Indeed -- I used to go the Omni to watch the Hawks battle these great players. If Bird and Magic were playing against each other my schedule was changed so I could watch it. You can't pay me to go watch Lebron.

@@JA_WILL Your loss if you miss out on the best player of the current generation.

@@jordandwiggins1026 - I understand -- As you get older priorities and timelines change. In 2022 I only have time for Atlanta Falcons games and Braves playoff-games.

@@JA_WILL I’m not a fan of Lebron, but I would definitely want to go see him. Not that serious 😂😂

yup. look at the passing and hardly any dribbling.

The teams where so much better and the players where legendary. True there was no Klay Thompson, Steph Curry Splash Brothers funk and historical shooting percentages, but teams played defense in that era, and not everything came down to a three point shot, and a game of horse. No super teams but teams played defense, and who could forget that threehundred plus point game against Detroit and Denver. In one word legendary give me that era of play, to any highlight of today.

@@mathewidicula6425 celtics lakers and arguably pistons were superteams.

@@mathewidicula6425 great era tho my favorite to watch

Fooled everyone in the house except Coop!

Master magician 🎩 indeed

Them and the Celtics

Magic retired just in time when Lakers were falling apart. If his career was long like Lebron James, he would be getting swept in 1992 and 1993 because the Lakers team was really falling apart. It would be just Magic putting up numbers.

@@spaceaustrailia5895 they finished almost .500 both years add magic to the team and they are definitely a playoff team. Probably not better than the Blazers or Suns. Magic is the GOAT of point guards so maybe he gets them there but I doubt it. The glory years were probably over. He's still better than LeBron though.

@@spaceaustrailia5895 Lakers still would have been a contending team. In 1993 the 8th seed Lakers won the first 2 games against the Sun's. The Suns won the next in LA. Game 5 came down to the last minute and the Suns won in 5. They went on to face the Bulls in Finals. Now would the greatest PG that was clutch would have made a difference?? Also, the Lakers had Portland's number that year. The Lakers swept them 5 games to nothing in the Regular season.

@@MrJpk741 In what universe is Magic better than Lebron? You old heads need more meds tbh

Mágico r

Team Play...

First shot I ever practiced.

Unblockable and unstoppable. Definitely a combination of power and beauty.

I'd of swatted that junk into another atmosphere.

No actually Bird was even better, but Magic was up there certainly better than Lebron.

Counter Strike Disagree. I’ll take Magic over Bird.

Too bad he played D like Harden

Oh you meant Magic that threw a hissy fit and cherry picked a winning team from the get go rather than join a losing Chicago franchise like Jordan in this video had no issues joining?

are u nuts??

Way too many brain-dead three-pointers being shot today. That's not good team basketball. It's more fun to watch players who are in sync with each other and feeding off each other and looking for the best opportunity to score rather than taking the ball just beyond the halfway point and putting up a shot.

the fuck are you talking about? Have you even seen a NBA game lately? WHO puts up a shot beyond the halfway point? If you are talking about the Warriors, they are probably playing the best team basketball since these showtime Lakers

What the f*ck am I talking about? Gee, you're really classy. I don't watch a lot of modern basketball. I do like watching the Warriors and they remind me old school Lakers. But you should be more respectful and show a little class when addressing another person's point of view.

+Andrew Schiff I was talking to the other guy lol

Andrew Schiff They think it's corny; old-school; not exciting; boring. But, they fail to realize that having an almost automatic shot like that would lead to MUCH success.

Blah blah blah. JORDAN better than Magic.

@ You are a casual fan. Get out of here.

And then proceeds to score 40-50

TBH, I think Jordan knew this from the start, but he didn't have any help around him until they got Pippen, so he kind of had to do it all for the Bulls. ETA: Magic is my favorite player, but he had the perfect roster around him to take advantage of his game.

@@fester2306 It wasn't that Jordan didn't have help....it was thst he and Magic played different...Jordan was a scorer not a passer that made teammates better. Had Magic and Mike swapped teams, the results still would've been in Magic's favor because those guys would have been running and scoring whereas the Lakers would just have added JUST another scorer that needed the ball...now that's not to say Jirdan never passed, but that was the weakness in his game...Pippen came along and became the facilitator they need...and with Lakers and Boston getting older, they eventually began winning

Him Bike ...You're absolutely and positively correct! The Showtime Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in game six and won the 1980 NBA championship.

