Was Los Angeles Laker Magic Johnson a better basketballer than the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan? Amongst basketball fans, and even non-fans, the question would almost seem sacrilegious to the legendary Jordan.
There is a reason Jordan has the unofficial nickname of ‘GOAT’ – as in, ‘Greatest Of All Time’.
However, the debate over who is the better player is not as definitive as you think, and has been raised again due to US journalist Jason Whitlock suggesting that Magic was the only player that could potentially rival Michael Jordan as the greatest ever.
Likewise, the recent NBA documentary about the 1992 ‘Dream Team’ has fuelled discussion around the topic. The movie showed never-seen-before footage of Team USA’s scrimmages, and it was interesting to hear basketball experts analyse the training games, and conclude that it may have been the first time anyone can remember Jordan not being the unequivocal best player on the court, such was Magic’s control of the games.
Magic was easily pegged as the better player when he retired in 1991. However, at that time, Jordan had won one championship, and Magic had five. Jordan peeled off five more victories to surpass Magic not just in championships, but in status as the best player.
But was Magic really a worthy challenger to Jordan’s crown?
I’m not a fan of statistics, but let’s start with both individual’s career ones anyway.
Magic averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 11.2 assists, and 1.9 steals.
Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.4 steals.
Jordan would appear to have the clear edge there, primarily due to his high scoring average.
However, it was interesting to note in the book ‘When the Game was Ours’, that Magic stated he could have easily averaged 30 points per game if he wanted to, but he preferred to pass the ball. In all honesty, it’s not hard to imagine Magic averaging 30 points if he truly desired.
Considering Magic averaged 11 assists per game, if he instead kept the ball and shot himself on at least half of those passing instances, he would have taken 10 more shots. With a 50% lifetime field goal shooting percentage, Magic would have therefore scored roughly 10 more points per game, taking his average to 29.5.
And that’s without taking into account that some of those field goals would have been three pointers.
Additionally, as anyone who’s played basketball will tell you, when you are more aggressive with your scoring, you’ll get some foul calls and get to the free throw line.
Seeming as Magic’s career success rate on free throws was 90%, you could probably add a couple of points or more to his tally.
Suddenly Magic is averaging an extra 12 points per game.
Magic: 31.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.9 steals.
Jordan: 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.4 steals.
Whilst that’s extremely hypothetical, and there is absolutely no question that Jordan was a much more potent scorer, it does prove a point that when you consider Magic’s high assist numbers, their statistics do very little to separate the two players.
Yet Magic didn’t need inflated scoring figures; his overall statistics were brilliant anyway.
In any case, numbers never truly reflected what Magic brought to a basketball team. He was all about winning.
Due to the HIV virus he contracted, Magic was forced into premature retirement in 1991, whilst he was still in his prime at 31 years of age. That year, he averaged 19 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds. Those are crazy numbers, and are bang-on his career averages. He also led the Lakers to the NBA Finals, was nominated onto the All-NBA first team, and finished second to Michael Jordan in MVP voting.
Whilst Laker injuries and the ascension of Jordan and the Chicago Bulls prevented him from winning the title that year, his numbers, his team’s performance, and his MVP votes clearly indicate that Magic was still very much in his prime, and had plenty of great basketball left in him.
In fact, one of Magic’s most unbelievable achievements was coming out of retirement five years later, and playing the last 32 games of the 1995-96 season. Playing as a back-up power forward, Magic averaged 15 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in 29 minutes per game. Playing at such an elite level after five years off, and registering those statistics, is just absurd, and indicates just how great Magic was.
I have no hesitation in saying Magic would have won at least one more championship if he wasn’t forced into early retirement. Yes, it’s hypothetical. Yes it’s impossible to guarantee that he would have won another ring. Whatever, I’m doing it. He was that good, and he was a winner.
That would have drawn him even with Jordan on championship rings. In fact, he probably would have taken one off Jordan, leaving the Bull behind on five.
Yet this is where hypotheticals prove almost pointless – Jordan almost certainly wouldn’t have taken his baseball sabbatical if Magic was still playing and pushing him to higher greatness. As such, you can only judge what is written down in history as fact: Jordan won six titles, Magic five.
Where Jordan really separated himself from Magic is on defence. Jordan was perhaps the best defender of all-time at his position. Magic, to put it kindly, was not. Whilst nowhere near the liability that he’s been historically remembered as, the truth is that Magic was not an elite level defender.
