Magic Johnson would like to respectfully disagree with LeBron James.
In an interview with Fox Sports’ Bill Reiter, The King was asked to name his top three NBA players of all time.
Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Julius Erving—that’s who he picked. And he also named Magic, after saying it was too difficult to select just three.
Fourth isn’t bad, right? Out of the all the NBA players ever, LeBron has Magic at No. 4. That’s pretty damn good. It’s also wrong…in the eyes of Magic himself.
Taking to Twitter to address LeBron’s No. 4 slight, Magic said that while The Chosen One was entitled to his opinion, he was obviously mistaken.
Lebron is entitled to his opinion, but I still think that he and I have a similar game and that’s why I LOVE to watch him play!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) August 22, 2013
Alright, that’s not exactly what he said, but it’s what I gleaned from this. There would be no need for Magic to mention he believes he plays a similar style to that of LeBron’s if he didn’t think the King’s list of all-time greats was off.
Not everyone likes to read between the lines and make such inferences, though. If Magic thought LeBron was wrong, he should’ve have told us; he should’ve made it clear LeBron mades an “oops.”
So he did.
LeBron never revealed the criteria behind his ordering process, but Magic had no trouble reminding us and him that championship rings are all that matters.
NBA Championship rings are all that matter; Jordan 6, Me 5, Bird 3, LeBron 2 and Dr. J 1.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) August 22, 2013
Cold. Blooded.
Magic simultaneously fired an indirect shot at LeBron, along with Bird and Dr. J. His five championships are almost as many as those three have combined (six). Who’s LeBron to put him at No. 4?
To each their own comes into play here, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a tad baffled by LeBron’s ranking myself. Jordan is an obvious choice and one I support. The same cannot be said of Bird and Erving.
Both were incredible talents; two of the greatest to ever play the game. But ahead of Magic? Especially Erving? Let’s be real.
There are easily 10-15 or more players who I would put ahead of Dr. J, one of them being Magic himself. Not solely because he has those five titles either—though that helps—but because his play style is similar to LeBron’s, in that he could do everything.
Typically, I don’t like to get lost in comparisons. Kobe Bryant isn’t Michael Jordan. LeBron isn’t Magic. And Monta Ellis isn’t Dwyane Wade (see what I did there?). Jordan was Jordan. Kobe is Kobe. Magic was Magic. And LeBron is LeBron. They’re their own players.
But there’s no use ignoring the similarities. Magic could defend every position, just like LeBron. He could score from anywhere on the floor, just like LeBron. He could rebound at a high clip, just LeBron. He could run an offense as a point guard, just like LeBron.
And he’s one of the greatest players there have ever been, just like LeBron. Just like Bird and Erving too. Only more so.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
