NBA legend Magic Johnson has had his say on basketball’s greatest debate, saying current star LeBron James is the ‘best all-round basketball player’ but naming former opponent Michael Jordan as the sport’s greatest of all time.
The seemingly endless debate about the greatest player to play the sport has returned to the fore once again following the success of the Netflix documentary ‘The Last Dance’, which looks through the six-time championship-winning career of former Chicago Bulls man Jordan.
The extraordinary era of dominance by Jordan seemed unlikely to be repeated but the heights James has reached in the modern-day has led to endless comparisons between the two.
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NBA legend Magic Johnson has named former foe Michael Jordan as the sport’s greatest star
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Johnson went for Jordan over Lebron James, but says the current star is the best all-rounder
Johnson battled it out against Jordan for much of the 1990s, including in the 1991 NBA Finals, whilst he became his team-mate when the two were part of the USA’s successful ‘Dream Team’ who won gold at the 1992 Olympics.
The former LA Lakers point guard also played a hand in the franchise landing star James in 2018, and while he hailed Jordan as the ‘GOAT’ (greatest of all time) in the sport, he said James’ all-round game is bettered by no one.
‘First of all, let’s not take anything away from LeBron James,’ Johnson said in an appearance with ESPN, ‘Because LeBron James is a great basketball player, one of the all-time greatest that’s ever played the game.
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Johnson said James still has time to surpass Jordan but the former Chicago Bulls man is on top
‘LeBron James to me, when you think about all-around basketball players, he’s probably the best of all time. An all-around basketball player. But when you want to say ‘who’s the greatest ever’ it’s still Michael Jordan.’
Although Johnson still ranks his former nemesis as at the top of his list, he says 35-year-old James still has the time in his career to surpass Jordan.
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Johnson’s battle with Jordan for the best part of a decade is one of the sport’s most iconic
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The pair (C and R) were also team-mates for USA’s successful Olympic ‘Dream Team’ of 1992
‘LeBron James’ chapter is not closed yet,’ Johnson added. ‘He still has some basketball to play, so maybe he has a chance to catch (Jordan) later on if he can get some more championships under his belt.
‘But at the end of the day, they’re both great and they play they game the right way. They made their teammates better, they won championships, and thank god for LeBron because right now that’s what we’re watching. It’s his time. It’s his era, and he’s dominating his era.’
Five-time NBA Johnson is himself considered a great in his own right having been the one of the sport’s most dominant players in the 80s and 90s, being named the MVP (most valuable player) on three occasions.
