Magic Johnson Issues Apology to Lakers After Viral Statement

Magic Johnson said this after the Lakers-Nuggets series

February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Magic Johnson before the 2022 NBA All-Star Game / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

After the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets, Lakers legend Magic Johnson blamed load management for the team's struggles.

The Lakers have nobody but themselves to blame. They wouldn’t have been in the play-in game or finished as a 7th seed this season if they hadn’t lost too many games because of load management.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 30, 2024

This statement went viral, accumulating 1.8M views on X (formerly known as Twitter), and it was simply untrue. The Lakers did not load manage their stars this season, with LeBron James playing in 71 games, and Anthony Davis playing in 76 games. Upon realizing this, Johnson apologized to the Lakers, sending on an additional post:

Laker Nation, I have to apologize to the Lakers organization. It was injuries that plagued the Lakers this season, not load management.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 2, 2024

The problem for the Lakers was simply their roster not being good enough to defeat the defending champion Nuggets. While some rotation tweaks and other minor changes could have made an impact, LA's chances of beating Denver four times in seven games were slim to none, and that was evident even amid the close contests in this series.

Much like last year's Western Conference Finals battle between LA and Denver, the Nuggets were much sharper when it mattered most in this year's series. Finding ways to execute down the stretch, the Nuggets showed a level of championship composure that the Lakers were unable to match.

A lot goes into the outcome of a playoff series, but this one between Denver and LA was simply about the Nuggets being the better team. That is not unusual in first round matchups, especially when the defending champions are involved.

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