Magic Johnson is considered to be the greatest point guard of all time. There is a good reason for this, as Johnson was a superstar passer and scorer, and led his Los Angeles Lakers to 5 NBA championships. Johnson had great players by his side, but there was one player he never wanted to play with – Michael Jordan.
During an interview with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Magic explained why he never wanted to play with Michael Jordan.
“I wasn’t a guy like that”, Magic said about teaming up with Jordan. “I never wanted to play with nobody but my dudes. I was good… I’ve always been a dude, where I end up, that’s where I roll… That was always my mindset. And I’m glad. But I will say this, that’s what makes sports special; competitiveness. Not everybody joining each other.”
Johnson was truly a very competitive figure in the NBA. Playing in one of the toughest eras of the NBA, Johnson’s drive to be the best helped him lead the Lakers to immense success in the 80s. While Johnson never wanted to play with any other established superstar in the league, he was blessed with having some amazing teammates, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy.
A Magic-MJ Duo Would Have Dominated The NBA
One need not look far to imagine what a duo of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan could have done in the NBA. Jordan and Johnson represented Team USA at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where they won the gold medal. Johnson, despite having not played in the NBA at that point for a year due to his HIV diagnosis, played incredibly well alongside MJ.
Jordan and Magic have immense respect for each other and even look at the NBA in a very similar way. Johnson recently revealed that he and Jordan talked about load management in today’s NBA, and how they wanted to play every game. While Johnson and Jordan dominated the NBA without each other, one can only wonder how incredibly dominant their duo would have been.
