re: MJ: Magic best point guard of all time

I'm just going by what you said. Look at points alone.

And Wilt would do to Shaq what Olajuwon did to him in the finals. Lew Alcindor would kill him with that sky hook as Duncan did.

Someone claimed Magic was a forward playing point guard. So what? He was a point guard. Played the position for years. He practically invented the triple double and as that other guy on First Take said, he was the scariest player without the basketball.

Shaq beat Duncan more times than Duncan beat Shaq and wilt didn’t have anywhere near the post game of Hakeem, he was a smaller version of Shaq with fewer post moves.

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Magic took the ball up the Court EVERYTIME and started the offense either fast-break or half-court.

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No he didn't. Also he played with two other guards the vast majority of his career. One of those guarded the other teams PG almost all of the game. The offense ran through him, like it does with any great player. It was a gimmick to give him more fame. Jordan could have easily swapped over to PG full time and killed this debate forever. He did it at will and could put up double digit assists with ease. Plus he'd shut down any guard at any size. It's a pointless debate that too many people have bought into. It's just not true..

I don’t know what you have against Magic, he was the 1st 6’9 guy that did what he did with the basketball. Oscar was like 6’5.

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don’t know what you have against Magic, he was the 1st 6’9 guy that did what he did with the basketball. Oscar was like 6’5.

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I don't have anything against him. He's awesome. He's legit a top 3 basketball player all-time IMO. But he also had a massive hype and marketing machine behind him that constantly created narratives to increase his legend. That's when they started hyping up all "greatest PG ever" stuff. So we are all supposed to believe that Byron Scott (a PG his whole life) suddenly became a SG when he played for the Lakers?

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How old are you, did you actually see Magic play? He is exactly what you want a star player to be, one that keeps all of the offense involved like a good QB would do. And when it’s for the game to be taken over, he can do exactly that.
There’s more to being a star player than just scoring points.

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I am 50 and grew up watching Magic play. Everything you said can be done from multiple positions. Jokic does it as a Center. Harden did it as a SG. Lebron James as a SF/PF. It's what great players do. How does that specifically make him a PG?

Greatest scorer - Wilt
Greatest shooter - Steph
Greatest winner - Russell
Greatest all-around - Jordan
Greatest Iron Man - LeBron
Most Influential (Changed the game and ruined the game) - Steph
Most Underrated - Oscar

GOAT? - Take your pick

Magic to Worthy was lethal

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That’s just not true. During Magic’s career the lineup he played with most was him at PG, Scott at the 2, Wilks and Rambis at the forward spots and Kareem in the middle. It then went to Magic, Scott, Worthy, Green and Divac later but Magic only played off guard sometimes for a couple years with Norm Nixon at the very beginning of his career. He played forward when he came back during the 96 season but that was for less than half a season. You can go and check the stats for starts on all those Lakers teams, thems the facts.

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According to the "line-up", he played SG 4 seasons and PG 8 seasons. He supposedly moved to PG after Nixon left and Scott replaced him. Scott is 6'3 (to Magic's 6'9) and almost exclusively defended PGs. Magic put up ridiculous assist numbers that were a product of their system (plus playing with a stacked supporting cast). I don't believe that makes him a PG. They couldn't have played without those smaller players to cover him on the defensive side.

This is the same debate as when supposedly Iverson (sub 6 foot and maybe 170lbs) was a SG and Eric Snow (6'3+ and over 200lbs) was the PG. I never bought into it. Size does matter in this debate, so does one on one compatibility..