Magic says that Bron needs to win at least seven NBA championships to challenge MJ in the GOAT debate.
In 2017, Magic Johnson sat down with Patrick Bet-David for an exclusive interview. During their hour-long conversation, they touched on many topics. Of Course, Bet-David would not let the Showtime Lakers legend go without hearing his opinion on the GOAT debate.
At that point, LeBron James was still playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers and had just won a third NBA championship in the 2016 NBA Finals. When Bet-David asked Magic what it took for LeBron to overtake Michael Jordan in the greatest of all-time conversation, Johnson said he would have to beat MJ’s ring total.
“He would probably have to win 7 or 8 because right now, we have to remember something about Michael. He never lost in the NBA Finals, never. And he averaged like in those Finals, he was averaging 35 points a game. He was putting in work. So that’s hard…If he wins seven, then we got a conversation,” said Magic.
MJ was doing it all in the NBA Finals
Actually, Jordan’s NBA Finals scoring average was 33.6 points per game, which is just as impressive. He did so while shooting 48.1% from the field. MJ also averaged 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists during championship series games, so it wasn’t that he was just chucking up shots and scoring points.
Meanwhile, LeBron’s NBA Finals average of 28.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game is spectacular in itself. However, King James was a mere 4-6 in the NBA Finals, while MJ was a spotless 6-0 in the championship series.
“I love me some LeBron,” added Magic. “Besides his jumping ability, we are similar in what we did. Cuz he makes his teammates better. He’s great, in terms of he wants to win. But when I think about trying to surpass Michael, and also the competition Michael had to beat to win.”
LeBron would add a fourth ring in L.A.
Patrick went on to ask Magic which of the two he would pick first in a hypothetical draft if LeBron had seven championships. The five-time NBA champion said that he would still pick Jordan over James, but if the choice was between LeBron and any current player, he would pick Bron. One year after the interview, Johnson helped bring LeBron to the Lakers.
“LeBron has done great things for the game today, and he wants to win again; that’s why I like him. He’s complaining because he wants to win again. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But Michael, right now, I gotta take Michael,” Johnson continued.
LeBron won again in 2020 with Anthony Davis as his co-star. But that was only ring no. 4 for King James. If we stick with Magic’s premise, he needs three more just to be held in the same breath as MJ. Unfortunately, he’ll be 40 years old in a week and is showing glaring signs of decline for the first time.