Magic Johnson vs. Lebron James

CB4MiamiHeat · Post #1 » by **CB4MiamiHeat** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:01 am

I mentioned how I thought Lebron James is a better player than Magic Johnson ... in a thread titled "state your unpopular opinion" ...got killed for it :lol:

I think if you break it down , its not as crazy a statement as it sounds .. .. breaking down their game all-around on both ends...factoring in pace as well

I know people like to use titles and accolades to compare ...Im talking just straight up individually .. who has the bigger impact on the court? who is the better player to you?

initiald · Post #2 » by **initiald** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:30 am

WTF. Lebron is not even close to Magic at orchestrating the offense.

MLSE · Post #3 » by **MLSE** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:35 am

Impact on the court?

Magic by a mile thus far for sure.

DirtyDez · Post #4 » by **DirtyDez** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:43 am

Magic had Kareem. Lebron had Big Z. Too difficult to compare.

RunMCR · Post #5 » by **RunMCR** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:49 am

DirtyDez wrote:Magic had Kareem. Lebron had Big Z. Too difficult to compare.

No not really difficult. Magic is way better

laronprofit9 · Post #6 » by **laronprofit9** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:57 am

Look Lebron has had very little playoff success in his career, a lot of that has do with his teammates. It's not fair to judge him to Magic in that regard.

Lebron has only beaten 1 50+ win team in the playoffs for his entire career. Meanwhile, Magic won championships in arguably the most difficult era of basketball against some of the greatest teams of all time.

Lebron hasn't faced a team as good as the 80's Celtics in the playoffs, and hasn't beaten a team no where near as good. Like I said he's only beaten ONE(1) 50-Win team in the playoffs for his entire career. That mostly has to do with his poor teammates.

Prime magic would give you roughly 20/7/13. Prime Lebron is giving you around 30/7/8.

Lebron is the better scorer, and Magic the better playmaker.

Just what we've seen from both players so far, I'd probably give an edge to Magic. However, I can change my opinion 5 years later from now. Lebron isn't finished.

Wavy Q · Post #7 » by **Wavy Q** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:59 am

DirtyDez wrote:Magic had Kareem. Lebron had Big Z. Too difficult to compare.

Even when Kareem retired Magic still was putting up the same numbers :-?

I heard some dude on ESPN say LeBron was a Magic + MJ Hybrid, thats when i turned off my TV and said i'd never watch ESPN again. Magic is easily the better player.

CB4MiamiHeat · Post #8 » by **CB4MiamiHeat** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 6:14 am

initiald wrote:WTF. Lebron is not even close to Magic at orchestrating the offense.

Lakers were putting up 120 points a night. They played at a pace that made the Warriors look like they walk the ball up and down the court.

Factor in the pace the Cavs play at .. and also factor in the fact Lebron hasnt played with a true All-Star on his team .. let alone multiple Hall of Famers.

Village Idiot · Post #9 » by **Village Idiot** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 6:26 am

There is no question that LeBron is the better athlete and a much more powerful player. He has a combination of skills and physique which are unprecedented in the sport. He has the same versatile skill-set Magic had while being physically superior.

Magic though has LeBron thoroughly beat in the intangibles category. His will to win and ability to make his team-mates better are qualities which LeBron will probably never develop. With LeBron it's all about LeBron. His constant frown and aloofness testify as to what kind of person he is. Magic with his constant smile while maintaining intensity and leadership make him the clear cut choice here.

Kingsforlife · Post #10 » by **Kingsforlife** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 6:27 am

the earliest i would compare players of today to the past would be the 90's

JordansBulls · Post #11 » by **JordansBulls** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:25 pm

Magic for sure.

Quincy · Post #12 » by **Quincy** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:35 pm

Give me Magic.

Post #13 » by **rrravenred** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 1:54 pm

I don't think the gap is absolutely massive when you look at them as players (Lebron has range and driving ability, Magic has better court vision, versatility and a low-post game). People go on a bit about Lebron's inability to take his team over the top, but he DOES average 29 / 8 / 7 on a 56% TS% in the playoffs you really think that's shirking?

Most basketball fans are still really pi-...uh... cheesed off with Lebron, so he's never going to get the benefit of the doubt until he's carved his own identity with the heat, and the Heat have developed their own "big 3" identity. And the fame-chasing, occasionally petulant and aloof certainly Lebron isn't going to get the nod over the lovable, goofy-smiling, charismatic Magic.

But it is intangibles that're the big difference here (hat tip to Village Idiot)

Post #14 » by **alucryts** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 2:05 pm

not impossible for lebron to pass magic but he hasnt done it yet. we might be able to see how lebron compares playing pg this year

Post #15 » by **tsherkin** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 3:42 pm

CB4MiamiHeat wrote:Lakers were putting up 120 points a night. They played at a pace that made the Warriors look like they walk the ball up and down the court.

