Magic Johnson won his first NBA title in his rookie year and led the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships.
What is the NBA GOAT debate?
Doug Gottlieb, the University of Wisconsin Green Bay head coach, argues that Magic Johnson and Larry Bird belong in the NBA GOAT debate.
They won on the basketball stage early in their careers, with Magic winning it his first year and Bird doing it in year 2.
Why does Magic Johnson deserve recognition?
Magic Johnson was a 12-time All-Star and led the Lakers to five championships, winning three Finals MVPs and three NBA MVP awards.
He and Larry Bird headlined the league for over a decade with their epic rivalry for the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
What about the current NBA season?
The New York Knicks won the 2026 NBA title by defeating the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center on Saturday.
The Knicks mounted another stirring comeback to close out the thrilling series 4-1 on the road to win their first championship in 53 years.
The Spurs boasted one of the youngest-ever rosters in NBA Finals history, and their inexperience showed when they squandered double-digit leads in all five games.
Victor Wembanyama revealed his angst at having to wait for another chance to compete for a championship, saying he's going to learn from this loss.
He also said that he's going to have to hold that inside of him and slow down and wait and execute for 100 games.
The biggest collapse came in Game 4, when the Spurs exploded out of the gates to lead 76-49 at halftime before ultimately allowing the Knicks to overcome a 29-point deficit.
The Knicks completed the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history to win 107-106.
Gottlieb sympathized with Wembanyama's first NBA Finals loss, but argued that Magic and Bird made College Hoops and saved the NBA with their competitive greatness.
Bird was a 12-time All-Star and led the Celtics to five NBA Finals and three championships before retiring as one of the greatest forwards of all time.
He was also a three-time NBA MVP and two-time Finals MVP.
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird's epic rivalry will always be remembered as one of the greatest in NBA history.
Their competitive greatness has not been seen before or since, and they deserve to be included in the NBA GOAT debate.