Bruce Scott people don’t talk about Magic for GOAT very often because assists ain’t as sexy as 39pts And slam dunks. Magic beat bird in college Magic won NBA title as a rookie I love bird but I think Magic was better. Magic is the ultimate team player Basketball is a team sport

@@PInk77W1 ...Again, you're right! Magic played five positions in game six, during the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, and both teams were not a walk in the park, either! Magic was the second rookie ever to win the NBA championship. The great Bill Russell was the first. Magic was also the only rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP, to say the least. Air Jordan was one of the best. The same goes for Johnson and Russell. The latter is the greatest winner in sports, PERIOD!!! I'm sixty-seven years old now, and I've been watching this sport for over five decades. Air Jordan was not the star when UNC defeated Georgetown. James Worthy was! Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jr. didn't care about statistics at all! He was the ultimate team player who had one focus...WIN!

Bruce Scott I’m 59 and don’t remember seeing Russell. I remember Wilt but only in his end part of his career. I love bird but Magic was better. MJ was great, I just don’t like his one on one style. I didn’t know Russell won in his rookie year. Thx

@@PInk77W1 ...You're welcome! My two late uncles took me to an NBA game at the old Madison Square Garden, which was located on 8th Avenue, between 49th and 50th Streets. It was right after the Thanksgiving holidays in 1959. The New York Knickerbockers were playing against the Minneapolis Lakers. However, the latter won by three points. I was six years old, and enjoying myself watching both legendary teams going at each other. Elgin Baylor was in the Lakers' lineup at the time. That was my very first experience watching an NBA game.

He was slowing down by then, but he added 2 his repertoire w/ the 3 & more post ups & still making that ball disappear running the break

Nzinn73 I am not sure I am seeing Jordan exactly getting schooled here. Lol. Magic had a great work ethic, helped him to keep improving over course of his career.

Hiv slowed him down. Who knows how long he had that.

Showtime became Slowtime. But it was interesting with a young Vlade.... a running, 3 point shooting center.

Yea he was a post up player that year

Big Mike people think Magic was slow? Who? Nobody thinks that.

@MANCHESTER UNITED F.C man please shut the fuck up

History .... *cough* *cough* Lebronnnn.....?

@M if you like "soccer" ( because real fans call it football) why are you looking at a bazketball video?

@@StuntMasta I've gotten into many a debate about Magic's speed and athleticism; there are a ton of ignorant b-ball fans who mistake Magic's "old-man" looking moves for unathleticism but few points could run a pace as fast as the Showtime Master.

😂

Doug in San Diego I love Magic he's in my top 5 all time and nobody that knows Ball would have him outside of the top ten greatest to ever live... BUT you are forgetting one key point. Mike was a WAY better defender than Magic. Magic was decent on D and could play pretty good team defense but he wasn't in the same stratosphere as Jordan when you are talking individual defensive capabilities. Magic would struggle with quicker point guards but with guys like Cooper helping him out and Kareem protecting the rim he played well enough for the Lakers to be the team of the 80s. Michael may be the best defender at the shooting guard position of all time. Again this is no knock on Magic and I do agree with you he was a lot better than Mike at distributing the ball and at 6'8+ he was a better(not by that much) rebounder.

+Doug in San Diego I agree with a lot of your points but to say Michael is only a slightly better defender than Magic is wrong bro. Jordan was a 9 time all NBA first team defender. Magic NEVER even made one all NBA defensive team, not even second team. Also I don't see how 5 of 8 is better than 6 of 6 when it comes to rings. 5 of 8 is better than 5 of 5 I'll give you that, but 6 rings trumps 5. Granted Magic's first 9 years were better than Mike's but Mike's last 9 were better than Magic's last 9. I also disagree with Karl Malone in your top ten. You say it cannot be debated, not true. Here's my to ten(no particular order) which I feel can pretty much not be debated. Jordan, Magic, Wilt, Russel, Bird, Kareem, Kobe, Duncan, Oscar, and then either Shaq, Lebron, or Hakeem. Honorable mention(Dr. J, Elgin Baylor, Bob Pettit, Jerry West) Please tell me how Karl Malone( with no rings) is more deserving to be on this list. By the way the conversation is all with a good spirit. I love debating hoops with other people that love the game and it's all respect.