When you weigh up the MVP trophies, Finals MVP awards, all-NBA nominations, statistics, championships, all their respective accolades, and even the memories of their play, it’s evident that Michael Jordan was better than Magic Johnson.
But it’s a lot closer than you think, and could have been even closer if Magic wasn’t forced into early retirement.
Donny
Guest
MJ was a great player and one of the best of all time. But, there are two players that are clearly better in my pushing 70 year old opinion. Statistics aside, I don't think its that close. MJ is on a par with all time greats Oscar Robertson and Hakeem. Magic and LeBron are basketball savants in a league of their own.
oliver
Guest
This is really tough. Let me get some stuff out of the way first. Wilt's numbers were a joke. The pace of the game back then, the size of the lanes, the lack of rules, I mean, it was the Mecca of basketball. Any elite center in the 80's-today would have destroyed him. And Russell's 11 titles in 12 years, c'mon, He said himself, when Magic made the finals it was the equivalent to winning a championship in the 60's. There were like 8-12 teams and the Celtics were far deeper and better coached than the rest of them. Russell shot 43% career btw, same with Baylor, so skill didn't really develop yet, and hadn't arrived until Bird and Magic changed the game. Kareem won 5 MVPs (6 total) in the post Russell era and while Wilt's career was winding down before he joined Magic and was preserved like a great wine. He put up amazing numbers in the 2nd worst decade of basketball history since 1/3 of his great competitors were in the ABA and he stretched out 3 inches taller than anyone else. That said Jabbar won only 1 title in 10 years alongside The Big O, he also won an MVP when the Lakers didn't make the playoffs that belonged to MacAdoo. He also played an overall 20 years and if you want to know how good of a rebounder and defender he was, look how his numbers dropped when the pace of the game slowed. Believe it or not showtime was slower than the early 70's and 60's, but just far more efficient. Now, onto the real debate. ENOUGH WITH THE MAGIC JOHNSON WAS A BAD SHOOTER/DEFENDER NONSENSE! I've read that a few times. He was a great jump shooter, even recorded 38% from 3pt one year. His overall FG% is better than Bird or Jordan. You've just got to be kidding me on that. 2, his D wasn't as dominant as Jordan, but Magic could defend all positions, he won 2 steals titles, was a really good help defender, weakside defender, and team defender, he played a sort of a zone defense because a lot of his assignments were smaller and could blast by him, but Magic was solid, look at his historical placing for defensive win share, defensive rating, and defensive plus/minus, he's not at the bottom of the 3500 NBA players that played the game, he's in the top 50-150 or so. That's well above average. Magic's PER was lower than Jordan's because the Lakers played a faster pace and had more possessions each game, but also because Magic turned the ball over frequently when his teammates didn't reach their spots or couldn't handle his passes, that effected his game, but notice his first years in the league, he also gave up a lot of his game playing with Kareem and splitting duties with Nixon. Numbers don't dictate wins, stats DO LIE. Same way Jordan who went from 32-8-8 to 31-5-6 was more successful giving the extra pass to Paxon and giving up his control of the ball. Myth that Jordan could defend Magic any better than Magic could defend him. just go to the tape, youtube has plenty of complete games, Magic just backed him down and had his way with him, Lakers just didn't want to waste Johnson's energy on Michael, knowing Jordan was more athletic. And Pippen had to come to Jordan's aid, Magic got Michael in foul trouble. He owned him in 1991 until Pippen recovered and when Magic lost Worthy and Scott and had to play with Smith and Campbell, he had a worst team to shine. We may not be having this conversation if they were healthy to help Magic win his 6th title. Myth, Jordan's teams weren't that good. He played with Oakley (Ewings best teammate), Woolridge (a 20ppg player), Paxon, Iceman (HOFer), Artis Gilmore (HOFer) all before he teamed with Pippen. Not the Bulls fault he didn't improve his teammates or move the ball around better. IN FACT, in the 7 seasons Jordan and Magic played in the same league, Magic won 3 LMVPs 3 champions and a FMVP to Jordan's 2 LMVPs 1 and 1. Magic dominated in their primes but unfortunately never had the chance to get a rematch which probably would have happened the next 2 seasons, Lakers owned Portland and almost upset Phoenix in 1993 without Magic. Also, Magic's teams were highly exaggerated, like Gilmore for Jordan, MacAdoo was way over the hill, Kareem was in the twilight of his career, Scott never played with Nixon, Magic won 2 before Worthy even arrived, and the Lakers bench was usually pretty shallow. Jordan