Maybe one NBA player who doesn’t get mentioned often enough in the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) conversation is former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson. He was a force for five Lakers title teams in the 1980s and maybe the most creative passer the league has ever seen.
Johnson averaged 11.2 assists per game for his pro career. That’s the highest assists average from any one player of all time.
During a recent podcast appearance, Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen factored in Johnson’s leadership qualities and claimed that the floor general is “a bigger G.O.A.T.” than fellow NBA icons Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Jordan and James are often regarded as the two greatest players ever.
“You can’t ask me who’s the G.O.A.T. between LeBron and Michael,” Pippen said. “Neither one of them are G.O.A.T.s. They both won differently. You can’t put them at the top of the pinnacle. Magic Johnson, to me, is a bigger G.O.A.T. than anybody because of how he led, how he brought a whole team, how when the greatest scorer in the game, Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], was not there and him as a rookie steps in and plays a position that no one even knew he could play, that’s transcending what you can do as a player.”
One could argue that Johnson sacrificed a whole lot in terms of individual statistics during his playing days so that he could make his teammates better.
He’s best known for his passing chops but was certainly capable of scoring as well. Johnson scored a career-high 23.9 points per contest back in the 1986-87 campaign.
Despite his gift for scoring the ball, Johnson scored less than 18,000 points in his career, certainly in large part because of how selfless he was. He ranks just 88th among the all-time scoring leaders. For reference, current Lakers star Anthony Davis is already ahead of him.
When Pippen mentioned Johnson’s heroics as a first-year player, he was referring to when Johnson stepped in for an injured Abdul-Jabbar and started at the center position in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals. He eventually played every position on the floor during the game.
With a title at stake, he torched the Philadelphia 76ers for 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, and Los Angeles won the contest by 16 points without its man in the middle.
Johnson earned the Finals MVP award after his herculean performance in Game 6. He is the only player in league history to earn the hardware as a rookie.
Maybe Pippen’s comments will get folks to start thinking about the G.O.A.T. debate differently in the near future. James and Jordan certainly belong in the conversation, but they probably aren’t the only people who deserve honorable mentions for the title.