+Doug in San Diego I hear you but don't forget two of the greatest white boys of all time John Havlicek and the great Rick Barry. Rick is only player to lead the NBA, NCAA, and ABA in scoring. He averaged over 30 .ppg four times. His second year he averaged 36 ppg 9 reb. and 4 ass. I would put Barry and Hondo over Pierce and Clyde but it's splitting hairs.

+Doug in San Diego no, magic was at his prime in 1988-1989 and 1989-1990 season, he played his best and most matured basketball during these 2 seasons, and physically and technically and wisely. Also , you overlooked the 1990-1991 season, that he led a whole new laker team with a new coach, a new system and without jabbar and Cooper , to the NBA finals . That was his wisest season.

+Doug in San Diego +thkalas Yup. I was talking about physical prime as in speed, quickness, jumping, strength, agility, and power(among others). That's why I didn't just say prime. Prime is when your experience and knowledge meet your athleticism for a window of a few years. They are going in opposite directions and, depending on the sport, they overlap in that sweet zone where you don't get outsmarted by the vets but have enough athleticism to keep up with the youngsters.

A lot of former UNC players on the court: McAdoo, James Worthy, Michael Jordan. Was Mitch Kupchak still with the Lakers then (as a player)?

Let's be fair. For the Bulls in this game, Orlando Woolridge (30 points), Quintin Dailey (26 Points) and Wes Matthews (18 points) all scored more points than Jordan's 16.

@@fancybrooks3156 Kupchak was indeed a Laker at this time. He played 6 minutes in this game, had 2 points and a rebound.

No, he didn't. For example, how is only scoring 19 points on 9-19 shooting in game 3 vs Boston in the first round of the 1986 postseason a great game after his 63-point performance?

Jordan only scored 16 in this game.

@@johnbrownwasright check again bro

@@johnbrownwasright Jordan scored 20pts and 53% field goals.

@@royjohnlouguzon21 You're looking at the stats from the wrong game. You're looking at the stats for Bulls AT Lakers from December 2nd, 1984. This game is Lakers AT Bulls, February 19th, 1985. Recognize the uniforms and the arena before spouting off next time. I mean, it says which game it is in the title of the video, dude.

I like using the skyhook when I play. It really is unstoppable. Your left arm creates distance. Your right shooting hand is so far back, a defender can not reach to block the shot.

***** Bro... I wish I could agree, but it has nothing to do with "it was better back in my day". The league is on the weak side right now, which is good, because maybe they'll start to get it back up to par.

Fake and Gay this is much better team basketball than we see today. We know what play is gonna come next: Lebron / Curry will dribble it down court and force a shot. That's predictable and boring

Apparently you're an immature fanboy. Suddenly the Warriors are good again and everyone who isn't a Curry fanboy is an idiot (they do play somewhat old school with Kerr coaching them) but your kind is just as bad as the Kobe fans who say Kobe is the best ever. Both Kobe and Curry shoot too much and throw up too many bricks if you ask me in crucial games. . I've probably been watching the NBA for longer than you're alive. The NBA today is engineered to make the players stats inflated. Curry is finally a great player but his finals performance was mediocre, he started making those crazy shots at the end of games, so his teammates had to pick up the lack and pulled it off because the Warriors are deep and Cleveland was undermanned. The Warriors got lucky because there's no way they would've beaten the Spurs (only team that plays entertaining basketball comparable to back in the day) It took LeBron 10 years to finally compete hard in all 4 quarters of a series and it took a miracle shot by Ray Allen for the Heat to win their last chip. Here we have Curry stinking it up for three quarters but he's the league's MVP, Next guy for MVP? James Harden, who killed his team's chances with more turnovers than points, terrible performance in the game of his life. The only thing that saved your boy Curry from having a terrible finals was the desperation 3s started falling for him for him in the 4th quater. An MVP in the 90s and prior would've given better playoffs/finals performances than the so called "MVP"s or "best players on the planet" we we have now. Get real and don't be a clueless fanboy. Your warriors are gonna go home quick if they meet up with the Spurs next year.

