1987-’91 Magic Johnson vs 2021-’25 Nikola Jokic

[Matt15]

Who was the better player for this 5 year span?

[Cavsfansince84]

I think Jokic was slightly better with his combo of volume scoring/efficiency and rebounding. I don't think there's a right/wrong answer but I would say Jokic. I think the guy who can avg like 30/13/10 for an entire playoff run is the one I'd want.

[f4p]

Hmm, my answer made me think about my all time rankings.

I immediately thought of my answer as Jokic but I also have magic 4th all time and partly because I think 87 to 91 is so good. So if I have jokic ahead for peak and jokic will probably string together enough seasons to eclipse 1980 to 86 magic, then do i have to put joker 4th eventually? But I think the real answer is I view magic's early retirement as a one off that basically doesn't count and I unofficially give him credit for what I assume would have been stellar 1992/3/4 seasons and I really rank magic on overall quality of play. I suppose it makes some sense .

[eminence]

Slight edge to Magic. Jokic has more notable PO weaknesses than most imo. Similar RS level.

[EmpireFalls]

Jokic RS; Magic PS

[LukaTheGOAT]

I'm picking Jokic.

Jokic's advantages:

-Better scorer
-Probably more off-ball value than Magic due to:

-time of possession being lower,
-his ability to come off screens
-very likely better midrange shooting
-his ability to be the pick and roll handler or screener, -screen assists (very good screener),
-Floor-spacing at the big position.

Magic's advantages:
-Better ball-handler, agility
-Better in open-court/transition
- Isn't as reliant on teammates getting him the ball

I’m fine with Magic being ahead. But based on traits, it feels like Jokic should probably get the nod (though this might be a trap).

We often debate who’s the better passer or playmaker between these two — and it’s generally accepted as reasonable to have one slightly over the other. But we never really debate who’s the better scorer, because it’s a foregone conclusion that Jokic is ahead there. And that cushion Jokic has over Magic as a scorer is what pushes me toward him.

The interior gravity, combined with Jokic’s ability to blend more easily with high-end talent thanks to his floor-spacing at the 5 and his willingness to play off the ball or lower his time of possession, makes me lean his way if we’re viewing these guys as neck and neck overall.

Defensively, Jokic isn’t a catastrophe relative to Magic. Honestly, both leave me feeling kind of “meh” on that end.

So, with these two being close in so many ways, Jokic’s scoring advantage is the deciding factor for me. Maybe Magic’s playmaking edge is bigger than I’m giving it credit for — especially since we see today’s primary ball-handlers occasionally surpassing Jokic in certain individual metrics, like Bball Index’s Playmaking or PlayVal. The fact that modern guards can scrape Jokic’s value in those areas might suggest that’s a bigger gap than I’m accounting for.

But… you ever just have a feeling about something? That’s what this is for me.