1996 Magic Johnson

[HomieWeMajor]

Where would be rank amongst NBA players today ?
Where would he rank amongst power forwards today ?
I got him top 30 in the league and a top 10 PF. Rich man's Boris Diaw at that point.

[fpliii]

Not a terrible comparison perhaps, but Diaw is a quality defender though, and not as skilled a passer.

That was the only version of Magic I saw live. Depressing as hell after going back and watching footage of him in his prime. :( In today's league, I don't think he retires after contracting HIV.

[Warfan]

http://images.athlonsports.com/d/37711-1/Magic.jpg

Buff Johnson could still ball, his first game back was against the dubs too.

[HomieWeMajor]

http://images.athlonsports.com/d/37711-1/Magic.jpg

Buff Johnson could still ball, his first game back was against the dubs too.
Trust I just watched highlights of that game on youtube. His conditioning was a myth but shades of old Magic was there.

[SHAQisGOAT]

If he could consistently play? (his conditioning wasn't good, and we can't blame him though) Let's say, as a starter playing a bit above 30 min, and going for at least 60 games... Yea, he could've been a top10 PF and something like a rich man's Boris Diaw (with worse defense).

He was still good for something like 15 PPG on nice overall efficiency while spreading the floor, still had them post-skills and was heavier, grabbing around 6 boards, still capable of averaging over 7 APG with some great passes from the post, playing PG a bit still, point-forward too, still led some fastbreaks...
That's still pretty good when you think about it (if he could do it for a long period, constantly).

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Wasn't it Zeke on Open Court who said Magic would be a center in today's game? Ludicrous, but whatever. Thought that has relevance here.

[9512]

dat ball fake on Sprewell. :pimp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EZ6tm-NxsI

[MiseryCityTexas]

Wasn't it Zeke on Open Court who said Magic would be a center in today's game? Ludicrous, but whatever. Thought that has relevance here.


Prime 80s Magic Johnson would be one of the best power forwards in the league today if a team decided to start him primarily at that position. Prime Magic would score over Ibaka and Bosh with no problems. He would be the best pg too over Rose and Cp3 easily.

[HomieWeMajor]

dat ball fake on Sprewell. :pimp:
Ain't nobody better at getting rich white businessmen off their seats than Earvin.

[4 Inches]

The man could still run even with all that added fat. :bowdown:

[scandisk_]

Magic ain't smiling, and that's scary.

[StephHamann]

GOAT AIDS infected player for sure

[julizaver]

Not a terrible comparison perhaps, but Diaw is a quality defender though, and not as skilled a passer.

That was the only version of Magic I saw live. Depressing as hell after going back and watching footage of him in his prime. :( In today's league, I don't think he retires after contracting HIV.

As the comentator said during his return game he weight 27 pounds more.
And as other all-time greats his skill set was so high that he could play PF in any league. Due to his psysical issues and limited playing time his impact over games will be not so great, but still I would take handycaped Magic over player like Diaw.

[WillC]

dat ball fake on Sprewell. :pimp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EZ6tm-NxsI

Here's a link to the specific play I assume you're talking about: https://youtu.be/3EZ6tm-NxsI?t=297

It's a sick fake.

[jlip]

One of the problems with assessing how good Magic was or would be is that you can't look at his "individual" play to make that determination. Magic's greatest strength was improving the play of the rest of his teammates. He could be a 14/5/7 player with suspect defense but still have a greater positive impact on his team than a 20+ ppg chucker.

[Mr Feeny]

One of the problems with assessing how good Magic was or would be is that you can't look at his "individual" play to make that determination. Magic's greatest strength was improving the play of the rest of his teammates. He could be a 14/5/7 player with suspect defense but still have a greater positive impact on his team than a 20+ ppg chucker.

And THAT is why people believe that Lebron is a top 3 player all time. Don't focus on how many point he has. It's the effect he has on his teammates.

[90sgoat]

Magic in that video with the smooth passing.

Kids, this is what great passing looks like, you pass to guys who get easy highlight reel slams, not dribble for 20 seconds and then pass to some poor guy who has to launch a hail mary 3 pointer.

[guy]

One of the problems with assessing how good Magic was or would be is that you can't look at his "individual" play to make that determination. Magic's greatest strength was improving the play of the rest of his teammates. He could be a 14/5/7 player with suspect defense but still have a greater positive impact on his team than a 20+ ppg chucker.

Yea. I remember they were hyping up his comeback and it seemed like they were expecting him to not have lost too much cause of Jordan's comeback where he still came back and was the best in the league again. But he was still a really good player at that point, and maybe he would've been better with a full summer and training camp the next season. Anyone remember why he didn't want to comeback and retired again? I know he felt he didn't get along with the younger guys and I think he was a free agent as well and wanted a big payday. Was there more to it though? Would've been interesting to see him play with Shaq and Kobe the next year and maybe beyond.

[julizaver]

Yea. I remember they were hyping up his comeback and it seemed like they were expecting him to not have lost too much cause of Jordan's comeback where he still came back and was the best in the league again. But he was still a really good player at that point, and maybe he would've been better with a full summer and training camp the next season. Anyone remember why he didn't want to comeback and retired again? I know he felt he didn't get along with the younger guys and I think he was a free agent as well and wanted a big payday. Was there more to it though? Would've been interesting to see him play with Shaq and Kobe the next year and maybe beyond.

I have never realistically expected Magic to be almost the same guy (or performed as MJ in his return), it is imposible - he missed 4 seasons, got fat (27 pounds according to comentators), had HIV, was 35 years old and alhtough he keep playing with some amateurish teams in general he was far away in comparasion to his last NBA season, where he was still prime player in the league. Anyway still good for 25-30 mpg and above NBA average level.

Jordan missed 1 full season and almost entire second season, got "only" 10 pounds more and returned back at 32. Given that circumstances and how above all he was at the time of his first retirement I expected even a litle bit more from him on his return. This shows how easy you can go out of top shape, and how hard you can regain it. But he had some games where he was like himself prior to 1993.

[guy]

I have never realistically expected Magic to be almost the same guy (or performed as MJ in his return), it is imposible - he missed 4 seasons, got fat (27 pounds according to comentators), had HIV, was 35 years old and alhtough he keep playing with some amateurish teams in general he was far away in comparasion to his last NBA season, where he was still prime player in the league. Anyway still good for 25-30 mpg and above NBA average level.

Jordan missed 1 full season and almost entire second season, got "only" 10 pounds more and returned back at 32. Given that circumstances and how above all he was at the time of his first retirement I expected even a litle bit more from him on his return. This shows how easy you can go out of top shape, and how hard you can regain it. But he had some games where he was like himself prior to 1993.

Oh don't get me wrong, I wasn't saying people should've expected that much from him.

He was good enough to have a significant impact on a good team though. The 96 Lakers weren't really contenders though. So it would've been cool to see him team up with Shaq and Kobe to a lesser extent. Probably still don't make the finals, but I'd say there's a better chance and it would've been epic if they did.