Simply Amazing... (the best PASSER you will ever see...)

[SupaDave]

Oh no you didn't? (head snap)...

Can you really have one without the other?

This is what you call court awareness...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxBM3dTPc_k

[Mike Corey]

Sounds like you and Jason Evans need to buy one another this shirt.

[davekay1971]

I've always felt that if I had to pick one player in NBA history to build a team around, it would be Magic Johnson...

[Newton_14]

Can't we just love and respect them both? I always did. And I hated the Lakers. But Magic was simply great as was Bird. So there is no winner in this argument. Both were the greatest passers, players, winners... etc etc etc

[Welcome2DaSlopes]

1.Magic
2.Kidd
3.Stockton

[DukeDevilDeb]

I've always felt that if I had to pick one player in NBA history to build a team around, it would be Magic Johnson...

I watched the Larry Bird tapes; I watched the Magic Johnson tapes. No one will ever argue with the fact that these were two of the best basketball players ever.

But as great as Magic is, my fantasy team always starts with Larry Bird.

And why was Magic right when he said, "There will never, ever, ever be another Larry Bird?" The pure joy Bird got out of passing, enabling the other player to score the ball.. where is that now? Hurley had it, but never at the Bird level. LeBron doesn't have it; Kobe doesn't either.

At the same time, Bird evokes the magic (with a small m) of basketball without its ME FIRST attitude.

Will we ever see that again?

[Orange&BlackSheep]

1.Magic
2.Kidd
3.Stockton

1. Kidd
2. Magic
3. Maravich
4. Hurley

[MarkD83]

1. Kidd
2. Magic
3. Maravich
4. Hurley

1. Irving ( I hope)
2. Hurley
3. Williams
4. Amaker
5. Duhon
6. Scheyer
7. G. Hill

[Lord Ash]

Hm, the music in the OP was a bit dramatic... for Magic I prefer something a bit lighter, as the guy himself was always a warm fellow.

[Spret42]

Watch Courtship of Rivals and then never talk about who was better again. They were the two greatest basketball players of all time and ranking one over the other is just a disservice to them both.


And I agree on the music... it needed to be something like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kotK9FNEYU

[davekay1971]

Watch Courtship of Rivals and then never talk about who was better again. They were the two greatest basketball players of all time and ranking one over the other is just a disservice to them both.


And I agree on the music... it needed to be something like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kotK9FNEYU

Oh, I meant no disrespect at all to Bird with my post. Bird was every bid the magician that Magic was. Courtship of Rivals was a great piece, by the way. To watch those two guys play in their prime, particularly with their passing and the way they just knew the game, is always breathtaking. They both were basketball geniuses, and they made the game beautiful to watch.

Then that Tar Heel came along and turned the NBA into a me-first, isolation offense, bore. Leave it to a Tar Heel to ruin the whole NBA

[slower]

Then that Tar Heel came along and turned the NBA into a me-first, isolation offense, bore. Leave it to a Tar Heel to ruin the whole NBA

You forgot traveling, palming, pushing off...

[Spret42]

Then that Tar Heel came along and turned the NBA into a me-first, isolation offense, bore. Leave it to a Tar Heel to ruin the whole NBA

Ha. This place needs a "rolls eyes" emoticon.

[Lord Ash]

Courtship of Rivals was WONDERFULLY done... my wife, who couldn't care any less about sports, was in tears at about three different spots during it. A beautifully crafted piece.

[rsvman]

1. Kidd
2. Magic
3. Maravich
4. Hurley

thanks for putting Maravich on your list. Often remembered as a prolific scorer, his amazing passing ability is sometimes forgotten. I came onto this thread to remind people of it, but you beat me to it.

[House G]

thanks for putting Maravich on your list. Often remembered as a prolific scorer, his amazing passing ability is sometimes forgotten. I came onto this thread to remind people of it, but you beat me to it.

You both beat me to it, but check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aDy8BqEuyE

[Dukefan4Life]

Bird has always been my basketball God..The hick from frenchlick could do it all! Best forward to play the game hands down

[dukemath]

As a kid in the mid to late 80's in LA I watched Magic and the Lakers all the time. Getting to see him play live at the Forum was special. Magic will always be my favorite player. To me he will always be the best because of how he made his teammates better. (I respect that about Bird too, but he was on that other team.) Although I still root for my home team, I don't enjoy the one-on-one style of the NBA. I liked to better when it was a team sport.

Thanks for the video. It was a great reminder of how fun the NBA was when I was a kid.

[roywhite]

Magic's size for his position is the final element that puts him on the top of the list of all time passers/PGs. He could see over the offense and he could get his own shot off against almost anybody inside.

How many other guys in basketball history could play all 5 positions like Magic?

[Dukefan4Life]

Best PG ever? i would say Magic followed by Stockton