what would Magic Johnson stats look like I'm 2018?

[Dilltastic VolWon(derful)]

It doesn't matter how old I am, most of you nikkas aren't old enough y'all damn selves to be cognitive when Magic was in his prime, this was damn near 30 years ago.

Ben Simmons is the modern day Magic, there's nothing crazy about that statement. If you compare them at the same stage of development they have the same strengths and weaknesses. Ben is just a lot more athletic and like I said a more advanced ball handler. They both have transcendent All-Time court vision, they both came into the league as weak shooters although Magic was better early on, they were both iffy in the halfcourt as scorer, they both struggled going left, and they were both the tallest PG's of their era with Ben at 6'10 and Magic at 6'9.

If you don't watch Ben Simmons in the open floor and see these ridiculous passes he throws, and think Magic something is wrong with you. Ben just joined Magic and Big O as one of three players with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists in their rookie years.

If you think Magic value was only in the open floor then you need to watch more YouTube clips of him. On court presence, charisma, transcendence of the game are all things Magic did and a rookie Ben Simmons isn’t even close to having.
And I’ve watched Simmons he ain’t an even better passer than Lebron and Lebron is probably the best passing player of his size I’ve seen in my lifetime.

Also just because a dude has a stat similar to a player that is an all time great doesn’t mean his game is similar to that player.

 

[Black Lightning]

25/12/10 magic became a decent 3 point shooter later in his career

Magic was cold.

 

[ISO]

If you think Magic value was only in the open floor then you need to watch more YouTube clips of him. On court presence, charisma, transcendence of the game are all things Magic did and a rookie Ben Simmons isn’t even close to having.
And I’ve watched Simmons he ain’t an even better passer than Lebron and Lebron is probably the best passing player of his size I’ve seen in my lifetime.

Also just because a dude has a stat similar to a player that is an all time great doesn’t mean his game is similar to that player.

Simmons is as good at passing as LeBron, we haven't seen shyt yet. There isn't a pass he can't make and he sees the game at a different speed. No looks, nutmeg, alley, speed pass, pocket passes with either hand, skip passes. LeBron will probably tell you himself he is Ben's OG. Wait until son hits his prime, if he gets any semblance of a jumpshot it's a wrap. Isiah Thomas just compared Simmons to Magic on Player's Only.

I just stated how they are similar broke it down from strengths and weaknesses, actual on court skills not hyperbolized intangibles like what you listed its not just about the stats.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

The hot takes in this thread.

Magic is an all-time great, but...

Someone said Magic going to get more fast breaks now even though he played in the fast break era with a faster pace and now would have far below average athleticism on the court.

Someone said Magic going to get more foul calls now even though he played in an era with way more foul calls and he does little that would draw a foul in today's game.

And why hasn't anyone mentioned his ball-handling yet? That high right-hand-only dribble ain't gonna fly in 2018....

you mean when buck played with offensively challenged AC Green, Kurt Rambis, in his lineup and still was avg 11+ assist a night and making these guys better?

Magic would make everyone better. Roberson would have so many open layups and dunks from magics court vision alone.

A.C. Green averaged 14ppg the year after Magic retired and 15ppg for Phoenix. Your "offensively challenged" example was scoring 15ppg on 50% shooting.

Kurt Rambis averaged 11ppg for Charlotte the year the Lakers traded him away.

Both the offensively challenged players you named were double-digit scorers for other teams in that era.

And you ignore that Magic got a ton of assists just dumping into Kareem and played with SIX guys who were 20-point scorers at some point - Kareem (HOF), Worthy (HOF), McAdoo (HOF), Jamaal Wilkes (HOF), Orlando Woolridge, and Byron Scott, plus Norm Nixon was a regular 17+ppg and even Mitch Kupchek and A.C. Green had 15+ppg seasons away from the Lakers. That was an era when it was easy to score a ton of points.

Magic playing ball small center in 2018

he'd have multiple years of averaging a triple double. probably something like 22, 12, 10

Magic guarding centers and protecting the rim in 2018.

I wish people knew this. Right now teams are averaging 19.9 fouls per game. Let's use 85 for comparison, teams averaged 25.2 fouls per game that year. Teams averaged 30.3 FTA per game in 85, in 2018 they average 21.8. Facts do always get in the way of narratives.

Facts are rough on these guys.

Move Magic Johnson to an era with fewer free throws, fewer fast breaks, and fewer available rebounds....and no Kareem to dump the ball into.

And somehow he'd be averaging MORE points, assists, and rebounds despite going up against taller and more athletic completion.


I'd love to know where this magic era dust came from that makes everyone from the 1950s to 1990s magically better than today's players, even though they were drawing from a FAR smaller pool of talent. It's like someone claiming that all the best basketball players in the world are gonna be from Canada even though they have 1/10th of America's population.

