Todays League: KG or Magic

[Matt15]

Who would you rather build a team around in todays league?

[Asianiac_24]

KG is tailor made for today's league. Magic's big advantage back than is that he is a 6'10 PG. Nowadays big PGs are not as rare as before, so I don't think Magic would be quite as good today.

[Amare_1_Knicks]

Magics the better player all time and that wouldn’t change (for me) in todays league either.

[dygaction]

KG is tailor made for today's league. Magic's big advantage back than is that he is a 6'10 PG. Nowadays big PGs are not as rare as before, so I don't think Magic would be quite as good today.

KG would be richman Adebayo, better defender and scorer but still no 3s needed for spacing. not that special with guys like Jokic, Giannis, Embiid, and upcoming Chet and Wenby...

[itsxtray]

Magic is probably getting hunted in today's league on defense in the playoffs. So that'd take away some of his overall impact but you could argue with all the extra space he'd be even better on offense. Kg would be perfect for this era as a connector/finisher on offense and a defensive god in a switching scheme ala Draymond but even better. I think peak for peak id lean Kg but I'm not 100% imma go 52/48 Kg over Magic.

[Dr Aki]

Magic is a rich man's Luka without the 3pt volume

There's no reason to think he'd take fewer threes than other contemporaries if he played today

[dygaction]

Magic is a rich man's Luka without the 3pt volume

There's no reason to think he'd take fewer threes than other contemporaries if he played today

You may not want to believe but Magic was a good 3pt shooter with high volume at the end of his career, in 1990, he was #5 in the league in 3p attempts and #5 in 3p made @ 38.4%. Doncic was #10 in 3pa and #15 in 3p made @ 34.2% last season. Magic was actually better in efficiency and even better in volume if considered with respect to era.

KG on the other hand, made 10 3pters with 65 3pa in his last 9 seasons since 2008 @15.4%. He showed no willingness, ability, or other signs to have respectable 3pt range.

[Dr Aki]

Magic is a rich man's Luka without the 3pt volume

There's no reason to think he'd take fewer threes than other contemporaries if he played today

You may not want to believe but Magic was a good 3pt shooter with high volume at the end of his career, in 1990, he was #5 in the league in 3p attempts and #5 in 3p made @ 38.4%. Doncic was #10 in 3pa and #15 in 3p made @ 34.2% last season. Magic was actually better in efficiency and even better in volume if considered with respect to era.

KG on the other hand, made 10 3pters with 65 3pa in his last 9 seasons since 2008 @15.4%. He showed no willingness, ability, or other signs to have respectable 3pt range.

That's why I said 3pt volume, I didn't say Magic was a poor 3pt shooter percentage-wise.

I imagine 31%, 38% and 32% from 3pt was pretty good for 1988-91.

Hell, that's pretty bang on 3pt percentage-wise for Luka for his career in "today's NBA"

[dygaction]

Magic is a rich man's Luka without the 3pt volume

There's no reason to think he'd take fewer threes than other contemporaries if he played today

You may not want to believe but Magic was a good 3pt shooter with high volume at the end of his career, in 1990, he was #5 in the league in 3p attempts and #5 in 3p made @ 38.4%. Doncic was #10 in 3pa and #15 in 3p made @ 34.2% last season. Magic was actually better in efficiency and even better in volume if considered with respect to era.

KG on the other hand, made 10 3pters with 65 3pa in his last 9 seasons since 2008 @15.4%. He showed no willingness, ability, or other signs to have respectable 3pt range.

That's why I said 3pt volume, I didn't say Magic was a poor 3pt shooter percentage-wise.

I imagine 31%, 38% and 32% from 3pt was pretty good for 1988-91.

Hell, that's pretty bang on 3pt percentage-wise for Luka for his career in "today's NBA"

but that's high volume and #5 in the league, so it is reasonable he can chuck more 3s like Luka today, assuming better training will be offset by volume, he can be a similar chucker

[Dr Aki]

You may not want to believe but Magic was a good 3pt shooter with high volume at the end of his career, in 1990, he was #5 in the league in 3p attempts and #5 in 3p made @ 38.4%. Doncic was #10 in 3pa and #15 in 3p made @ 34.2% last season. Magic was actually better in efficiency and even better in volume if considered with respect to era.

KG on the other hand, made 10 3pters with 65 3pa in his last 9 seasons since 2008 @15.4%. He showed no willingness, ability, or other signs to have respectable 3pt range.

That's why I said 3pt volume, I didn't say Magic was a poor 3pt shooter percentage-wise.

I imagine 31%, 38% and 32% from 3pt was pretty good for 1988-91.

Hell, that's pretty bang on 3pt percentage-wise for Luka for his career in "today's NBA"

but that's high volume and #5 in the league, so it is reasonable he can chuck more 3s like Luka today, assuming better training will be offset by volume, he can be a similar chucker

On that point, I agree with you. I was like 2-4 years old during that time and I didn't know what was a good volume of threes during that era.

That said, Magic would probably rather drive and dish to a cutting Laker than chuck up a 3 cos the adage back then, was the closer to the bucket you got, the easier the shot was to make.

It wasn't until probably Moreyball and/or post-Kobe era (from 2013 onwards), that there was a league-wide realisation that non-paint shots from 3 ft was basically ~40% average until like 26 ft out

[70sFan]

Both KG and Magic would take and make threes in today's league. Too good of shooters not to adjust.

[Asianiac_24]

Magic is not the scorer Luka is. Magic is less volume, higher efficiency, more turnover efficient Luka.

[Whiffyemperor]

Magic would struggle in today league no handle or bag,kg all day

[70sFan]

Magic would struggle in today league no handle or bag,kg all day

Magic and no handle should not be put in the same sentence.

[Colbinii]

Garnett's the better player all time and that wouldn’t change (for me) in todays league either.

[dygaction]

Both KG and Magic would take and make threes in today's league. Too good of shooters not to adjust.

It is not like KG was an ancient player from Russell's era. He was a modern age player playing after Bird, against Dirk, and experienced Nash/Curry's 3pt storms. 10 3s made in his last 9 seasons combined, or 15 3s in his entire playoffs games should tell us he either did not have it, motivation + skills, or just not too intelligent to realize it.
In today's league, he should be able to play closer to the basket to finish with much higher efficiency as there is less defense intensity.

[Cavsfansince84]

Easy to make an argument for either guy. I'd take Magic only because I think his intangibles/leadership is good enough to make me feel more sure about him in any era.

[NW BBALL]

Both are players that would excel in any era but I prefer Magic myself for his extreme versatility, efficiency, and leadership. Although KG’s defense would be elite, I am not sure it would stand out as much as it did during his era. Bigs that could guard multiple positions and had lateral quickness were nearly unheard of in the 90s and early 2000s, now it is nearly a requirement.

[Texas Chuck]

You take the best player and that's Magic. Add to that if you are really building a team around either one, he's an absolute marketing dream. So better player, better moneymaker and I think almost every team would take him.

[tsherkin]

KG is tailor made for today's league. Magic's big advantage back than is that he is a 6'10 PG. Nowadays big PGs are not as rare as before, so I don't think Magic would be quite as good today.

No, his big advantage was his versatility and ATG playmaking coupled to his ability to score very efficiently. And he had no trouble scoring against guys his own size, either. Also, he was more like 6'8 or 6'9 than 6'10. He'd crush it today. He might even be better if he were encouraged to develop the 3 earlier on in his career.