Magic Johnson Lists Kawhi Leonard in Tier 1, Paul George in Tier 2 of MVP Candidates

Magic Johnson loves to tweet, and his thoughts often stimulate the NBA mediasphere, despite his tendency to point out the obvious.

The only way San Antonio or Miami don't win the championship is if neither team makes the finals.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 7, 2014

One of his recurring tweet formats is his long list of MVP candidates, which usually contain nearly every player to make corresponding year’s All-Star team.

This year, Johnson (or the person who tweets for him) formatted his list into two tiers, and two Clippers stars somehow managed to make the cut.

The Tier One MVP candidates are LeBron James, Steph Curry, Joel Embiid, KD, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić, and Kawhi Leonard.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) February 9, 2021

It is unclear if Magic’s list is in descending order, but Clippers star Kawhi Leonard was listed last within his first tier of candidates.

Could this perhaps be a calculated dig at Leonard and the Clippers? Was Johnson fully aware that listing Leonard after names like luka Doncic and Stephen Curry, whose teams have far worse records than Leonard’s, would make Clippers fans’ blood boil and cause them to tear him apart in his mentions?

No, probably not. That’s likely just the order in which the names came to his mind. But Twitter is no place for rationality. How dare you, Magic?

To add insult to injury, Johnson dropped Paul George to tier two, although he was not last on the list as Leonard was.

Tier Two MVP candidates are Jaylen Brown, Damian Lillard, AD, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, and Bradley Beal.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) February 9, 2021

For what it’s worth, only the Lakers (no surprise), the Celtics and the Clippers were privileged enough to have two players make it onto Johnson’s exclusive list. Perhaps he does respect the Clippers as a legitimate threat to his former team after all.

There is almost a 100% chance that one of Magic’s picks will be correct. In this respect, his accuracy is unparalleled. Time will tell if Leonard or George can live up to Johnson’s recognition.