***** "The league is on the weak side?" Let's ask Lebron: "Hopefully the league can figure out a way where it can [go back] to the [80s] and [90s], where you had [three or four] All-Stars, Superstars or Hall of Famers on the [same team]. The league was [great then]. It [wasn't] as [watered down] as it [is now]." -- Lebron James: "LeBron hints contraction may help NBA"; msn.foxsport.com Dec 24, 2010 Checkmate... "and without a doubt the overall skill level is higher" Oh really? FACT #1: All of the Top 50 teams in league history with the highest FG% and assist ratio, are from the 80s & 90s. Not 1 team from this era is even in the Top 50 in either category. FACT #2: Only 64 teams in league history allowed fewer than 101 pts per 100 possessions. 1992-04 featured 48 of those teams, meaning 8 of those seasons are from the 90s ALONE! During MJ's ENTIRE career in CHI (13 seasons), there were only 2 seasons of teams (13 in total) that won 39 or less games. During the 1st 13 seasons of the 00s ALONE, there's been 182 teams like that LOL!! And from 2000-15, there's been 209 teams like that, as well as teams with 39 wins that even made the playoffs...ask the '08 Hawks. In fact this era (2000-15) has THE MOST 20-30 win sub .500 teams in league history. And your lil young a** is trying to claim that the "skill level" today is higher?!! That's a joke! And a BAD ONE at that! No kiddo, they're just playing under EASIER RULES that FAVORS perimeter players! That's a WELL KNOWN and established FACT! You uninformed Y2K fanboys don't know the meaning of the word skill! Kobe said it best: "You can't even touch a guy out there [today] without it being a flagrant foul. But these [kids today] might be a little [too sensitive] for that. The truth is [it] (past eras), made players [have to] be [more skillful]. Nowadays, [literally anybody] can go out there and [get to the basket] because you [can't even touch 'em]. Back then you had guys hand-checking and puttin hands on you on defensively. So you [had to] have [skill] in order to play [both ways], change directions, post up and have a mid range game. Because you certainly didn't want to go all the way to the basket. You'd get [knocked down]!" -- Kobe Bryant: "Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose Have Similar Injury Plights, Different Paths"; by Kevin Ding, NBA Sr. Writer, Jan 21, 2014 Oh yeah...that's checkmate again!

+Mygaffer If low post offense is the main reason you enjoy watching the nba, which is for me, then today's league is unwatchable.

I agree mccado & his skill set was decades ahead of his time. He was amazing

Big Mac was an unbelievable shooter. After him, Dr. Buss went out an got Mychal Thompson. Those Laker teams had a ton of talent.

I remember.... he was quite dominant for a few years in the early/mid 70s. Later, he found his niche as a great reserve player for the Lakers. Although I was young then, I could still remember his Buffalo Braves years and knew he could really contribute coming off the bench for the Lakers. And he made some big contributions to a very talented team. Tremendous talent

Yes McAdoo was great sixth man.

After ALL those years, anyone's body would. But, NOBODY could stop HIM.

The guy's nickname is magic for a reason.. remarkable player. Magic is my all time favorite.

lmao, westbrook pressure is like, runs to the free throw line, take a jumper, miss, get pissed xD

Franky Boy damn that's accurate

Franky Boy Can you repeat that again ? 5/6 games triple doubles ? Rekt ? GG?

Sough ala Westbrook? Magic was doing this long before Westbrook was born

+Fernando Catan he was actually the 7th man (Cooper was 6).

+Doug in San Diego plus they had Mike McGee - who Chick Hearn aptly dubbed "point a minute McGee" cause he averaged something like 12 minutes and 12 points, makes you wonder why they didn't play him more.

and would have won 1992 had he not retired coz of hiv

Magic and Bird together changed the game. In my opinion, those two and Jordan are the greatest!

@@thkalas would have won in 91 if worthy and Scott would've been healthy

Let's not forget, it's 5 titles, not 4

@@randybutler1697 If Magic played in 1992, he would of gotten swept. Magic retired just when the Lakers fell apart. The 1992 Lakers were worse than this team right here. The 1993 Lakers were useless. If Magic Johnson played for 2-3 more seasons, you would of witnessed him not making the playoffs for the first time.

