Magic Johnson told Dwight Howard he could never play in the NBA

[ThaSwagg3r]

Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard recently revealed that when he was 15, he met Magic Johnson, who told him that he didn't have what it took to make it to the NBA.

"He said I was too skinny," Howard said. "Magic inspired me by telling me I wasn't going to make it, that I was too little. I was in 10th grade when he told me I was too skinny to play in the NBA. I said, OK, we'll see."

http://www.vladtv.com/blog/49152/magic-johnson-told-dwight-howard-he-would-never-play-in-the-nba/


:applause: Way to show him Dwight!

[1987_Lakers]

Magic Johnson might seem like a really nice guy on TV, but privately I think he is completely fake, you can detect the "fakeness" when he is on TV laughing at jokes that weren't even that funny. I remember when he was giving his speech in the HOF in 2010 when the 1992 dream team got inducted, you can see Barkley & Pippen in the background looking at Magic uninterested & annoyed, but when Bird gave his speech right after, he was making Barkley, Pippen & others laughing their asses off. You can sense they respect Bird more than Magic.

[DuMa]

another bad analysis by magic johnson. what else is new

[iamgine]

When Dwight was 15, he was indeed too skinny to play in the NBA. So it was the correct assessment.

[DMV2]

Magic Johnson might seem like a really nice guy on TV, but privately I think he is completely fake, you can detect the "fakeness" when he is on TV laughing at jokes that weren't even that funny. ...
I thought I was the only one who sees this in Magic.

[Miller for 3]

Hgh > Aids

[B-Low]

and Magic, seeing that Dwight had indeed gained enough weight to make it to the NBA, retaliated by gaining 350 pounds himself and upstaging the young upstart.

[kaiiu]

Magic need to stop hollin wit his ol' dirty dick ass

[SuperPippen]

Magic Johnson might seem like a really nice guy on TV, but privately I think he is completely fake, you can detect the "fakeness" when he is on TV laughing at jokes that weren't even that funny. I remember when he was giving his speech in the HOF in 2010 when the 1992 dream team got inducted, you can see Barkley & Pippen in the background looking at Magic uninterested & annoyed, but when Bird gave his speech right after, he was making Barkley, Pippen & others laughing their asses off. You can sense they respect Bird more than Magic.

IDK, Magic doesn't really seem fake to me. I guess Pippen and the others were all just to used to Magic's cheerful attitude in contrast to Bird's usually sullen one, and so it was a change of pace to hear Bird cracking jokes.

[Inactive]

Magic Johnson might seem like a really nice guy on TV, but privately I think he is completely fake, you can detect the "fakeness" when he is on TV laughing at jokes that weren't even that funny.Some people call that "fake", or "phony". Others call it being polite :confusedshrug: .

But yeah, Magic does seem like a guy who tries to publicly portray himself in a certain way, rather than a completely genuine guy. So does Jordan, and a lot of others, though. Gotta make them endorsement $$, and being genuine can be risky!

[iamgine]

Some people call that "fake", or "phony". Others call it being polite :confusedshrug: .

But yeah, Magic does seem like a guy who tries to publicly portray himself in a certain way, rather than a completely genuine guy. So does Jordan, and a lot of others, though. Gotta make them endorsement $$, and being genuine can be risky!
Yep, just look at Tim Hardaway.

[kurt_rambis]

Magic Johnson might seem like a really nice guy on TV, but privately I think he is completely fake, you can detect the "fakeness" when he is on TV laughing at jokes that weren't even that funny. I remember when he was giving his speech in the HOF in 2010 when the 1992 dream team got inducted, you can see Barkley & Pippen in the background looking at Magic uninterested & annoyed, but when Bird gave his speech right after, he was making Barkley, Pippen & others laughing their asses off. You can sense they respect Bird more than Magic.

i don't think magic is 'fake', it's just that he's a terrible public speaker with nothing really interesting to say. which is fine, that's most people. then again, most people aren't paid to speak in public and come up with interesting things to say on tv...

anyway, seems like dwight took magic's critique to heart and gained weight. so good for dwight, and good for magic to give a young kid some constructive criticism, it obviously worked

[chips93]

Gotta make them endorsement $$, and being genuine can be risky!


benig fake isnt excused just because you're doing it to make money

[Inactive]

benig fake isnt excused just because you're doing it to make moneySpeculating about motives =/= Condoning actions.

[Pinkhearts]

How can Magic be fake when he told Dwight how he really felt?

