After Years of Friendship, Michael Jordan Claims Magic Johnson Was “Jealous” Because He Wanted MJ’s Massive Success

The NBA 75 anniversary gave limelight to friendships between the legends. One that stood out was the bond between Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. The two had several memorable moments throughout the ceremony. But according to MJ, before the love, there was jealousy coming in from Magic.

Magic and Jordan share a special bond. It all started off as rivals. However, they came out as brothers when they teamed up on the 1992 Dream Team. Notably, Johnson and Bird passed on the mantle to Jordan, who proved himself to be the best player in the world. But even these two close friends started off on a bitter note.

In a recent interview, Jordan revealed how Magic wanted to be like him and was jealous.

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The start of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson

While speaking to the Ringer, Jordan went through the 1985 All-star game. According to reports, Magic and Isiah Thomas had an agreement to go at each other. On the other hand, George Gervin was assigned to Jordan and kept him to just 7 points. This angered Mike, and he sought revenge.

For two whole days, he sat in his Chicago apartment thinking of revenge. But his then-agent suggested he rather get even, and His Airness did just that.

Jordan went on to drop 49 points on Thomas and the Pistons just 2 days after the game. In addition, for years he kept his relationship with Magic extremely formal. He would choose handshakes over hugs or high fives because he didn’t trust the Lakers legend. While speaking about the moment, Jordan felt it was jealousy.

He said: “Well, I understood it to be jealousy. And you know, I think a lot of it came from—Magic Johnson should have been Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan. He had the smile, he had everything, he had the marketability. He had championships.”

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While their start was shaky, they have grown to be great friends. Years of competing and eventually teaming up brought out many similarities. Now, they have tons of respect for each other with no bad blood holding them back.