“Jordan what he did paid off for him and that's what made him Michael Jordan” – Magic Johnson describes an unusual Michael Jordan routine, admits he required more pre-game prep unlike Michael Jordan
Magic Johnson was a guest on the most recent episode of “Club Shay Shay”, of the topics the two men discussed was the legendary Michael Jordan. More particularly, the men discussed Jordan’s routine before games. Michael Jordan is possibly the greatest player of all time and he also didn’t get a full night of rest before going out and dominating on the court.
"Man go to Atlantic City and gamble the man could go out and be out all night and come give you 50." - Magic Johnson
Johnson knew Jordan very well as a competitor and even faced off against in the 1991 NBA Finals. Magic was the man Jordan was chasing for years and was the best player in the league and the man with all the championships. The two men then played on the 1992 US Men’s Basketball team together on what was known at the “Dream Team”.
Magic during the interview also described Jordan being able to do things like play golf and hang out all night before the game, making him extremely rare. Johnson even compared it to himself, who he felt couldn’t do that and still be effective.
"If I tried to do that, I'd be 0 for 15, no assist, I'd be dragging and he tried to get me to do it with him right during the Dream Team." - Johnson
Both Jordan and Magic were great players that just had different approaches to their pre-game routines. It seemed to work out well for both players.
Magic Johnson x Shannon Sharpe
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Jordan begins making his mark
The 1992 US Men’s basketball team may be the greatest team ever assembled. The team was built around three players, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Bird and Johnson represented the 1980s as they won 8 of the decade's 10 championships. Jordan, coming off his second NBA title with the Bulls, represented the future.
At the time, Magic had recently retired from the NBA due to his HIV diagnosis but still felt like he was the man. The last time he played was in the 1991 NBA Finals where his Lakers fell to Jordan’s Bulls. This led to competitive practices between the players and the rest of the Olympic team.
(1992) An extremely competitive intrasquad scrimmage with team USA slowly turned into a battle between Jordan & Magic.
After the scrimmage, MJ tells Magic and Bird, "There's a new sheriff in town."
They couldn't deny it. Legendary. https://t.co/W3KWN6aEqW
The back-and-forth practices were well documented and led to determination by both Magic and Bird that there was a new man at the top of the NBA. Jordan was now the man in the league. After the Olympics, Jordan’s Bulls would go on to win the 1993 defeating “Dream Team” teammate Charles Barkley.
Jordan would then take two years off only to come back and win another three straight championships. This gave Jordan and the Bulls 6 rings for the decade and made him the new king of the league. Magic and Bird would retire during the decade, leaving for Jordan to reign.