RealGM

Who's a better player? LeBron or Magic

I think LeBron is a better player because he can do more with the ball and is a better versatile defender

At this moment in LeBron's career? Magic by far. Ask me in 10 years and it will get more interesting.

Forget about accomplishments...who's the better player?

Since stats are all that matter on realgm, not only is Lebron better than Magic, Chris Paul is too.

kookie_819 wrote:At this moment in LeBron's career? Magic by far. Ask me in 10 years and it will be the same.

fixed

Magic, and I don't think it will change.

Magic

Magic by a hair.

Icefire10304 wrote:Who's a better player? LeBron or Magic

I think LeBron is a better player because he can do more with the ball and is a better versatile defender

uve obviously never really watched magic

Umm Magic.

I haven't watched Magic play, but from what I've heard of him, he was a much better passer than LeBron. I honestly would say that Magic was a better scorer too. Magic was the better rebounder. LeBron's edge on defense isn't as big as some people think. Magic was an above average defensive player, and LeBron is overrated. If he truly committed himself, LeBron is one of the better defensive players ever, but he gets lazy and gambles a lot on defense. Magic is just a much better offensive player than LeBron, which is why he is the better player.

As for who is the greater player, Magic by FAR

This topic is insult to Magic.

IMO, poster has never seen any Magic Johnson 's great game.


can't be compared with.




Magic had never quit any game.

and Rookie Magic Johnson got Final MVP not like lbj.
(He won the last game without KAJ)

furthermore, Magic was not sidekick like lbj.



here is comparison

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro17uVwAaso[/youtube]

Comparisons like this one are a bit of a trap which really makes all of us react siding with the established legend. The young guy still has question marks about him, that keep all of us skeptical except for the homers.

I'll start off by saying that Magic's my offensive GOAT. Over Jordan, over Kareem, etc. Nobody could make an offense hum like Magic as floor general, and he was also a capable volume scorer (though not as good as LeBron). So obviously I'd say Magic has the edge there, but we shouldn't sell LeBron short. What he's done has been amazing. Any advanced stat, LeBron's been astoundingly good, and while the team's offense hasn't been all-time great level good, it's still been easily top 10 with a really unimpressive supporting cast.

The putative knock on LeBron is that takes too much on himself and doesn't let the offense flow which causes problems against tougher competition. I frankly find this kind of weak as a criticism of his existing play, but valid as a question mark. With that supporting cast, I just don't think it's reasonable to expect better. How will he do in Miami with strong supporting cast? Well he'll do well of course, but if he wants to be in the conversation with Magic for offensive GOAT this offense better an all-time great contender at the very least. Can he do it? I won't be shocked if he does.

What about non-offense? Well, I'd give Magic a small edge in rebounding, and LeBron a solid edge on defense. Not much else wax on about.

What about the intangibles? Well, I think the question mark there is largely about what happened against Boston this year. And it is a black mark that should be included in the comparison. That said, LeBron did nothing like that the previous season as his team was getting eliminated. This was a special circumstance with LeBron knowing that he had to make up his mind about free agency this off-season. I honestly think that before the Boston series, LeBron thought it was most likely he'd decide to stay in Cleveland, and what made him get shell shocked was the realization in that series that it wasn't a fluke that his team lost the previous year, that they were further away from the goal this year, and the building blocks around him didn't seem poised for big improvement. I seriously doubt something like that happens to him again.

So add it all up who is better? Well that's a sham, I'm not prepared to pick LeBron. I pick Magic, and can give arguments against someone picking LeBron - but anyone who says Magic is a far superior player is being silly. Most of the time, players don't miraculously become far superior players when they win their first title, we're just unwilling to give them the benefit of the doubt until there is no more doubt.

Magic by a mile. He ran the offense to perfectly. Nobody can run the offense like Magic, especially on the fast break. Magic is also a better competition and clutch.

If stat is all you care about, then go chill with a stat stuffer like Lebron, Oscar, Wilt who rarely win anything.

Magic Johnson by a huge disparity.

Doctor MJ wrote:Comparisons like this one are a bit of a trap which really makes all of us react siding with the established legend. The young guy still has question marks about him, that keep all of us skeptical except for the homers.

