Michael Jordan has a huge library of iconic plays and for his former rival Magic Johnson, there’s one play that he can never forget. This particular iconic play, to him, is the one that should settle the Greatest of All Time debate that pits the Chicago Bulls star against Lebron James.
MJ vs Bron as the GOAT of basketball is one of the most discussed topics and it will probably never end. Magic has made up his mind and he is picking MJ. He did not need a run down of the accolades of each player. He does not need to measure their global impact on and off the court.
The five-time NBA champion thinks one iconic play is enough to rank MJ over James.
“The best that’s ever done it,” Johnson said of Jordan.
“Don’t get it twisted. I love LeBron, but no… I love my boy, I love him. But when Michael Jordan took off with that tongue out. Hold up, listen, ’cause a lot of you wasn’t born then. 1991 against my Lakers.”
The play the Los Angeles Lakers legend is talking about was the hand switch against them.
Magic Johnson breaks down Michael Jordan’s switch hands lay up
That play would have went viral if the internet back then was already available like it is now. It was MJ’s first ever NBA finals after failing to make it in the first seven years as a pro.
He was hell bent in changing the narrative about him and that one particular play, Magic thought, showed how ‘bad’ he can be as an opponent.
“Right hand, we thought we had him,” Johnson continued.
“He looked as we went down, he switched it to the left hand, tongue went left. Spun it against the glass and good. There’s nobody alive that’s been able to do just that. That boy is too bad, I’m telling you right now.”
Johnson clarified that King James can be a ‘bad boy’ too. It’s just MJ is on a different level.
“But LeBron is a bad boy, too,” Johnson added. “He’s a bad boy, but he’s not Michael.”
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