also succeeded in a much lighter era, he played the Hawks, the Bullets, the Hornets...in the first 2 rounds and wasn't usually challenged in the weaker Eastern conference, while Magic ruled the West with an iron fist, beating Hakeem and the rockets in the 1st round for example b2b seasons! Dispatching every team that Jordan would eventually face in the finals. Were it not for injuries in '83, '89 and '91 finals, Magic might have 8 titles! Also, Magic played the original flu GAMES against the Pistons and performed amazingly in 1988. In fact, he should have won the FMVP in 1988, his numbers were far better than James Worthy, he averaged 21-13-6 to 22-7-4 by James. Go figure. While in Jordan's case, you can make the argument that he DIDN'T deserve every honor he received. Rodman should've been finals MVP 15 rbpg on Jordan's 41% fg in the 1996 finals! Shaq should've be AS MVP in 1996 AS game with 25-10 in 29 minutes, and Karl Malone league MVP in 1998 with 27.4ppg 9r 4a to Jordan's 28.6p 5r 3.5a, yeah, Malone out passed Jordan and the Jazz won 62 games too in a tougher conference without an injured Stockton, Michael also stole Defensive teams from Ron Harper from 1996-98, ALL GIFTED BY THE NBA TO PAD JORDAN'S CAREER, because he was so marketable and popular. Lots of questionable calls and no-calls in favor of the Bulls during those title runs as well. Clutch? Watch how many times Magic took a game winner, or hit a buzzer beater, you'd be surprised to know he did it more often, more impressively, and more efficiently than Kobe Bryant and probably as clutch as Jordan. And statistically? Also figure, Magic played less minutes than Jordan (like 1.5 mpg career) yet created more points for his team and averaged more rebounds. So, with all that said, I think Magic was the better player, Jordan the better athlete. Magic better team player, Jordan better individual player (but it's a team sport).
finees
Guest
Magic all the way
You're wrong
Guest
How can you say Magic was 1 dimensional when in all of his seasons he averaged over 1.3 steals a game, leading the league in steals with 3.4 one season and 2.7 the very next. Magic was and forever will be the best all around player to play basketball. No doubt Jordan will forever be the best scorer, but when Earvin stepped on the court it was Magic baby
roderick
Guest
This is an interesting article by Ryan O'Connell. I'd like to express my feelings about this article, but focusing on a very subjective impression: when Michael Jordan played, I had that kind of feeling that one would experience when seeing a human being brought back from the future. There are only two players that could share this feature with Michael Jordan: Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. These three men could play successfully 40 or 50 years after their retirement. In short, players that have come (and will come) after them would only slightly counteract their performance. That's the real difference with the rest of players. To be honest, I think that Robertson, Russell, Magic or Bird stats and impact would drop dramatically nowadays, even if it's only due to the physical evolution of the basketball players. Also, Michael Jordan had a psychological superiority over his rivals, such was the prevailing "unstoppability" of his airness. In addition, I hardly remember bad games performed by Michael Jordan; at most, we can only say that, despite his dominance, he failed many shots in occasional games. This makes him different from Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. I admit that Magic Johnson had better passing skills. In fact, Magic has been the best player when it was about misleading not only his defender, but also the whole opponent team. But the thing is that basketball is a very complete game, with many aspects apart from passing ability. Magic and Bird (plus David Stern) changed the NBA so that it could become a global sport, but to reach its current position, NBA needed a god of basketball, and it was Michael Jordan. Cheers
JP
Guest
Nice article Ryan, and a question I think about regularly. I agree with many of the thoughts here and would add that I think Magic was just as entertaining and influential in the NBA as MJ. No question. He dominated his position, just like MJ. And in many ways, his charisma and presence was even greater than MJ's. Magic and Bird laid the foundation for MJ to be who he was. But if you want to talk pure numbers and perhaps all around ability, it's hard to argue against MJ. My only caveat would be that Jordan was not always the greatest. It took years for him to get to that point, whereas Magic was at a superior level from day one of his NBA career.
Mr Johnson
Guest
How can you say Magic was "a better all around player " if he was closer to being one demesional than what Jordan was? That dimesion being offense. Jordan was far more two dimensional than Magic therefore better allround. You mean he was better all-round offensively.
