Magic Johnson takes another shot at LeBron in the GOAT debate: "LeBron is a bad boy too, but he's not Michael"
NBA legend Magic Johnson was recently the featured guest speaker at Invest Fest 2025 in Atlanta. During a Q&A session, he was once again asked where he stood in the greatest debate of all time, even though he had already answered the question recently and many times before.
Just like his previous answer, Magic picked his Dream Team teammate Michael Jordan over LeBron James. Once again, he narrated the time when MJ took off, switched hands in mid-air, and banked a shot during the 1991 NBA Finals between his Los Angeles Lakers and Jordan's Chicago Bulls.
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"I love him, I love my boy. But when Michael Jordan took off with the tongue out…1991 against my Lakers. Right hand, we thought we had him. He looked as we went down, he switched it to the left hand, tongue went left, spun it against the glass, and good. There's nobody alive that's just been able to do that. That boy is too bad, I'm telling you right now."
Magic Johnson says MJ is his goat over LeBron 👀🍿
“I love LeBron, but he’s not Michael Jordan.”
(Via @EarnYourLeisure) pic.twitter.com/lcw6hW6NRq — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 12, 2025
The game that broke the Lakers' back
While that's a story he's told for several times, it's hard to blame Magic for being unable to forget that game - Game 2 of the 1991 NBA Finals. The Lakers broke serve by stealing Game 1 in Chicago. They needed to win that game to avoid going 0-2 heading to Game 3 in Los Angeles, and being the killer he was, Jordan made sure there was no repeat of the Game 1 upset.
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MJ led all scorers with 33 points and did so on an incredible 15-18 shooting from the field. At one point, Jordan made 13 consecutive shots, the last of which was that switch-hands basket that Johnson keeps talking about.
Michael Jordan’s iconic dunk-to-layup hand switch vs. the Lakers in the Finals was 32 years ago today!#NBAVault pic.twitter.com/ui8Kz1MAqT — NBA History (@NBAHistory) June 5, 2023
That basket gave the Bulls a 97-71 lead with seven minutes left in the game. They would hold on to win the game 107-86, and many say that the Bulls broke the Lakers' back. Chicago would win the next three games and clinch their first NBA championship via 4-1 count. Jordan and the Bulls would win five more NBA titles, and MJ finished his career as the widely recognised basketball GOAT.
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"But LeBron is a bad boy too," added Magic. "He's a bad boy, too, but he's not Michael. Don't get it twisted. I love LeBron. But uh, uhm…no, no, no."
Magic also left LeBron out of his Lakers Top 5
In another public appearance, at a Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation event, Magic was also asked MJ versus Bron questions, and aside from picking Mike as his GOAT based on the same story above, he also left out James from his list of all-time Top 5 favorite Lakers players.
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"Kobe going to be one with Kareem," Johnson told the crowd. "Nobody is like Kobe. His killer mentality, hitting big shots after big shots, but also loved being a Laker, loved playing in Los Angeles. He represented the city. Let's clap for Kobe. We miss him. Nobody is like Kareem. Oh my goodness, the skyhook. He was so intelligent, basketball IQ off the charts. I just loved playing with Kareem. He's just awesome…So I would say Kareem, Shaq, Kobe, and when I think about it, you have to put Wilt and Jerry in there. James Worthy would definitely qualify. But you try to do five Lakers, and it's impossible."
It's hard to argue with an all-time great like Magic, especially since he played against and with Mike. Johnson played 18 times against MJ during his career, and he saw "His Airness" when he was at his peak. Magic and Michael were also teammates on the original Dream Team, so he knows first-hand what it's like to be on both sides of the fence. But he also did not play against LeBron.
Related: "You have to question what is the credentials for the MVP" - Michael Jordan took subtle jab at Magic Johnson for winning the MVP in 1987
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 13, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
