Magic Johnson's Claim on UCLA Legend Should Have Hoop Heads Talking

Earvin Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were perhaps the greatest duo in basketball history. Johnson recently held his longtime friend and teammate in very high regard.

Feb 4, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; NBA Hall of Famer and UCLA Bruin alumni Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and NBA Hall of Famer and Michigan State Spartans alumni share a moment during the game between the two school at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

There's no doubt that UCLA and NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball -- in fact, some even consider him the greatest.

Discussing Abdul-Jabbar in any debate always seems to be difficult. Is he the greatest of all time? Is he even the greatest center of all time? Is he the greatest scorer of all time? After all, he did hold the all-time scoring record for almost 40 years.

The six-time NBA MVP's longtime teammate and friend, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, recently gave his own take on what he would classify Abdul-Jabbar as when he joined former Lakers teammate Byron Scott's podcast, "Byron Scott's Fast Break."

Johnson gave his old teammate very high praise when listing off the threats that made up the iconic Showtime Lakers while discussing his team's rivalry with Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics.

"Larry Bird could go off for 30, even though Coop [Michael Cooper] was in his butt, but he can still score his 30, right?" Johnson said. "Kevin McHale was unstoppable, but also, too, you're going to see Byron [Scott] shoot the 3-pointer, Coop, the Coop-a-Loop, or him shooting the 3.

"And then James [Worthy] just so sweet. One of the most beautiful basketball players I've ever seen was James Worthy when he'd come on that break and just beautiful -- and then, of course, the most dominant center and player that's ever played in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar."

Now, when you're talking "dominant" a lot of people consider Shaquille O'Neal to best there ever was in that category, regardless of position. Even today's players like LeBron James or even Giannis Antetokounmpo get tossed into that conversation.

Certainly, Abdul-Jabbar does deserve to be in the discussion; his sky hook was perhaps the most unstoppable moves in the history of the game and to this day is one that no player has really been able to emulate.

He dominated the game for so long and, as a result, was able to collect six NBA titles to go along with his three NCAA titles as a Bruin.

Johnson, of course, may be a little biased, but he may be right.

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