In the modern NBA, who would be better, Magic Johnson or Larry Bird?
When you compare basketball legends, one of the best rivalries the NBA has ever seen involved Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. After their 1979 NCAA tournament final matchup, the two were essentially inseparable and repeatedly squared off in the NBA Finals.
Both of them were well-known for being intense competitors on the floor, and we believe they would both do admirably in the NBA of today. Who would prove to be the superior athlete? We will examine this query today and select a winner in this fresh interpretation of the Bird vs. Magic argument.
Both guys have an incredible amount of career accomplishments. The NBA Hall of Fame inducted both of them. Both made the 1980 All-Rookie team and were selected to 12 All-Star teams.
When it comes to head-to-head competition, Magic receives a minor advantage. Compared to Bird, who never led the league in any statistical category, he won five NBA titles to Bird’s three, and he also led the league in assists four times.
Magic was the best point guard in the league in his peak, and his primary skill sets were his height and court vision. His inability to make an outside shot was his lone true weakness, which harmed him in today’s match.
In addition to being a skilled shooter, Larry Bird possessed a competitive fire that no one else outside of Michael Jordan could equal. With just 115 games played in the final two seasons of his career, Bird’s durability was the only true weakness in his game.
Magic was one of the best passers in the game, but his inability to shoot outside would cause him problems in the modern game. That would be Bird’s forte.
Bird has a lifetime 3-point percentage of 40.1%, which is the primary reason we are going with him. In contrast to today’s modern sniper Klay Thompson (41.9%), he tried slightly under two shots per game during his career, but it would not be out of the question to see him make three.
The NBA wing players of today would struggle to match up with him due to his versatility. At 6’9″ and 220 pounds, his peak physical stature would scare undersized forwards. The two finest perimeter defenders in the game, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, would likely struggle to stop Bird from getting open for shots if she were to screen.