He could have said the usual "That's great work hard keep it up" to the 15 year old kid like most teachers do to their students. Only a man keeping it real could have pointed such a weakness out to Dwight so that he began working on his body or you won't see the freak of Dwight that he is today.

[Inactive]

How can Magic be fake when he told Dwight how he really felt?

He could have said the usual "That's great work hard keep it up" to the 15 year old kid like most teachers do to their students. Only a man keeping it real could have pointed such a weakness out to Dwight so that he began working on his body or you won't see the freak of Dwight that he is today.I think they mean that the jovial, nice guy role that he plays, publicly, is fake. What he said to Dwight, is him showing his true colors.

[Pinkhearts]

I think they mean that the jovial, nice guy role that he plays, publicly, is fake. What he said to Dwight, is him showing his true colors.

You can be a jovial nice guy and also tell a kid he is too skinny.

I'm sure you're a jovial nice guy, but are you going to tell American Idol contestants they are great and will be a superstar one day? I'll rather be nice and tell them they suck here and there so they can either work on their weaknesses or give up hope and find another trade

[Inactive]

You can be a jovial nice guy and also tell a kid he is too skinny.

I'm sure you're a jovial nice guy, but are you going to tell American Idol contestants they are great and will be a superstar one day? I'll rather be nice and tell them they suck here and there so they can either work on their weaknesses or give up hope and find another tradeGenerally, good natured, easy going people don't say things like "You'll never make it", to the kids who idolize them. A nice guy would most likely say something along the lines of "Work hard, get in the weight room, and keep working on your skills".

Maybe Magic knew that being a dick would inspire kids, more than encouraging them? Maybe he was just in a bad mood? Maybe he's really just a dick? You can interpret it however you want.

[Kobe 4 The Win]

Wasn't there. Can't judge.

[iamgine]

NBA players should tell everybody "you got no chance at making the NBA, pursue your education instead" as general principle.

[Pointguard]

I think yall might be judging the wrong guy. DH still impresses me as a young, lost guy that is trying to maintain an outside persona that is contrary to who he is. Plus he planks - lol ok, not reason to go sour on the guy.

Magic is a guy that seen death, rejection and fear in his face. He seen his wife, co-workers and family look at him with judging eyes as he had to tell them things that had to cause him great pain. He sees life different than most. Magic does a lot of work with inner city youth and employs them. His AIDS work is well known. He's a motivational speaker so he knows the value of uplifting someone. While many complained at how inaccessible KAJ was Magic never made mention of it and resuscitated his career.

Have you ever seen Magic? Everything he does, he does it with passion. He not very articulate but he's usually involved to the max in what he does. Magic is a guy that knows the value in others, sacrificed heavily for a cause and even played unselfishly. To me he seems like the least likely guy to say something like that. I mean maybe he knows how to motivate centers and saw something in DH... naw. DH is more clown than he is motivated by somebody telling him he doesn't have it. DH doesn't play like Jordan or AI, guys torched by the thought of someone saying they aren't good enough. DH is a great player but he seems like he's motivated by a punchline we aren't getting.

Magic might have said "buff up guy. You won't make it without muscle tone - you look like the stickman in the game Hangman." And DH went and got muscles instead of low post moves and wants to blame Magic for him being a dork his first seven years. :lol

[kaiiu]

I think yall might be judging the wrong guy. DH still impresses me as a young, lost guy that is trying to maintain an outside persona that is contrary to who he is. Plus he planks - lol ok, not reason to go sour on the guy.

Magic is a guy that seen death, rejection and fear in his face. He seen his wife, co-workers and family look at him with judging eyes as he had to tell them things that had to cause him great pain. He sees life different than most. Magic does a lot of work with inner city youth and employs them. His AIDS work is well known. He's a motivational speaker so he knows the value of uplifting someone. While many complained at how inaccessible KAJ was Magic never made mention of it and resuscitated his career.

Have you ever seen Magic? Everything he does, he does it with passion. He not very articulate but he's usually involved to the max in what he does. Magic is a guy that knows the value in others, sacrificed heavily for a cause and even played unselfishly. To me he seems like the least likely guy to say something like that. I mean maybe he knows how to motivate centers and saw something in DH... naw. DH is more clown than he is motivated by somebody telling him he doesn't have it. DH doesn't play like Jordan or AI, guys torched by the thought of someone saying they aren't good enough. DH is a great player but he seems like he's motivated by a punchline we aren't getting.

Magic might have said "buff up guy. You won't make it without muscle tone - you look like the stickman in the game Hangman." And DH went and got muscles instead of low poste moves and wants to blame Magic for him being a dork his first seven years. :lol
Oh word

[Swaggin916]

I wonder what Magic would have said to Kevin Durant... but then again he's a swingman.

