Magic Johnson has the utmost respect for Michael Jordan.
Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan are two legends of the game and over the years, they had some pretty incredible battles. Of course, Magic and Larry Bird came into the league before Jordan, and when MJ was a rookie, Bird and Magic were in the midst of some pretty incredible NBA battles. Eventually, Johnson and Bird took a backseat to MJ who started to win championships and a pretty remarkable rate.
While speaking to Bakari Sellers for The Ringer, Johnson was asked about when he knew it was officially the Jordan Era of basketball. Unsurprisingly, Johnson brought it back to 1991 when Jordan won his first title against the Lakers, in just five games.
“He came up on the right side and he came up with the tongue out,” Johnson recalled. “We all jumped, we thought we had him. And in mid-air he switched it to the left hand. We said ‘you know what…passing of the torch.’ I told him it’s your turn. It’s your time now.”
Johnson also went on to talk about Jordan’s brief retirement and ability to come back and win three more championships. Needless to say, Magic was amazed by what Jordan was able to do, and his six rings will certainly live on forever.
