Significance
Embedded Files
Short-Term:
Many players idolized Magic and they adapted to his gameplay to play like him in the 90’s and 2000’s.
"Magic's game was transcendental, and it led to many different positions of players desiring to develop his strong pass-first instinct with the pure mentality of a scorer. Magic brought a delicate balance to the point guard position and did indeed play many other positions. It made Magic the ideal role model for both Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, both of whom became idols for the next generation.”(Roberts).
Because Magic had so much success in his NBA career, his playstyle ricocheted onto other players. Players like Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant and so many more took inspiration from Magic's playstyle and also became all-time greats. For example, Kobe Bryant has 5 NBA Championships, 1 MVP, and two Finals MVP’s. Kevin Garnett is also one of the best to ever do it, he has one MVP, one Championship, and 15 all-star selections. Because of Magic Johnson's success, he has influenced arguably some of the best players of all time to follow in his footsteps.
Long-Term
Magic Johnson was the start of positionless basketball that many players play today.
“Legendary coach and executive Pat Riley once remarked that James came the ‘closest’ to Johnson. LeBron is both a point guard and a forward, with some even calling him the founding father of positionless basketball due to his effortless ability to play multiple roles.” (Debroy).
LeBron James, a player of today’s game, is often compared to Magic due to his ability to benefit his team in ways that his main position doesn't call for. This is an aspect of positionless basketball. Playing positionless is achieved when a player has the skill set of every position on the court. We see LeBron and other players that are 7 feet who can pass, handle the ball, and shoot 3’s at a high level. Back in Magic’s era, this was an anomaly. Magic was the first person not just capable of playing only one position like guard, but also center, and shooting guard. Magic could bully other players down low near the basket like a center, or he could shoot a three in someone's face like a guard. This is what we see with players like LeBron. As the quote says, some believe James was the father of positionless basketball, but in this instance we are comparing LeBron to Magic and Magic came first. Therefore, LeBron should not be labeled this because Johnson came first.
In this picture, Magic Johnson is using his length and athleticism to score his 39th point in a game against the Houston Rockets on January 19th, 1988. Those 39 points were his season high at the time. This photo connects back to the answer of my research question because it shows that Johnson was capable of going down into the paint and scoring. At that time in history, the point guard position was only supposed to feed the center the ball to score in the paint (close the basket), shoot a three, or shoot a midrange shot. This picture depicts Magic shooting a hook shot close to the basket. This was something unusual for a point guard to do at the time. This ties back to my answer of Magic being the first player able to play positionless basketball that we see in current day players like LeBron James. LeBron can shoot threes, handle the ball, and bully his way down in the paint. Magic was the first person able to play this way. Many players in the NBA have seen Magic and have replicated his positionless play in their own games.
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