Where the hell were guys getting Scotty and Barkley looked disinterested at the speech? did not see that at all.

[Clippersfan86]

Magic Johnson might seem like a really nice guy on TV, but privately I think he is completely fake, you can detect the "fakeness" when he is on TV laughing at jokes that weren't even that funny. I remember when he was giving his speech in the HOF in 2010 when the 1992 dream team got inducted, you can see Barkley & Pippen in the background looking at Magic uninterested & annoyed, but when Bird gave his speech right after, he was making Barkley, Pippen & others laughing their asses off. You can sense they respect Bird more than Magic.

Magic definitely puts on a show. That was always the difference between Bird and Magic. Magic was often viewed as the "nice" guy but it was quite the opposite. Sure Bird was more blunt and loud but underneath Magic was WAY dirty and even more competitive probably.

It's basic human psychology though. The guys who talk a perfect game and always have a smile tend to be the most dangerous. The guys who talk the most or seem intense are usually the more harmless ones.

[the_wise_one]

Magic is never a good judge of talent.

[Kevin_Gamble]

No one else thinks Magic was just kidding around with a 15 year old kid?

[Phenith]

No one else thinks Magic was just kidding around with a 15 year old kid?
Or at least trying to motivate him to bulk up.

[Pointguard]

Do you all really think its Magic's personality to go around telling guys in top notch programs that they aren't going to turn pro? That he wasn't used to seeing guys that were very skinny? DH doesn't seem conflicted to you guys?

[Bosnian Sajo]

Magic Johnson might seem like a really nice guy on TV, but privately I think he is completely fake, you can detect the "fakeness" when he is on TV laughing at jokes that weren't even that funny. I remember when he was giving his speech in the HOF in 2010 when the 1992 dream team got inducted, you can see Barkley & Pippen in the background looking at Magic uninterested & annoyed, but when Bird gave his speech right after, he was making Barkley, Pippen & others laughing their asses off. You can sense they respect Bird more than Magic.


Thats not true, lol, legit i just rewatched his speech and they laughed at his jokes and seemed interested?

[RRR3]

http://i54.tinypic.com/r90ft2.jpg

[PleezeBehave]

Kinda funny/ironic that Dwight ended up with Orlando, as a big reminder to Magic Johnson, sporting that MAGIC logo on his jersey every game.

[Pointguard]

Kinda funny/ironic that Dwight ended up with Orlando, as a big reminder to Magic Johnson, sporting that MAGIC logo on his jersey every game.
He'll probably use that excuse as a reason for not resigning.

[one2]

Didn't Dwight grow 10 inches in less than 3 years or something? Of course he will be skinny. in 10th grade many teens are skinny. Dumb thing for Magic to say because Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett are/were both slender and are the best of their eras.

[kurt_rambis]

tim duncan is hardly slender

and both those guys have offensive games, unlike dwight, who just throws his 275lbs into defenders and hopes for the best

[magnax1]

When Dwight was 15, he was indeed too skinny to play in the NBA. So it was the correct assessment.
Telling anyone at 15 they can't make the NBA is never a "correct" assessment. It's a guess at a time when there is no way to correctly predict how well someone will be able to play. Hell, Pippen was 18 and didn't make a college team and was something like 6 foot tall, and then ends up being one of the best NBA players ever 10 years later.

[Inactive]

Telling anyone at 15 they can't make the NBA is never a "correct" assessment. It's a guess at a time when there is no way to correctly predict how well someone will be able to play. Hell, Pippen was 18 and didn't make a college team and was something like 6 foot tall, and then ends up being one of the best NBA players ever 10 years later.Yup.

MJ was 16, he was like 5'10, couldn't make a highschool varsity squad, and struggled to beat his midget brother 1 on 1. 5-6 years later, he was doing historic things, in the NBA. 7-8 years after that, and he was pretty much the GOAT.

Countless stories, like that.

[KevinNYC]

How can Magic be fake when he told Dwight how he really felt?
This is a really good point.

I don't think Magic is fake in that his on-camera persona is different from what he is like off-camera. I think he is one of those guys who wants everyone to like him and wants to the source of the party. If that is being 'fake' there he is true to that 'fake' part of him all the time. i think this is the aspect of his personality you are responding to. Politicians are often like this, they want everyone to like them and if they are in a room with 99 people smiling at them and one guy sulking they will obsess about the one guy. I remember a story of Magic's first game when the Lakers hit a late shot to win it at then end and Magic was jumping around like a kid on Christmas and starting hugging Kareem (i think he a skyhook to win). You could imagine how a standoffish guy like Kareem would react to be hugging for a regular season win.