And what about in 91, when Magic took the Lakers (without Kareem OR Michael Cooper) to the Finals, while posting 19/7/12.5 at a pace of 94.1 possessions per game, which would be 6th in the league today and some 6 possessions slower than the Warriors?

Want to try again?

RunMCR · Post #16 » by **RunMCR** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 3:55 pm

tsherkin wrote:
CB4MiamiHeat wrote:Lakers were putting up 120 points a night. They played at a pace that made the Warriors look like they walk the ball up and down the court.

And what about in 91, when Magic took the Lakers (without Kareem OR Michael Cooper) to the Finals, while posting 19/7/12.5 at a pace of 94.1 possessions per game, which would be 6th in the league today and some 6 possessions slower than the Warriors?

Want to try again?

in for excuses

realist1981 · Post #17 » by **realist1981** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:09 pm

laronprofit9 wrote:Look Lebron has had very little playoff success in his career, a lot of that has do with his teammates. It's not fair to judge him to Magic in that regard.

Lebron has only beaten 1 50+ win team in the playoffs for his entire career. Meanwhile, Magic won championships in arguably the most difficult era of basketball against some of the greatest teams of all time.

Lebron hasn't faced a team as good as the 80's Celtics in the playoffs, and hasn't beaten a team no where near as good. Like I said he's only beaten ONE(1) 50-Win team in the playoffs for his entire career. That mostly has to do with his poor teammates.

Prime magic would give you roughly 20/7/13. Prime Lebron is giving you around 30/7/8.

Lebron is the better scorer, and Magic the better playmaker.

Just what we've seen from both players so far, I'd probably give an edge to Magic. However, I can change my opinion 5 years later from now. Lebron isn't finished.

^

realist1981 · Post #18 » by **realist1981** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:11 pm

RunMCR wrote:
DirtyDez wrote:Magic had Kareem. Lebron had Big Z. Too difficult to compare.

No not really difficult. Magic is way better

your lebron hate lmao

Post #19 » by **tsherkin** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:13 pm

rrravenred wrote:I don't think the gap is absolutely massive when you look at them as players (Lebron has range and driving ability, Magic has better court vision, versatility and a low-post game).

I'd put it to you that Magic's jumper was better than Lebron's... at least by the end of his career. He was certainly a better FT shooter and was extremely comfortable out to 20 feet, plus, he had some really good 3pt shooting seasons at the end, when he was starting to hit 90% at the line, etc.

Lebron's more of a scorer, and he's a better defender. He's not nearly as good at running an offense, though, or helping other players as he seems. Still a transcendent talent, but he's just not as good at doing what Magic did... of course, Magic couldn't score like Lebron does, not consistently over a whole season, anyhow, but that wasn't his MO anyway.

Tough call. Lebron has all kinds of opportunity to pass Magic, IMO. He's not a greater player at this point, though, and I'd hesitate to consider him a better player, especially given what Magic was able to accomplish as everything changed about his situation during his career. Pace didn't seem to bother his volume assist production, nor did the diminishing talent around him seem to stall his ability to lead a team deep into the playoffs. I mean seriously, that 91 squad was bunk compared to most of his older teams and they STILL made the Finals, that's impressive. And again, he had one of his highest single-season APG outputs in the year where he played the slowest (before the 96 season, anyhow), which really suggests that no one who says he relied on pace knows anything about Magic's career. Hell, just watching him in the 95-96 comeback tells you what you need to know, he could average 7 apg as a PF in 30 mpg because he could create passing opportunities from the POST so well.

Magic THRIVED in the post, which made him a deadly half-court weapon. He wasn't a crazy PnR player (Riley likes to joke that Magic didn't really ever run it, or somesuch).

Kobeskillz · Post #20 » by **Kobeskillz** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:15 pm

[quote="CB4MiamiHeat":****]I mentioned how I thought Lebron James is a better player than Magic Johnson ... in a thread titled "state your unpopular opinion" ...got killed for it :lol:

I think if you break it down , its not as crazy a statement as it sounds .. .. breaking down their game all-around on both ends...factoring in pace as well

I know people like to use titles and accolades to compare ...Im talking just straight up individually .. who has the bigger impact on the court? who is the better player to you?[/quote:****]

I saw that stupid statement and wanted to say something but since it was a say anything thread I didn't.

You are either very young or misinformed. I know is hard to see Magic now and then James right now and think how could Magic be better but he was and 9 finals and 5 rings should tell you that. It's not only the awards or even #'s but he ran the team like no other and it's the very definition of making your teammates better.

Magic by a mile.

Better player?