Magic Johnson skillfully rips Anthony Edwards for saying old-school players lacked skill
Magic Johnson is a champion many times over.
As such, the Lakers legend has no interest in the opinion of any player with a championship résumé that pales in comparison to his.
Even if that player is one of the biggest names in the NBA today.
Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was recently asked by the Wall Street Journal how he thinks basketball is different now compared to older generations.
“I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it,” Edwards said. “They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. [Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that’s why when they saw Kobe [Bryant], they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But now everybody has skill.”
Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson’s sports empire has grown to include the Dodgers, Sparks, LAFC and Washington Commanders. He also became the fourth billionaire athlete.
At an event last week at Yaamava Resort & Casino in San Bernardino County, Johnson was asked by ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith for his response to Edwards’ comment.
“I don’t never respond to a guy that’s never won a championship,” Johnson said.
You can ignore the double negative in Johnson’s answer — he was most definitely shutting down the confident, outspoken 23-year-old player who helped the Timberwolves reach the Western Conference finals last season for only the second time in team history.
Johnson, 65, continued with his non-response.
“There’s not nothing to really say,” the L.A. icon said. “He didn’t win a college championship. I don’t know if he even won a high school championship.”
The drafting of Magic Johnson signaled the birth of the Lakers’ Showtime dynasty. But what if Jerry West had gotten his way in the 1979 NBA draft?
Edwards actually did win a state title in Georgia with Atlanta’s Holy Spirit Preparatory in 2018. The two-time NBA All-Star also won a gold medal with the U.S. national team at the Paris Olympics earlier this month.
Still, that’s nothing compared to the list of championships Johnson had compiled by age 23. He won a state title in Michigan with Everett High in 1977, an NCAA championship with Michigan State in 1979 and two of his five NBA titles with the Showtime Lakers in 1980 and 1982.
It’s possible Johnson also was irked by another comment Edwards made to the Wall Street Journal.
“I don’t know too many guys who won a championship super young, besides Kobe,” Edwards said, apparently unaware that Johnson won titles during his first and third years in the league. “Other than him, everybody took years and years of losing to get there. I just want to keep taking the next step.”
Johnson also claimed a gold medal at the Barcelona Games in 1992, the first year NBA players were allowed to participate in the Olympics, and has won a total of eight championships as a partial owner for LAFC, the Dodgers, the Sparks and the Lakers (five times before selling his stake in the team in 2010).
Magic Johnson recalls his first meeting with Lakers legend Jerry West, who died Wednesday morning, plus their relationship as player and mentor.
Another Hall of Famer and former NBA champion also took issue with Edwards’ comment about old-school players’ supposed lack of skills. Isiah Thomas, who won titles with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990, reposted part of Edwards’ quote on X last week and wrote, “Propaganda works, so be careful what you choose to believe.”
Two days later, Thomas reposted another thread on the same topic and wrote, “The only skill ‘emphasized’ more is the 3-point shot, creating the illusion that the athlete and skills have magically evolved into another athletic species.”
In response to a comment suggesting players today might be “faster and stronger,” Thomas wrote: “They look faster today because of the rule change, which prohibits holding and hand-checking to impede progress. In football, for example, wide receivers can play in the middle of the field without fear and rack up more yardage. Today, the rules favor quarterbacks and receivers.”
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
