Overweight, old , hiv infected Magic as a point center today.

[Kblaze8855]

https://youtu.be/Td0PIICgLdw


Problem.

Play the kinda defense you want from a modern small ball center? No.

But a problem.

[90sgoat]

Love that clip and the comeback.

Magic in the 80s was before I had cable and watching it on grainy Youtube just isn't the same, but seeing him here in the 90s with players we know very well is something else.

This was Kobe's rookie season right?

Here you can see how skilled he is in the post, that post hook is next level, is there anyone but Jokic who can do that today? So skilled.

We shouldn't be surprised, Lebron is still hanging around 20 years since his rookie season. The greatest players can do that and Magic was one of the greatest.

I think your point indirectly, might be that Magic looked less impressive maybe, because he was limited in the half court offense due to having Kareem clog the paint. If he had been on a team with say Karl Malone, then he'd have shown more variety in the half court.

He sort of reminds me a bit of fat Luka, but yeah, point center like Dray.

[Kblaze8855]

He was an absolute terror in the post. People have pushed back when I say Magic was only not scoring 25+ every year because he gave up layups to others to keep them running but it’s true. If he just wanted to pound the ball like modern stars and score in the post you couldn’t do shit. Especially since like Jokic you can’t double if he’s got shooters. Magic would be among the most polished inside scorers anyone under 30 had ever seen.



https://youtu.be/egj8kVuuft4


He just didn’t choose to do it with Kareem and Worthy available.

He would be shooting 3s, left and right handed hooks, layups and punishing doubles all day even if he was his older version. Prime Magic would be as effective on offense as anyone in any era. He just wouldn’t do it the same way.

You might get 22/18 assists a lot of nights today. You couldn’t guard that guy one on one and you couldn’t double with todays shooters. Luckily for everyone he played when the mismatch wasn’t as searched out and exploited with screens to choose your matchup.

You switch a guard on Magic he’s shooting 60% or you’re leaving a shooter open. He was always a monster in an iso. He just didn’t feel a need to do it.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Magic was liked by most of his teammates that year, but there was some envious dudes in that lockeroom. NVE (and maybe Ced Ceballos?) felt they were forced to play at his pace. Which supposedly took their 'strengths' away.

Regardless of how they felt, though, the Lakers were factually better WITH Magic. 22-18 before his return and something like 9-1 immediately after the comeback game. Finishing the season 53-29 overall. Magic's impact was certainly there and he actually exeeded my espectations. He was killing it playing just 30 minutes a game.

[bizil]

Magic in that '95-'96 season was ACTUALLY the best player on the Lakers to be honest. LOL But he was willing to come off the bench because he loved the game so much. Magic's game (if he avoided serious injury) was ALWAYS built to last. Because he was the best passer of all time, an epic triple double threat, and can play all five positions. So as he aged, he could always move to other positions.

Bron having the success he has now is like a freak athletic, more scoring minded version of Magic aging gracefully. Bron's career was LARGELY built on being a pass first triple double machine who can play all five positions. But he was much more athletic than Magic and looked to score more than Magic. But Magic and Bron had the size, all around ability, durability, and positional versatility to AGE BETTER than any of the perimeter players.

If Magic never had to retire '91 and got to play his career all the way through, I think there's a GREAT CHANCE he would have been seen as the #2 GOAT only behind MJ. Until Bron built up his resume. The fact he's top 4-5 GOAT to this day says it all. BECAUSE he left a lot of quality years on the table. When he had to retire in '91, he was still the 2nd best player in the league at the time. And retired at only 32 years of age. Stockton likely never catches him for the all time dimes title. He would have been the 1st player in the league history to have 20,000 points and 10,000 assists. And who knows??? Maybe he gets play with Shaq and Kobe to finish his career! He wasn't that far off as it was anyway. If Magic came back for the 96-97 season, he would have got to play with Shaq and Kobe!

[iamgine]

Old Magic was nice but the team didn't like him much.

[Baller789]

Magic would be the best offensive PG in the league, no question.

[Phoenix]

Love that clip and the comeback.

Magic in the 80s was before I had cable and watching it on grainy Youtube just isn't the same, but seeing him here in the 90s with players we know very well is something else.

This was Kobe's rookie season right?

Here you can see how skilled he is in the post, that post hook is next level, is there anyone but Jokic who can do that today? So skilled.

We shouldn't be surprised, Lebron is still hanging around 20 years since his rookie season. The greatest players can do that and Magic was one of the greatest.

