“He was getting in the way of my championship” Magic Johnson reveals why he distanced himself from Isiah Thomas
Follow Us
Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas
Magic Johnson, is a name that brings a smile to the faces of the NBA world just like he would. He is one of the most prestigious players of all time who revived the league during its darkest days. Johnson was the number one overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft, the one that feature another legend, Larry Bird.
Recently, there have been numerous Hollywood releases based on the former superstar’s life. Starting with ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty’ shows how his talent brought the league out of being sold out and gave an uplift to its most decorated team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, Johnson himself starred in a documentary series, ‘They Call Me Magic,’ where the legend candidly speaks about his life into stardom.
Magic Johnson gives the Lakers a chance of revival in 1979
The 1970s were a very bad era for the league as views were dwindling down and revenue was not as great as it used to be. The NBA was known as one of the most exciting sports organizations around at that time mainly because of the players that led the league. 1979 so happened to same year Jerry Buss (Father of Jeanie Buss) bought the franchise. His idea was to give the Lakers a new chance and the NBA a rebirth.
Magic Johnson became the first pick that year and joined forces with All-Time leading scorer Kareem Abdul Jabbar. The duo would end up winning five championships together in total during the 1980s. Johnson became a 3x league Most Valuable Player and Finals MVP. Magic went on to average 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game. Unfortunately, his career would come to a brief halt after testing positive for HIV as he would describe it as some of the darkest days of his life. He would play one last season in 1995-96 before officially calling it an end.
Magic Johnson distanced himself from Isiah Thomas because he felt too competitive
Just like most of the other NBA greats, Magic Johnson also was extremely competitive and always wanted to win no matter what the situation entailed. The Lakers legend joined Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night show where he spoke about his time in the league. He highlighted instances with Kareem and playing against Michael Jordan during the 1996 title run.
Johnson was asked about his nature to which he responded that he loved winning. With regards to that, Kimmel brought up the player’s relationship with another former champion, Isiah Thomas. IT had begun to win his first titles during the reign of Magic which he felt was hindering him from winning his own set of rings. “He was getting in the way of my championship. Listen Jimmy, you can’t get in the way of winning for me,” said the legend. The two players were caught up in an altercation once during the Finals, but all seems to be resolved now.
Also read: “This is rigged” Goran Dragic wants to punch referee after no-foul-call on hideous play in Game 4
Stay Updated!
Rakibul John Rodgers
(1258 Articles Published)