 

[Manuel Hot Pepper Lopez]

The hot takes in this thread.

Magic is an all-time great, but...

Someone said Magic going to get more fast breaks now even though he played in the fast break era with a faster pace and now would have far below average athleticism on the court.

Someone said Magic going to get more foul calls now even though he played in an era with way more foul calls and he does little that would draw a foul in today's game.

And why hasn't anyone mentioned his ball-handling yet? That high right-hand-only dribble ain't gonna fly in 2018....






A.C. Green averaged 14ppg the year after Magic retired and 15ppg for Phoenix. Your "offensively challenged" example was scoring 15ppg on 50% shooting.

Kurt Rambis averaged 11ppg for Charlotte the year the Lakers traded him away.

Both the offensively challenged players you named were double-digit scorers for other teams in that era.

And you ignore that Magic got a ton of assists just dumping into Kareem and played with SIX guys who were 20-point scorers at some point - Kareem (HOF), Worthy (HOF), McAdoo (HOF), Jamaal Wilkes (HOF), Orlando Woolridge, and Byron Scott, plus Norm Nixon was a regular 17+ppg and even Mitch Kupchek and A.C. Green had 15+ppg seasons away from the Lakers. That was an era when it was easy to score a ton of points.





Magic guarding centers and protecting the rim in 2018.






Facts are rough on these guys.

Move Magic Johnson to an era with fewer free throws, fewer fast breaks, and fewer available rebounds....and no Kareem to dump the ball into.

And somehow he'd be averaging MORE points, assists, and rebounds despite going up against taller and more athletic completion.


I'd love to know where this magic era dust came from that makes everyone from the 1950s to 1990s magically better than today's players, even though they were drawing from a FAR smaller pool of talent. It's like someone claiming that all the best basketball players in the world are gonna be from Canada even though they have 1/10th of America's population.

Yeah, no way Magic Johnson's dribbling style would be different if he came up in this era instead of the early 70's

 

[MooseMouthMthafuga]

Magic was cold.

Bron, Bird, Simmons are all great passers


but they're all a notch or 2 under Magic.

He is THEE phenomenon when it comes to court vision/passing/flair.

Nobody has ever been that maxed out in ability

 

[ISO]

Bron, Bird, Simmons are all great passers


but they're all a notch or 2 under Magic.

He is THEE phenomenon when it comes to court vision/passing/flair.

Nobody has ever been that maxed out in ability

Ben and LeBron as full time PG's in the 80's would have seasons with 13 assists per game as well, they would make mind blowing passes like that gif as well.

Magic played on stacked teams with multiple HoF's, Ben and LeBron will never play on a Showtime offense, they will never play on a team running 100+ possessions per game.

They would be in their bag leading the break in the fast-breaking 80's. They can make any type of pass and have the same size as Magic.

 

[Malta]

The pace is slower today, yall really need to make up your minds on how to stick to your talking points. In one thread @Jplaya2023 is saying the pace today is fast and XYZ player from the 90s would average more, yet now he's in here saying the pace being slower today than when Magic played would have no negative impact on his numbers


It can't be both, you gotta stick to one.

 

[jadillac]

:blessedmagic:

He'd have the greatest smile in the 2018 league

 

[ISO]

And why hasn't anyone mentioned his ball-handling yet? That high right-hand-only dribble ain't gonna fly in 2018....

I told these dudes he barely used his left.

He often brought the ball up by posting up and handling with his right to protect the ball, he also switched directions with his back to the defender which sometimes led to him being pick pocketed. Simmons is a greyhound with the ball goes north to south with long strides switching from hand to hand by comparison, his in and outs and behind the backs are filthy.

 

[Jordan>>LeFrozen]

He’s the most overrated “pantheon”, “Mt. Rushmore” player.

 

[martin payne]

nikkas calling magic overrated

 

[The_Third_Man]

With the rules today and the lack of talent in the league, I can see magic averaging 25-25-20-5-5 at least.

 

[MooseMouthMthafuga]

Ben and LeBron as full time PG's in the 80's would have seasons with 13 assists per game as well, they would make mind blowing passes like that gif as well.

Magic played on stacked teams with multiple HoF's, Ben and LeBron will never play on a Showtime offense, they will never play on a team running 100+ possessions per game.

They would be in their bag leading the break in the fast-breaking 80's. They can make any type of pass and have the same size as Magic.

I've seen Bron on stacked teams.Made some great passes 4 sure, but nobody's Magic level.

Ben Simmons is mundane in comparison.Dope young talent.Magic's flair got him looking pale, tho.

Magic was poetry in motion when it came to passing.A true natural.The most graceful

 

[AlbertPullhoez]

Who is Magic guarding in 2018