Because of his out-of-this-world basketball skill set and incredible athleticism, Michael Jordan was adored by fans the moment he made his NBA debut. From the level of competition to marketing, the NBA indeed was amplified in almost every aspect when MJ broke into the scene.
However, the man in question never saw it that way. Despite the undeniable transcendent success of the NBA with him as the face of the organization, Jordan surprisingly keeps his feet on the ground by saying it wasn’t him who took the league to its zenith. Instead, MJ said it was his friend and fellow NBA legend Magic Johnson.
“Everybody wants to credit Michael Jordan for changing the NBA, but when Magic Johnson came in, that’s where the game changed,” Jordan said in the 2022 documentary, “They Call Me Magic.”
Magic was dumbfounded
In all fairness, there appears to be some truth to Jordan’s bold declaration. It has become common knowledge in the NBA that Magic, along with his archrival Larry Bird, spearheaded the league to mainstream success when they arrived in the late 70s.
With that said, Johnson doesn’t refute what Jordan said. However, what caught him off guard was the fact that it came from MJ himself. For Magic, it meant a lot to hear praise from the GOAT.
“I was up there laughing and almost crying at the same time, hearing my family talk, hearing Larry Bird, and when Michael said what he said, which was really amazing. We had never heard that from Michael, for him to say that everybody thought he had turned the league around but that I was a big part of that,” Johnson reacted.
Magic knew he was no MJ
While it’s apparent that it’s no big deal for Johnson to acknowledge that he edged Jordan in terms of catapulting the NBA to higher heights, he would never say the same thing as far as abilities go. According to Magic, he could never drink, smoke and stay up late like MJ, and dominate the game the next day like nothing happened.
“He was the strongest, not basketball player, athlete I’ve ever seen because he could [smoke, drink and gamble]. If I tried to do that, I’d be 0 for 15, no assist, I’d be dragging [laughs],” Johnson once said of Jordan.
In the competitive world of basketball, it’s always great to see and hear legendary players like Jordan and Johnson put one another on a pedestal. But truth be told, MJ and Magic were both pivotal to the growth of the NBA as a league and organization.
