Magic could've had 4 more great years without the HIV. Oh well, he did end up half a billion dollars richer long after retirement.
17 years later he's still alive and big as a house. dude is hiv positive you don't even think about it anymore
This is not a hard question.... it requires no thought. Magic it is. I see your point, but this thinking did always strike me as unfair as well. Is it Big O's fault that he was running into the Celtics/Bill Russell wall for a lot of his career? Ultimately, he only won a title because Kareem carried him there when Boston wasn't quite what it used to be. To me that shouldn't mean that Robertson was less of a player... he just didn't have enough around him at the right time.
Dude, I'll be the first one to say how great Jerry was, but there are few players ever, on any team, in Magic's class. I don't think it's even debatable that Magic was a top-10 all-time player.
Kobe had enough around him last year and he failed to elevate his team to a championship. If he doesn't win a championship with Gasol there is no excuse.
I believe Kobe will ultimately overtake The Logo as the greatest Lakers SG of all time. But Magic, IMO, will always be the greatest Laker, period. He helped transcend the game and revive the league. Oh, yeah, he won a few rings as well
Has any of these guys been put in a (Finals) game as a center? Only Magic. Even if he does surpass West at the 2, he still may not crack top 5 Laker. I was neutral to Kobe until he wanted a trade last season. Lost the few ounces of respect I had for him. Not to say the others were void of ego, but for the captain to abandon ship like that is just lousy attitude.
Magic, and it's not even close. Magic wasn't human on offense. On offense, he wasn't as athletic as LeBron, but he was a better passer, dribbler, and had better court vision than LeBron. And if you add the fact that Magic dropped 40+ from the CENTER position in the playoffs, he's one of the greatest to ever play the game. If I'm starting my team, I can only think of 2 people I'd take before Magic : Wilt and MJ. He was that damn good. Kobe is not in that class.
Well, let's be honest, Magic never really won anything "on his own" either. His Lakers teams were absolutely loaded with some of the best players ever and of the day. That I can agree with.
Magic, no contest. As stated really made his teammates better and ran the team to win regardles of egos or expectations. Oh, and Van Exel.
If West had more than one ring, I would give him some props. Dude could really ball and was a 14-time allstar (10 time NBA first team.) Made it to the finals 9 times, but the 1 ring is a killer. Guess that's what happens when your career overlaps those celtic teams. Magic also had way more career assists, so I'm willing to vote for him.