I'll start off by saying that Magic's my offensive GOAT. Over Jordan, over Kareem, etc. Nobody could make an offense hum like Magic as floor general, and he was also a capable volume scorer (though not as good as LeBron). So obviously I'd say Magic has the edge there, but we shouldn't sell LeBron short. What he's done has been amazing. Any advanced stat, LeBron's been astoundingly good, and while the team's offense hasn't been all-time great level good, it's still been easily top 10 with a really unimpressive supporting cast.

The putative knock on LeBron is that takes too much on himself and doesn't let the offense flow which causes problems against tougher competition. I frankly find this kind of weak as a criticism of his existing play, but valid as a question mark. With that supporting cast, I just don't think it's reasonable to expect better. How will he do in Miami with strong supporting cast? Well he'll do well of course, but if he wants to be in the conversation with Magic for offensive GOAT this offense better an all-time great contender at the very least. Can he do it? I won't be shocked if he does.

What about non-offense? Well, I'd give Magic a small edge in rebounding, and LeBron a solid edge on defense. Not much else wax on about.

What about the intangibles? Well, I think the question mark there is largely about what happened against Boston this year. And it is a black mark that should be included in the comparison. That said, LeBron did nothing like that the previous season as his team was getting eliminated. This was a special circumstance with LeBron knowing that he had to make up his mind about free agency this off-season. I honestly think that before the Boston series, LeBron thought it was most likely he'd decide to stay in Cleveland, and what made him get shell shocked was the realization in that series that it wasn't a fluke that his team lost the previous year, that they were further away from the goal this year, and the building blocks around him didn't seem poised for big improvement. I seriously doubt something like that happens to him again.

So add it all up who is better? Well that's a sham, I'm not prepared to pick LeBron. I pick Magic, and can give arguments against someone picking LeBron - but anyone who says Magic is a far superior player is being silly. Most of the time, players don't miraculously become far superior players when they win their first title, we're just unwilling to give them the benefit of the doubt until there is no more doubt.

Great post. It's interesting that usually many posters on this forum will choose the newer player because they recognize the name, but in this case, Magic is someone almost all fans recognize and respect--and was a great player who was also likable on top--so we're getting responses like Magic in a landslide.

I'm still going with Magic Johnson, as I think he had better impact on overall team performance. He was the better overall offensive player, passer, and rebounder, but where he really comes out ahead are his intangibles. But this is certainly a close comparison if we were to exclude accomplishments and focus solely on ability.

I'm in now way a fan of Lebron but I was getting ready to argue his case, but boy was I wrong. Magic's teams made the Finals regularly since he was a rookie, and regularly had 60+ win seasons, and it was all him. Subtract Magic from those teams and they're below average. I was underestimating him, but yeah, Magic by a mile.

therealbig3 wrote:I haven't watched Magic play, but from what I've heard of him, he was a much better passer than LeBron. I honestly would say that Magic was a better scorer too. Magic was the better rebounder. LeBron's edge on defense isn't as big as some people think. Magic was an above average defensive player, and LeBron is overrated. If he truly committed himself, LeBron is one of the better defensive players ever, but he gets lazy and gambles a lot on defense. Magic is just a much better offensive player than LeBron, which is why he is the better player.

As for who is the greater player, Magic by FAR

what in the hell are you smoking. he is not even top 5 for his position.
lebrons only sort of defense comes from steals. his blocks are chase down so he cant be considered a great help defender.

lebron is horrible defensively

J08 wrote:

therealbig3 wrote:I haven't watched Magic play, but from what I've heard of him, he was a much better passer than LeBron. I honestly would say that Magic was a better scorer too. Magic was the better rebounder. LeBron's edge on defense isn't as big as some people think. Magic was an above average defensive player, and LeBron is overrated. If he truly committed himself, LeBron is one of the better defensive players ever, but he gets lazy and gambles a lot on defense. Magic is just a much better offensive player than LeBron, which is why he is the better player.

As for who is the greater player, Magic by FAR

what in the hell are you smoking. he is not even top 5 for his position.
lebrons only sort of defense comes from steals. his blocks are chase down so he cant be considered a great help defender.

lebron is horrible defensively

I clearly said if he truly committed himself to defense. He has the physical tools to be an elite defender. Also, he was voted 2nd in DPOY voting and made 1st team all defense...I don't think he deserved either, but he's not horrible defensively at all. He's gotten a lot better since he first entered the league on the defensive end.