Psychologists might say, that someone who craves approval is probably acting out of insecurity. So if Magic's personality is fake I would say it's not a fake persona he puts on he's on camera, it's on he puts on when he wakes up in the morning. That is it's who he he is. It's authentic.

As for laughing at bad jokes, I think that is a genuine part of Magic's personality as well. This is a guy who chose to hang around with Arsenio Hall. Can you imagine how many bad jokes he had to hear. Arsenio was never funny when he had people writing his jokes. Can you imagine him unscripted? Good god.

Bird is 100% the opposite. He just doesn't care what people think of him. To an extreme, to the point when he first went to Boston he didn't speak to people (at least to reporters.) People thought he was an idiot, because he never spoke. It didn't bother him.

[Eat Like A Bosh]

Well Dwight was really skinny back then.

But still a celeb should never discourage a kid like that.

[AlphaWolf24]

and Magic, seeing that Dwight had indeed gained enough weight to make it to the NBA, retaliated by gaining 350 pounds himself and upstaging the young upstart.

:roll: :applause:

[AlphaWolf24]

Yup.

MJ was 16, he was like 5'10, couldn't make a highschool varsity squad, and struggled to beat his midget brother 1 on 1. 5-6 years later, he was doing historic things, in the NBA. 7-8 years after that, and he was pretty much the GOAT.

Countless stories, like that.


Most NBA Players at 16 were not on the Varsity.....by 17 MJ was on the varsity and getting college scouts coming to his games....by 18 he was a Highschool allamerican and had UNC giving him scholarships where he went on to be a 2X player of the year...:confusedshrug:


go check out Rodman and Pippen's pre NBA career's....now that's amazing.

[MikeBeas2]

i do'not understande what he trying to say how do his own team say he wont make it 10 years ago but he end up going to the magic team after?? so stuipid hes in magic

[chips93]

everybody is assuming that howard is a perfect account of what happened

dwight could be just misquoted, or taken out of context

dwight may be exaggerating just to make it a good story

dwight may have remembered the story incorrectly

dwight may have just misinterpreted what magic said, magic may have intended it to be constructive

[PleezeBehave]

i do'not understande what he trying to say how do his own team say he wont make it 10 years ago but he end up going to the magic team after?? so stuipid hes in magic

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4hZ47aYnmWo/S_RyVzwWNCI/AAAAAAAABGw/sNdxpXjpkE4/s1600/dude-wtf.jpg

[Psileas]

Magic Johnson might seem like a really nice guy on TV, but privately I think he is completely fake, you can detect the "fakeness" when he is on TV laughing at jokes that weren't even that funny. I remember when he was giving his speech in the HOF in 2010 when the 1992 dream team got inducted, you can see Barkley & Pippen in the background looking at Magic uninterested & annoyed, but when Bird gave his speech right after, he was making Barkley, Pippen & others laughing their asses off. You can sense they respect Bird more than Magic.

Then, how would you describe Magic's real character? Is he a well-hidden a$$hole? How relevant is this with making unfunny jokes?

[Psileas]

BTW, I don't see what's necessarily wrong with Magic's view on young Howard when he told him he was too skinny. He didn't tell him he was not good enough or that he wasn't talented enough. Last time I checked, Howard was never skinny when he played in the NBA and he's known for using his strength more than almost anyone, so you can't know whether Magic's assessment was wrong. If anything, he made good use of Magic's remark. I doubt Howard used the word "inspiration" ironically.

[GOBB]

I dont see what was wrong by what Magic said. Hindsight 20/20. :confusedshrug:

If I showed you a kid in 10th grade and asked you all would he make it to the NBA? How exactly do you go about saying yes or no? :oldlol:

Dwight Howard now was nowhere near as big as he was when Magic said what he did.

[The_Yearning]

He's right. Dwight Howard just learned how to dribble the ball like 2 seasons ago.

Magic just didn't knew that this era would have such a weak cast of centers that even a athletic freak with no fundamentals to the game can be regarded as a monster.

But yes, Magic is a fake. You don't catch an STD and be real... look Dwyane Wade... FAKE.

[Duncan21formvp]

http://www.vladtv.com/blog/49152/magic-johnson-told-dwight-howard-he-would-never-play-in-the-nba/


:applause: Way to show him Dwight!

Magic proved wrong again.