Reece Jordan
Roar Pro
This is a really tough one. Coming into the article, I thought you were crazy but it was some excellent food for thought and one that got me thinking about the argument. Magic and MJ are two players I wasn't around to see myself, but have watched more footage of than any current NBA player. Magic Johnson will always be my personal all-time favourite, being a Lakers fan and a fan of Showtime basketball, but I still give the edge to Michael in this debate. I don't know whether Jordan's superiority can be described with statistics or even fleshed out analysis - there was just something that when you watched him get the ball in the closing minutes you'd back him to make a full court shot, he was not human when the game was on the line. Magic was fantastic too, don't get me wrong, and I do think he is second-to-one, but he didn't have that same quality that Michael had.
Mushi
Guest
Worlds biggest facts hey!
Johnno
Guest
world's biggest facts. MJ was a ball hog. And MJ was not a team player who lifted his teammates stats, before playing with them or after playing with them. -Non of those players improved or declined before or after playing with MJ. In fact most of the players scottie pippin especially did better with out jordan stats wise. The bulls had the best year stats wise when jordan retired in 93. 93-94 bulls should of won the title with pippin as the main man just the worst foul call in history vs the knocks just about ever, cost them. -And jordan when he came back failed to beat houston, and the court rust argument was a myth too, he was fine and fresh and fit. -And another example dennis rodman. Rodman was already a star won 2 title without he detroit piston bad boy's team , and they knocked off jordans bulls 2 ice. So Rodman hardly needed MJ to help his career reputation. Tony kukoc was just as good with and without MJ stats wise and was an established star . Another myth that jordan developed the players around him, unlike say Majic. -Jordan was a dynamic individual maybe the best ever basketballer but was a ball hog and not a team player. He was like a Marradonna winning on his own, but not a Zidane a team player making other players better around him.
Damo
Guest
Benoit Benjamin? Who?
Worlds biggest
Guest
It has to be Jordan, Magic was great but came into an already strong Lakers team and won a championship in his rookie season playing centre. He played with Kareem and James Worthy both hall of famers in there own right, you could argue Kareem ranks with Bill Russell as the greatest centre of all time. MJ came into a Bulls team that was competitive but were never contenders until he arrived. While it took him 7 years to win a title against Magic & the Lakers he simply elevated the Bulls to another level winning 2 three peats and taking home the Finals MVP on each occasion. MJ elevated the level of play of his team mates none more so than Scottie Pippen. That is the mark of a legend and there is no greater player in the history of the game than Michael Jordan.
Liam Dillon
Guest
Kareem won his Championships with Magic or the Big O (Oscar Robertson), 2 of the most gifted team players to run the point. On top of this Magic and Kareem averaged a Double Double throughout their careers, which is a huge achievement given how long they played (especially Magic who did it with points and assists).
Johnno
Guest
Agree Aleks Kareem could be pushing no 1, he was one phenomenal ball player .
Johnno
Guest
Isiah Thomas was one hell of a player, and won 2 titles with detroit him and roman and the detroit bad boys shut Jordan out 2 ice. Isiah thomas was as naturally talented and competitive as they come. -Derrick Coleman for pure talant was amazing , as were benoit benjamin, and harold miner, and sam bowie, but injuries and form lapses stuffed them up. -Also charles barkley i am sorry for those that don't know he was an awesome basketballer as good as they come, he pushed jordan a lot he just never had great team mates like magic, jordan, and bird, and le bron. Put him in drier team usa 92 he was amazing was player of the olympics. He was berry stocky and strong not very tall for a power forwad at all but wow was he athletic and strong and a very smart basketball player he just didn't have the high class team mates that others had.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
To be fair, this conversation was purely Magic versus Michael. If I opened it up to greatest player ever, suddenly you need to talk Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem, Larry Bird, etc. Then the article gets really long, and the debate gets really heated!
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
True-ish. Well,apart the paragraph when I wrote ". . .Jordan almost certainly wouldn’t have taken his baseball sabbatical if Magic was still playing and pushing him to higher greatness."
Nicholashugo
Roar Pro
I do feel like Simmons has to update his list though, at least for the top 20
Nicholashugo
Roar Pro
What he said, i am impressed
mushi
Roar Guru
Kareem is in most top 5s I think. Personally I'd have him #2. He just wasn't as likeable as Magic which probably hurts him.