+cflo1386 Did you "accidentally ignore" that magic was playing with Kareem while MJ was playing with....??

Word! I agree!

U do know magic won a championship as a ROOKIE (only player in nba history to do so)...without kareem, worthy, and any showtime laker....and did it while playing CENTER (bcuz kareem got hurt)....and did it on the ROAD in philly (game 6 of the finals)...and against the jordan (dr.j) & shaq (darryl "chocolate thunder" dawkins) of that time.... ...magic also didnt need a system (jordan needed the triangle offense & a hall of fame coach to get to 6 finals)...magic CREATED a system...it was showtime....plus, magic took THREE different coaches in THREE different decades ('70s, '80s, & '90s) to the finals....jordan needed ONE coach to make it 6 times in JUST the '90s.... ...oh yeah, and magic had a rival (larry bird)...jordan never did...and magic saved the nba from bankruptcy (we wudnt be talkin about jordan if it wasnt for magic fyi)... Jordan may have been the GOAT (greatest of all time)....but magic was the greatest PLAYER of all time...

loo0oop recheck the 'won a championship without kareem' argument please... Because if you think that the championship is just the last 2 games, we should stop this conversation

Marios Komodromos and u make it seem like kareem did it ALL by himself...to GET to the nba finals! For a ROOKIE...to HELP kareem GET there and then to WIN it when he gets injured...while playin center...is pretty impressive....considering he does this the year AFTER he beats his rival (Larry Bird) in a college championship game...

He started wearing the googles late in that season (1984-85).

Nah he’s a bust

@@Rjptz Good call. Just like you said, he is now out of the league.

Magic was the one having his way

@@spenser6353 Yeah but Magic had the better team around him, look what happened later in their careers.

Yea that hook shot was absolutely insane! No way to stop it

bcuz todays players arent historians.. and they dont study player moves like they should.. only person is Kobe

Because none of them are Kareem Abdul Jabbar?

Hard shot to develop and master, that's why.

@ted smith wth are you racist

@ted smith It may be boring, but it made him the greatest scorer of all time....racist idiot!

No defense

Ojewelo1996 Not necessarily. Just much faster pace and more posessions per game. Magic took about 2 second to go cross court, where nowadays most teams consume all 8 seconds and use up mort of the shot clock. The Lakers determined the pace the game was played in those days (at least, most of the times), and that was super fast.

Ojewelo1996 the Defense is Better than Nowadays

+Expósito Oculto more great passing and playmaking makes for more possesions. alot nicer to watch than the overdribbling show we see theses days.

It was way more physical than today's game though

Jordan's athleticism was 50 years before its time. You can drop him in today's NBA and his athleticism would still stick out like a sore thumb. He makes it look like he's the only player not wearing ankle weights.

Or perhaps GOAT vs HoF team.

I agree Jordan all by himself out there

Lakers were a super team

Really shows how much he needed better teammates and better coach ing system to compete with championship teams

@@tdanoticias3315 Yeah for pretty much that entire decade. Tapered off a bit though in the 90s but were back on top in the early 2ks.

Magic was a real showman

I guess you saw only the first half. Second half is a nightmare for MJ

excuses are pathetic

@@mesariakyp6037 I mean yea they called hella fouls on MJ for playing D 5 friggin fouls...Lol It wasn't his time yet he had to pay dues

@@mesariakyp6037 Just what do you think "bullied" means?

@@TheBmills415 A ROOKIE! And it took those 3 and the rest of the team to corral him.

Keep living in the past and pretending MJ is still a rookie that hasn't completed anything. When you decide to return to reality you'll be happy to know MJ is still the best ever and MJ in his prime would've killed Magic. Loser.

MJ in his prime was out playing baseball. Are you saying he would have killed Magic at baseball? That doesn't make any sense. Magic never played pro baseball.

TheLAKERSareGodsTeam Michael Jordan was at his prime from 1986 to 1998 minus two years suspended(baseball). What world did you live in?.The Bulls beat the Lakers with Magic for their first championship in 1991. Magic was only 31 years old at the time and Michael 27. In this game the difference is Michael is just 21, a rookie and Magic has been playing for 5 years and is 25. The Lakers were one of the best teams in the league and Chicago was an average team at best.

