“You Can’t Have Five Kareem Abdul-Jabbars….five Magic Johnson”: Three-Time NBA Champion and Lakers Great Stresses on the Importance of NCAA Basketball

College plays a huge role in the overall development of an athlete looking to excel in the NBA. Unlike LeBron James and other notable stars who joined the league straight out of high school, a wide majority of NBA stars showcased their talents in the NCAA prior to joining the NBA. Recently, a Los Angeles Lakers great and three-time NBA champion chimed in on the importance of college in an athlete’s life, and why everybody can’t make it.

James Worthy joined his former Lakers teammate Michael Cooper to talk in length about their time in the league. During one of the segments of the podcast, Worthy drew an interesting Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar example to make a very candid point.

Lakers great uses Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar examples to make a point

Michael Cooper and James Worthy represented the Showtime Lakers for quite some time and have played with both Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Despite having arguably the two best players in the league, both Worthy and Cooper knew the roles they had to play in the team.Because the Lakers couldn’t win with just Magic and Kareem.

When asked what separated the athletes who made it to the league from the ones who didn’t, Worthy talked about ‘making sacrifices’ and having a good support system behind you. Moreover, he said, “We understood what the coaches wanted. You can’t have, you can’t have five Kareem Abdul-Jabbars on the court. You can’t have five, you know Magic Johnson.” 

He also asserted how Cooper played in defense more often than not despite being a prolific scorer himself. “I remember you dropping 42 and in a game even though you could score, your chances were better if you go out there and lock somebody up”, said James Worthy. Additionally, the 7-time NBA All-Star also stressed the importance of college basketball.

He added, “Kareem had four years of college, you had, you know, three or four years. I had three. So I think that helped getting the science and the theory now in college. So you didn’t have to be taught as much when you got to the pro.”

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Like numerous other athletes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson were already huge stars in college. In fact, Magic Johnson’s epic faceoff against Larry Bird in the 1979 NCAA finals set the precedence for years to come.

How good were Kareem and Magic Johnson in college?

Magic Johnson played as a point guard for Michigan State and was already one of the biggest prospects in the sport during that time. In just two seasons of college basketball, Magic played 62 games and averaged 17.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.9 assists. Thanks to such numbers and accolades, Johnson was picked as the #1 overall pick.

On the other hand, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar represented UCLA and was one of their best players. The five-time NBA champion averaged 26.4 points and 15.5 rebounds while in college. Similar to Magic Johnson, he was chosen as the #1 overall pick in the 1969 draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

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