Magic Johnson vs. Kobe Bryant

[Lebron23]

So its Kobe fault Magic couldnt control his d1ck?????

kobe longetivity, scoring, impact,stats>>>>>Magics

Magic is a 3x NBA MVP, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 5x NBA Champion, and 4x NBA Assists Leader. Prime Magic was a better playoffs and finals performer than Kobe. The Lakers never missed the playoffs when Magic was their No.1 scoring option.

[Nevaeh]

Magic easily. came into the League with immediate impact, helped to take a struggling League to even greater heights while it was fighting to stay afloat. Was a part of the greatest Rivalry next to Wilt and Russell's, and stayed consistent as the Engine of the Laker's offense during his entire career.
Has his own statue along with the Greatest NBA Nickname of all time. Accolades speak for themselves.

Kobe came into the league acting like MJ, but without the skill set, so he was forced to come off the pine until he developed his game. Made it a personal quest to become the Greatest Jordan Impersonator of all time, all the while shooting his team out of games and not following his coach's instructions.

Helped to run out of town the player responsible for putting him on the map in Shaq, along with inspiring his Hall of Fame, award winning coach to write a book explaining how uncoachable he was. Developed the most zealot filled, cult like following of Fans beyond any rational reasoning when it comes to his place in history or as a Star Player, only recently learning how to be a leader for his team after 15 years in the league.

Whatever happens this year, I'm sticking with Magic as the better Laker.

[YAWN]

1. Magic will always have an edge because he came first and played in what is considered the "golden era" of basketball in terms of excitement.

No he won't. Kobe can wake up paralyzed tomorrow morning, yet 6 years from now he would be heralded as the greatest laker of all time based on his current body of work.

Out of respect to Magic, no one will dare say otherwise until Kobe has either retired or led the Lakers to another ring.

[moe94]

Bean is my favorite Laker of all time but he simply has no case over Magic.

[RazorBaLade]

magic was pretty clearly getting ready to announce kobe passing him until that 6-24 and magic stopped talking about it, hard to imagine that in magics eyes and fans eyes kobe wont surpass w/ 1 more ring and decent play. honestly tho at this point a ring doesnt move him up as much as just performing good does.. together.. obv greatest laker

so ATM, its still magic imo.. barely

[YouCallILose]

it's magic and it always will be magic barring kobe do something ridiculous like winning 3 more titles

[iamgine]

Magic Johnson is one of the GOAT. Lets compare him with people like Jordan and Bird. Not Kobe Bryant.

But as who is the better Lakers, we'd have to see their financial and global impact to the club as well as longevity.

[kidachi]

Kobe's getting there I think.. but for the way Magic was loved by the fans.. we don't know, only time will tell

[Psileas]

-Magic has more MVP's, and that's not going to change. And that's with '87-'90 Jordan and '87-'88 Bird being present, both among the best primes ever. He also finished second twice, once to peak Bird and once to peak Jordan.
-He has more Finals' MVP's.
-He was a better playoff and finals' performer.
-He didn't have the scoring and long range shooting ability of Kobe, but he had a higher basketball IQ and made use of the whole team - and we are reminded of this every time Kobe tries to take every damn clutch shot and when he fails, people say "hey, his teammates did nothing to help him...".
-Magic was not always a saint towards his teammates, but no incident in his team ever came close to Kobe's frictions with Shaq. Magic's influence to Westhead's and Nixon's removal didn't bring down the team's success. Shaq's move to Miami brought 3 years of mediocrity to Kobe's team.
-He did all this up to the age of 31. Kobe is already about a year older than Magic was at the end of the '91 season.

[silenc]

The Magic Man. He pretty much made the Los Angeles Lakers a brand name.

this

[MAC system]

-Magic has more MVP's, and that's not going to change. And that's with '87-'90 Jordan and '87-'88 Bird being present, both among the best primes ever. He also finished second twice, once to peak Bird and once to peak Jordan.
-He has more Finals' MVP's.
-He was a better playoff and finals' performer.
-He didn't have the scoring and long range shooting ability of Kobe, but he had a higher basketball IQ and made use of the whole team - and we are reminded of this every time Kobe tries to take every damn clutch shot and when he fails, people say "hey, his teammates did nothing to help him...".
-Magic was not always a saint towards his teammates, but no incident in his team ever came close to Kobe's frictions with Shaq. Magic's influence to Westhead's and Nixon's removal didn't bring down the team's success. Shaq's move to Miami brought 3 years of mediocrity to Kobe's team.
-He did all this up to the age of 31. Kobe is already about a year older than Magic was at the end of the '91 season.

Bringing some truth to this thread...thank you

[Robens24]

Magic.

[PurpleChuck]

Magic.

[Bigsmoke]

its not fair to compare a past player to a current one because they will always win the comparison

[Calabis]

I don't like the argument at all.

1. Magic will always have an edge because he came first and played in what is considered the "golden era" of basketball in terms of excitement.

[COLOR="Red"]2. Kobe is always criticized for "riding Shaq's coattail" or having a stacked team. Magic had teams just as stacked and also played with Kareem who is a greater Center than Shaq. Most people think Kareem was old by the time he played with Magic. Dude was 28 when he first started and didn't significantly decline until he was 38. Magic and Bird are almost never criticized for their quality of teammates while Kobe is. [/COLOR]

3. Kobe is currently playing in the game right now, his career isn't over, and he's got a lot of haters. After he retires and given time, I'm sure we can have a great conversation about who's career was greater.

The reason people criticize Kobe, is because he wasn't the leader on those Shaq led team, where as the day Magic and Bird stepped on the floor, they were the unquestioned leaders for their teams.

Last years finals hurt Kobe's legacy in my opinion, if he is top 5 like everyone claims, he sure hasn't proven it in the finals. Magic is the best Laker ever imo, when Kobe is done with his career its possible he can surpass him.