The 1991 NBA Finals were an aberration, everyone knows it. If I were you, I'd be embarrassed to even mention them as part of Bulls history. The reason the Bells were able to win the series is injuries to 2 Laker starters. And the only reason the Bells went on to win 6 titles, the only 2 reason I should say are Magic's illness and and NBA Expansion that flooded the league with otherwise unworthy scrubs.

TheLAKERSareGodsTeam No, you're the only one knows it because you cant move on and accept that Chicago Bulls of the 90s is the greatest team ever of all time. From coach to the players, they are the only team with plenty of HALL OF FAMERS. Move on dude and open your mind to reality.

Agreed it was the perfect shot, the only player to constantly contest it and block it a few times was Wilt.

+grosskopf2 And that was Wilt past his prime.

200mphz06 and a young Kareem

Don't forget when they didn't eject him for punching Reggie Miller too

Annihilated By Society that was in the water down 90s. no more magic, bird, kareem, thomas.

M Fox ....

M Fox not at all. in the 90s you couldn't look at Jordan without fear of a foul being called. Larry Bird talked about how he got away with murder on defense. no one else was allowed to defend like him.

Annihilated By Society Any video of jordan taking 4 steps without a dribble?

MJ lead his team in scoring, rebounding, and steals.

+Andrew Wilson You forgot assists.

Buu isn't here

@@Amoneywilson00 assist too

Yeah the commentators even said how it was a really great all-around team effort by the Lakers to so effectively contain Jordan, and mentioned how, even facing that, he really only took one bad shot the whole game.

He is the only one that can score

Yep. And some of the best ever "else" players were keeping Michael off his game this night. Is fun to watch Magic in his own one-on-one (or two or three or four) prime here.

3? Explain that to us.

@@Romamb Jordan, Magic and Kareem

Right✔ I don't remember Kareem Abdul Jabbar ever getting 👦his hook 🔫shot blocked ever

@@abdulwaheed5367 oh you never heard of a guy named WILT CHAMBERLAIN?!

@@eggsdabomb of course I 🙋have

Loved watching Kareem play. As a 5-6 year old my older brother talked a lot about how great this Lew Alcindor was at UCLA. Then I saw highlights of Lew Alcindor at UCLA. I was astonished. I bundled up a sheet of paper and would throw it into a lamp shade pretending I was Alcindor. I also remember sitting in a bar in college watching Kareem breaking the all time NBA scoring record. Wonderful basketball player who gave this spectator a helluva lot of enjoyment. Cheers to you Kareem.

@@eggsdabomb You are right. Wilt was another who could be called the greatest ever. They were almost polar opposites but, I loved watching both Wilt and Kareem.

Meg Doyle Whooaaa!!! Slow your roll. Magic was OKAY??? Think about what you're typing!! Magic is a LEGEND!!! He has earned all of our RESPECT. A 6'9" guard who PLAYED EVERY POSITION ON THE FLOOR! WELL!! Are you kidding?!!?! Don't get it twisted, Jordan is one of the all time best ever, but so was Magic!

Meg Doyle U Buggin!

Did MJ guard Dominque?? No.. Did MJ guard Bird or Isiah?? No. Magic is a PG that can guard bigs and smalls. But great teams have defensive specialist like Scottie Pippen, Joe Dumars, Michael Copper to do the dirty gritty work so the the superstars can have energy to do what they are good at.

Jay Gatling Jordan did try guarding Bird, and got destroyed. how old are u?

acorn sucks ummm are you sure? an injured jordan guarded larry bird that still managed to droped 63 on him? bird got destroyed and then got bailed out by his team. come on man.

Magic's last title was at age 28 and Bird's was at 29. You're thinking about the Piston's emergence and that only lasted two years before MJ and co. swept them.

@@blakfloyd ...That was in the year 1991.

@@brucescott4261 nothing I said was incorrect.

@@blakfloyd ...I never said it was. The Chicago Bulls were the team to defeat throughout most of the 'nineties. The latter, the Detroit Pistons, the New York Knickerbockers and the Orlando Magic were the only teams in the Eastern Conference that advanced to the NBA Finals.

Had to get better teammates asshole.