LeBron James and Magic Johnson have very similar legacies to their name.
On Sunday night, LeBron James powered the Los Angeles Lakers to their 17th championship. The victory ties the Lakers with the Celtics for the most championships as a franchise, but does it improve his legacy?
Although many of us at Lake Show Life think he has a chance to be the Greatest of All-Time, I think there are still a few players he needs to pass.
In my honest opinion, LeBron James’ fourth ring officially opens the argument that he is at least a top-three player of all-time. In order for me to put him there, he would have to pass a player and fellow Laker that many are overlooking: Magic Johnson. Let’s take a look at how the two best Laker point guards stack up.
All-Star Appearances
- LeBron James – 16
- Magic Johnson – 12
When comparing great players, one should expect them to be an All-Star almost every season of their career.
At first glance, one would obviously have to give the edge to LeBron James here. However, it’s important to note that Magic Johnson only played 13 seasons in the NBA before his career was derailed by a positive HIV test in 1991. As a result, we have two players that have been an All-Star almost every year of their careers.
Many forget that Magic Johnson was still at the peak of his powers as he led the Lakers to a finals appearances just five months prior.
In fact, he returned for the 1992 All-Star game despite not playing at all that season. The retired star added to his impressive legacy as he took home the All-Star game MVP that night.
Since Magic’s career was cut short and both players were excellent almost every season they played, I have to call it a draw here.
Career Stats
LeBron James
- 27.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.8 BPG
Magic Johnson
- 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG
In what should come as no surprise to anyone, LeBron and Magic are neck-and-neck in terms of career per game stats.
At first glance, one might look at LeBron James’ far superior scoring and give him the nod. However, some simple math shows their offensive productivity is quite comparable.
LeBron has scored about 7.5 more points per game than Magic has in his career. However, Magic has dished out about four more assists per game. For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume the vast majority of those assists were on two-point shots.
The assist advantage more than makes up for Magic’s subpar scoring average. If we were to subtract Magic’s four-assist advantage and think of it as an extra 8 PPG to his scoring average, we are looking at almost identical statistics.
It seems we’ve got yet another draw on our hands. However, the real stars leave their legacy in the postseason.
Career Playoff Stats
LeBron James
- 28.8 PPG, 7.2 APG, 9.0 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG
Magic Johnson
- 19.5 PPG, 12.3 APG, 7.7 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG
When you’re on the NBA’s Mount Rushmore, playoff dominance is essential. As you might expect, both LeBron and Magic Johnson have found great success in the postseason throughout their respective careers. Let’s take a closer look.
Similar to the regular season stat comparison, LeBron James dominates the scoring column. But, once again, Magic more than makes up for it with tremendous passing. Using our same lazy math from the regular season stat comparison, Magic’s assist advantage translates to 10 points giving him 29.5 points per game and 7.3 assists per game to LeBron’s 28.8 and 7.2.
Just when you think we might finally break the statistical deadlock here, all we need to do is take a look at the defensive side of the ball.
LeBron is putting up more than a rebound per game more in the playoffs than Magic did for his career. Although Magic has a slight edge in steals per game, LeBron more than makes up for it in the blocks per game department.
I hate to say it, but it’s a draw for me once again. Magic is a bit more effective on offense, but LeBron is slightly more effective on the defensive end.
Postseason success is difficult to gauge statistically, but there is one metric coming up that is far more black and white.
Championships
- LeBron James – 4
- Magic Johnson – 5
With the victory on Sunday, LeBron James secured his fourth ring in 10 finals appearances. Although many are critical of his record, four out of ten isn’t that bad for his legacy considering the teams he has faced.
However, Magic Johnson went to the Finals nine times and played some incredible teams too. Unlike James, he won more than he lost finishing his career with five championships in nine appearances.
It’s safe to say, we finally have a definitive winner: Magic Johnson. For now, it’s hard to argue with the results. Magic Johnson has won more championships in fewer seasons and with fewer finals appearances. Additionally, he’s done it with one franchise (albeit a great one).
As we know, being a great player isn’t as simple as winning a ring. You also need to be the best player on the floor when doing so. That takes us to our next category.
Finals MVPs
- LeBron James – 4
- Magic Johnson – 3
Although LeBron James has played more seasons than Magic and still has less rings, he has been arguably better in the finals.
In all four of his championships, LeBron has been the man. That being said, Magic Johnson still has three of his own. And, to make things more interesting, should Magic Johnson really have four Finals MVPs?
When we take a look at his fifth and final championship with the Lakers, Magic Johnson simply fell victim to the best game of James Worthy’s career in the closeout Game 7.
Despite a monster 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists in game 7, James Worthy was relatively average in the 1988 Finals.
For the series, Worthy averaged 22 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists. He also chipped in 0.7 steals and 0.6 blocks.
Although impressive, one could argue Magic Johnson was more deserving. For the series, Magic Johnson averaged 21.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 13 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game.
In short, Magic Johnson fell victim to the narrative here. Unlike his heroic closeout game in his rookie season where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sat due to injury, Magic Johnson was on the floor in Game 7. In fact, he was remarkably efficient and racked up 19 points, 14 assists, and five rebounds while shooting 6-9 from the field.
I digress. Although Magic played great and could easily have four Finals MVPs as well, we have to give James Worthy his props for delivering when it counts.
Thanks to Worthy, LeBron James holds the slight edge here.
MVPs
- LeBron James – 4
- Magic Johnson -3
How could I forget? Just like the Finals, the regular season is yet another place where a great player can add to their legacy.
Although both players certainly have a case for winning this award more than they did, we can’t really argue the results. Even if we wanted to use the argument that LeBron James has played four more seasons than Magic Johnson, it wouldn’t hold much weight here.
Surprisingly, this comparison shakes out pretty evenly when you consider the fact that it’s been seven years since LeBron James has won an MVP. Even if he retired in his prime like Magic did, he would still have the edge here.
In conclusion,
As expected, this one is still really close. However, I think this is the first year of LeBron James’ career where you could definitively make the argument that he is better than Magic Johnson.
Although the stats are pretty equal and Magic Johnson has been more successful in the Finals, LeBron James has been a bit more valuable in both the regular season and postseason.
In short, I have to give the slight edge to LeBron James here. Passing Magic Johnson in Finals MVPs has ultimately helped LeBron improve his legacy and become the third-best player in NBA history behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan.
With a couple more elite seasons in his future, could he pass Kareem as well? Only time will tell.