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Magic Johnson secures status as greatest Laker ever with LeBron James signing

By Donny McHenry

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 18: Magic Johnson addresses the crowd during Kobe Bryant's jersey retirement ceremony on December 18, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 18: Magic Johnson addresses the crowd during Kobe Bryant's jersey retirement ceremony on December 18, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Magic Johnson delivered on his promise to bring a star back to the Los Angeles Lakers, cementing his status as the greatest Laker ever.

Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have had an excellent offseason headlined by signing LeBron James. James is in the debate among the greatest players of all-time. However, there’s been a discussion in the past few years throughout #NBATwitter regarding the Lakers: Who was the best to ever wear the Lakers uniform?

It all started with Kobe Bryant’s retirement in 2016 as many wondered where Kobe ranked among all-time Lakers greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, and of course, Magic Johnson.

This discussion has started again with the signing of LeBron James, as many are (sometimes jokingly) wondering if LeBron could go down as the greatest Laker of all-time if a couple championships are won. I personally think LeBron would have to accomplish a lot in his 3-4 years in L.A. to be considered for that distinction, but that’s just me.

*For the purposes of this article, I’ll be basing the distinction of “Greatest Laker Ever” to be dependent on 3 things: stats and accomplishments while playing, length of time with the Lakers, and off-court contributions including NBA front office work*

The conversation since Kobe’s retirement has mostly been between him and Magic Johnson as the greatest to ever wear the purple-and-gold. As a young Lakers fan, I’ve always considered Kobe as the greatest Laker of all-time, but I think the LeBron James acquisition changes everything.

I believe that once Magic completed the greatest Lakers free agency signing since Shaq, he became the greatest Laker of all-time.

Magic — Successful On and Off the Court

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Magic Johnson’s stats and accomplishments throughout his career speak for themselves. His career stats in 13 total seasons with the Lakers include 19.5 PPG, 11.2 APG, 7.2 RPG, and 1.9 SPG. His list of accomplishments seems to never end. Three MVPs, 10 All-NBA selections, 12 All-Star game appearances, and of course five championships (three Finals MVPs).

Along with his numbers and numerous trophies, Magic was revolutionary at the point guard position. One of the biggest players to ever play point guard, Magic was 6’9’’, he paved the way for future point guards like Ben Simmons and even LeBron James at times.

Off the court Magic’s unfortunate HIV diagnosis allowed him to bring great awareness to the issue of HIV/AIDS. The public consensus in the world at the time was that HIV/AIDS mostly affected homosexuals or drug users.

Through his diagnosis Magic was able to help the general public understand the topic more, while also bringing in funding for HIV/AIDS research efforts through his own Magic Johnson Foundation. Needless to say, Magic was a towering figure on and off the court as he became one of the biggest names in the NBA and sports in general.

Although Kobe had equally tremendous success on the basketball court and also success in the entertainment industry since he retired, it remains to be seen how much he will contribute to the Lakers franchise as he grows older.

Kobe has seemed distant from the Lakers since his retirement while Magic has continued to be around the Lakers’ basketball world since his retirement, even before he became president of basketball operations. Once he became the leader of the Lakers’ front office, Lakers fans began to envision him adding to his Lakers legacy by bringing the Lakers out of the bottom of the NBA standings. He has done that in just his second offseason by signing the best player in the NBA today.

Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage for Anheuser-Busch /

Long-term Process

It’s still going to be a process to put the Lakers back in title contention. The LeBron deal wasn’t followed by a signing of Paul George or another superstar but was instead followed by signings of JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Lance Stephenson.

The moves have been somewhat questionable, but it has been reported that LeBron has been consulted on them. The deals were all 1-year deals, which seemingly shows the Lakers want cap space for the 2019 offseason, where players like Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, and Jimmy Butler will be available.

Put the future plans and the questionable 1-year deals aside — Magic signed the best basketball player in the world to a young and inexperienced, 35-win team. He has jump-started his plans of bringing the Lakers back into title contention with LeBron along with the promising young core that he has built.

Next: 50 Greatest Players In Lakers Franchise History

With that, he has seemingly increased the divide between him and Kobe as the greatest Laker of all-time.

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