championship. Magic was performing at a legendary level throughout the series, surprising every single person tuned in to these games, even the Los Angeles franchise itself. The series was 3-2, Lakers were up by one game and needed to win Game 6 to be crowned champions. Although, veteran Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had been sidelined due to a bad ankle-sprain he suffered after contributing 40 points to the win. Originally, Magic had been playing the entire series at point guard and the thought of moving him out of his position was a long shot. Since Abdul-Jabbar couldn't play in Game 6, Magic was summoned to the center position. After a well-fought game, where he even jumped the tip-off, the Lakers beat out the Sixers and 20-year-old Magic ended the night with 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. This night marked the beginning of an illustrious career for him, as he displayed the leadership role of a successful franchise as a rookie. Also, this game expressed his all-around attributes and his ability to play literally anywhere on the court. I idolize his game and believe that nobody was able to do what he did. This particular instance itself shows me why Magic Johnson should be considered the greatest of all time.

Magic Johnson

Now, onto my personal opinion in this debate.

My opinion on the greatest all-around player to ever play in the NBA is Earvin "Magic" Johnson,

who came out of Michigan State and played with the Los Angeles Lakers for the entirety of the

80's. Again, when talk about all-around, I mean his ability to excel at every level of the game, which includes points, assists, rebounds, steals, mobility, leadership, play-making, creativity, determination, etc, and he was the epitome of just that. He was a 6'9" point guard, which was virtually unheard of prior to his arrival, and has acquired 5 championship rings, 3-time MVP, 9-time NBA all-first team and 12-time NBA All-Star, among many other achievements. Magic even inspired the triple-double into the stats sheet, even though Oscar Robertson is known as "Mr. Double-Double". His biggest rivalry was against the "Great" Larry Bird, who both had played against each other in the 1979 championship (Michigan St. vs. Indiana St.), and since then they both battled it out on the court all throughout the 1980's. Having Bird and other greats as competition, Magic always had to perform at the highest level night in and night out. Bird has even considered him "head-and-shoulders better than everyone else." After his 13 years in the league, he was forced to retire, due to his diagnosis of HIV, which was a very large issue in the medical field. What he did for the sport, I believe, considers him to be better than popular opinion.

Popular Opinion and Best "All-Around" Attributes

Since I am discussing who I feel is suitable to be named the "Greatest Player of All Time", I should probably mention what the popular opinion to this debate is. Everyone would say that it is Michael Jordan who is deemed "The Greatest", as he is been given the nickname. Now, I really would not argue too much about just how great he was and what he has done to change the complexity of the game. Between his five or six championship rings, his high-flying dunks, his leadership to his Bulls throughout the years, his clutch-factor he brought to games and how he has inspired millions of up-and-coming players to walk in his footsteps of becoming great players in the league. And, as all of this describes Jordan as one of the greatest to play the game of basketball, I do not feel that he is the best "all-around" player. One might ask, "What do you mean by 'best all-around' player." By all-around, I am talking about excelling in just about every aspect of the game that no other player can hold to, such as passing, shooting, dribbling, dunking, inside shot, mid-range shot, 3-point shot, playmaking ability, being unselfish with the ball, leadership skills, blocking, steals, free-throw shooting and the ability to excel at any position on the court, as well as other key factors to the game. I do believe that Jordan excels in most of these factors, I mean he would have to otherwise he wouldn't be as great as he was, but I believe that a player by the name of Earvin "Magic" Johnson had performed better than Jordan in certain aspects. I will discuss the attributes that Magic Johnson has given to the game in my next post.

Introduction to the Greatest NBA player

My topic is who I think the greatest player to ever play in the NBA. The popular opinion to this question is, usually, Michael Jordan. I basically explain who I believe is better and who should get more attention then credited to him. I mention that spectators of the sport have been critiquing the game and its players, usually debating who should play where, what he does or doesn't do as well as others and who excels over the entirety of the league itself. I have my own opinion referring to this topic using my knowledge of the history of the sport and a few links to back up my thoughts as well. I also mention that the debate amongst the greatest to ever play will always be heated because each era of the league has had its share of highlights that can never be repeated. I think that people should be able to back their opinions up using their own knowledge and not just who is popular and who everyone talks about. Basketball is one of those topics that I can talk about for hours on end and not lose interest too quickly. So, you will be able to see how clearly I will be when I explain my side of the debate. I'll also give a detailed example of a time when this player excelled that I'm hoping will entice readers to research about more greats that go unheard of, and there are many.