Magic Johnson lost in the NBA Finals 4 times

[Myth]

5/9 >>>>>> 2/5

[Pointguard]

Magic had the best center and best sg (Kareem, and worthy) + Nixon shows how stacked his team was. The fact that he lost 4 with that team was embarassing.
2 of LeBron's finals losses were 1 vs 5 (2007 and 2014) So Magics case is a lot worse than LeBrons due to his stacked team

tl;dr LeBron is way better than Magic

Worthy wasn't a shooting guard and never played anything like a SG. And he wasn't a top three SF either. Nixon was in Magic's way. Nixon could only play the point. If Lebron plays hard he could upseat Magic - Lebron has a bit too many weird moments. He got to play all out when he gets in these situations.

[DFish24]

Bran stans getting more and more desperate everyday Your idol is 2/5 in the finals and not a Top 10 Player all-time, deal with it.

[SOD 21]

Neither of us had it right.

He lost with the Bucks one year. I thought it was two years with the Bucks. My bad Kareem lost 4 times in the finals. Kind of amazed he only made it to the finals twice in the 70's.

I had to look it up because I forgot that Kareem was in the NBA finals in 1974 and lost in seven games to the Boston Celtics.

I had forgotten that. Thanks for the clarification.

[sportjames23]

I am glad that you brought this up because I was about to say the same thing.

But that Los Angeles Lakers team in 1989 swept through the first three rounds of the playoffs and dominated each team in their path. The downside of that domination is that they experienced a significant layoff until the Finals began, something like 10 days, and Pat Riley feared that they would lose their sharpness was such an extended layoff. His solution was to put the Lakers through a mini boot camp and the result was a torn hamstring to their starting shooting guard Byron Scott before the Finals even began.

And then things went from bad to worse when Magic suffered his own hamstring injury in the second quarter of game two against the Detroit Pistons, or maybe it was the third quarter of that game, but it has been a long time since it happened. But the Los Angeles Lakers had to face a great Detroit Pistons team without their starting backcourt when both Magic Johnson and Byron Scott suffered those injuries.

In fact, Pat Riley received criticism because many believe that he pushed his players too hard in that mini boot camp before the finals began and that contributed to those injuries.

I remember this like it was yesterday. I was pissed because I HATED the Pistons (it was the second year in a row they beat my Bulls) and I wanted the Lakers to three-peat.

[Kiddlovesnets]

I think more important is how much you win compared to how much you lose. A 5-4 record looks solid to me, way better than players who never made it to NBA Finals at all.

[Soundwave]

Yes.

But he managed to win 5, good enough to give him a winning finals record.

Right now LeBron is 2-3. He would need to win AT LEAST 2 more JUST to get above .500 winning record in the finals.

How likely is that to happen?

Is it possible? Sure.

Is it a guarantee? HELL NO.

Just look at how easily he couldve been 1-4 in the Finals. And it's taken him this long just to win the 2 he has. Is he gonna' play at this same level forever?

It's funny that just before this beatdown the standard we held for him is Jordan, and now people are starting to downgrade in order to save face. No one is questioning LeBron's greatness. But the whole "better than Jordan/unanimous GOAT" is as dead as dead, unless he somehow ends up with 7+ rings.

Good post.

[r0drig0lac]

I agree, lebron, like magic will be fine, even with some losses at the end, but like magic, has no chance to be the GOAT

[jayfan]

There is no reason to bash LeBron for being 2/5 in the finals, I doubt he's done winning titles as long as his supporting cast is viable for the next few seasons etc.

Imo the hate LeBron has been getting lately is completely ridiculous.

The hate is due to those who were trying to sell Lebron as GOAT.

[BigBoss]

So what OP is saying then is Kobe > Magic

[Hey Yo]

But ther legacy is shaped differently. Lebron was hyped getting the best record in the league to lose it and then went to 2 other superstars to lose again and then finally win 2

Magic stuck wit his squad, and kept playing. Yeah he was losing but he didnt search for new teamates.

That's because the dumbass signed a 25yr contract. LA had no interest in trading him and he would never become a UFA once the NBA adopted the rule in the summer of 88'

[KG215]

Magic had the best center and best sg (Kareem, and worthy) + Nixon shows how stacked his team was. The fact that he lost 4 with that team was embarassing.
2 of LeBron's finals losses were 1 vs 5 (2007 and 2014) So Magics case is a lot worse than LeBrons due to his stacked team

tl;dr LeBron is way better than Magic

I know you're a troll, but this is so f***ing ignorant. Never mind the stupid premise of the whole argument with how many times a player lost in the Finals. But when people say something like "how did Bird not win more titles with that team?" or "how did Magic not win more titles with that team?"

Magic's Finals losses came to the f***ing '83 Sixers, one of the best teams ever, Bird's Celtics, Bad Boy Pistons, and peak Jordan and the Bulls. And, if I recall correctly, in '89 Magic himself got hurt and essentially didn't play in one game and they didn't have Byron Scott the entire series. Also, in '91, they got hit by injuries to key players mid-series and that team wasn't the same "Showtime Lakers."

Point being, yes, in theory Magic's Laker teams were "stacked" but so was every other contender of the decade. And, even the fringe contenders at the time would probably be considered "stacked" in today's NBA if, you know, they could actually afford those rosters...which they couldn't.

[Pointguard]

I am glad that you brought this up because I was about to say the same thing.

But that Los Angeles Lakers team in 1989 swept through the first three rounds of the playoffs and dominated each team in their path. The downside of that domination is that they experienced a significant layoff until the Finals began, something like 10 days, and Pat Riley feared that they would lose their sharpness was such an extended layoff. His solution was to put the Lakers through a mini boot camp and the result was a torn hamstring to their starting shooting guard Byron Scott before the Finals even began.

And then things went from bad to worse when Magic suffered his own hamstring injury in the second quarter of game two against the Detroit Pistons, or maybe it was the third quarter of that game, but it has been a long time since it happened. But the Los Angeles Lakers had to face a great Detroit Pistons team without their starting backcourt when both Magic Johnson and Byron Scott suffered those injuries.

In fact, Pat Riley received criticism because many believe that he pushed his players too hard in that mini boot camp before the finals began and that contributed to those injuries.

I didn't know this or blanked it out - had a lot going on at that time. I recall the two peat live as today. Thanks, weird that I'm just getting it.

[Pointguard]

Magic's Finals losses came to the f***ing '83 Sixers, one of the best teams ever, Bird's Celtics, Bad Boy Pistons, and peak Jordan and the Bulls. And, if I recall correctly, in '89 Magic himself got hurt and essentially didn't play in one game and they didn't have Byron Scott the entire series. Also, in '91, they got hit by injuries to key players mid-series and that team wasn't the same "Showtime Lakers."

Worthy and Scott were injured. Worthy definitely was, Scott might have just been playing absolutely terrible. And Jordan was hungry.

[AintNoSunshine]

But ther legacy is shaped differently. Lebron was hyped getting the best record in the league to lose it and then went to 2 other superstars to lose again and then finally win 2

Magic stuck wit his squad, and kept playing. Yeah he was losing but he didnt search for new teamates.

Poor Magic was stuck with Kareem and Worthy and Cooper and other great players