I think your point indirectly, might be that Magic looked less impressive maybe, because he was limited in the half court offense due to having Kareem clog the paint. If he had been on a team with say Karl Malone, then he'd have shown more variety in the half court.

He sort of reminds me a bit of fat Luka, but yeah, point center like Dray.

No, this was 95/96. Kobe came out the next season so Magic just missed playing with him( and Shaq of course).

[90sgoat]

No, this was 95/96. Kobe came out the next season so Magic just missed playing with him( and Shaq of course).

That's true, it was Stackhouse and Mighty Mouse rookie season lol. I had both their cards.

In any case, this shows how discussions about "plumbers" is so asinine. Kobe was a rookie when Magic retired, Magic won his rings with Kareem against Bird, Bird played with Walton, Magic played with Kareem, Kareem played against Wilt who played with Baylor and Jerry West who played with ....

You don't need asterixes for someone like Jerry West or Russell or Cousy, they'd all be great today.

[Kblaze8855]

Eric Snow played with both Lebron and a teammate of the 1969 MVP. That said…Cousy isn’t playing today. Cousy wasn’t on the level of 70s guards and he was saying so himself in the 70s. He shouldn’t be expected to be. He learned to play in the 40s.

[Phoenix]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5quXSTzHojY

[r0drig0lac]

He was an absolute terror in the post. People have pushed back when I say Magic was only not scoring 25+ every year because he gave up layups to others to keep them running but it’s true. If he just wanted to pound the ball like modern stars and score in the post you couldn’t do shit. Especially since like Jokic you can’t double if he’s got shooters. Magic would be among the most polished inside scorers anyone under 30 had ever seen.



https://youtu.be/egj8kVuuft4


He just didn’t choose to do it with Kareem and Worthy available.

He would be shooting 3s, left and right handed hooks, layups and punishing doubles all day even if he was his older version. Prime Magic would be as effective on offense as anyone in any era. He just wouldn’t do it the same way.

You might get 22/18 assists a lot of nights today. You couldn’t guard that guy one on one and you couldn’t double with todays shooters. Luckily for everyone he played when the mismatch wasn’t as searched out and exploited with screens to choose your matchup.

You switch a guard on Magic he’s shooting 60% or you’re leaving a shooter open. He was always a monster in an iso. He just didn’t feel a need to do it.

agree

[90sgoat]

Eric Snow played with both Lebron and a teammate of the 1969 MVP. That said…Cousy isn’t playing today. Cousy wasn’t on the level of 70s guards and he was saying so himself in the 70s. He shouldn’t be expected to be. He learned to play in the 40s.

With what I've heard along the same lines, I expected Cousy to look like a scrub, but in reality he was more White Chocolate than Stockton.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTsjubxYxAE

Also, I don't know if they're using AI, but that colorization and image upgrade is spectacular. You can watch this and finally feel as if it is happening and not some distant weird black and white movie.

[Kblaze8855]

I’m not calling him a scrub…and I’ve seen some impressive things. Some roughly 3 point distance runners. He was a little more all around than you’d think. He started at center a few times at his size and did more in the post than you’d think. I just…don’t see any of it working when Tatum is guarding him and he’s driving into Timelord. And it would be unfair to expect it to. The game was getting too athletic for him in the 60s. He didn’t come up having to deal with big athletic guys so his game wasn’t built for finishing over or around that. I respect him for what he did but he’s a “For his time” guy more than an “Of all time” guy. And he’s really humble about it too despite recent beef with JJ. He defends some of his peers but he’s never been the type to say he’d dominate later eras. He’s a classy guy.

[90sgoat]

Who knows, but what we do know is that he was a flashy passer and an open court player, so he had a huge impact on players to come.

[Phoenix]

I think trying to figure out what Cousy would be 60 years after his time is no different from figuring what modern guys would be 60 years ago.

[dankok8]

If Magic never got HIV he probably plays like 20 seasons and breaks so many records. His game would age very well IMHO. Court vision, post strength, and just basketball IQ would make him a nightmare for opposing PG's even in 1996 after 5 years off.

[Phoenix]

If Magic never got HIV he probably plays like 20 seasons and breaks so many records. His game would age very well IMHO. Court vision, post strength, and just basketball IQ would make him a nightmare for opposing PG's even in 1996 after 5 years off.

If I had to guess he may have played up until the year he ended up finishing for good anyways, and ends up firmly #2 in assists behind Stockton.