Magic Johnson over Michael Jordan is an unpopular opinion in the GOAT debate. While one is considered arguably the greatest shooting guard ever, the other one is perceived as arguably the greatest point guard. However, when it came to the greatest NBA player ever, Jadakiss had a clear favorite against the popular opinion.

In a recent video by COMPLEX, the 49-year-old rapper was asked who his GOAT NBA player is. “It got to be Magic first and then MJ. And Magic is MJ’s greatest point guard ever. So he can’t get mad at me for picking Magic.” This comes after Jadakiss, on 7PM in Brooklyn, opened up about his experience at a Team Jordan retreat in Puerto Rico. He mentioned how, during a gathering, the drinks were almost flowing. And amid all of this, he was offered a cigar.

“They lined me, man… Gave me a $30,000 cigar that killed me… They gave me the Jordan six rings…” the rapper had said. Now this was when Jadakiss had been smoking a cigar for just a few months, so he wasn’t expecting whatever came his way. Not that his opinion of the GOAT debate is influenced by this incident, but Jadakiss’s choice does raise some interesting points.

Well Michael Jordan was a scoring machine. His career average of 30.1 points per game still tops the NBA record books. But when you look at Johnson, it’s clear he wasn’t about racking up points the same way. Instead, Buck made his teammates better with his legendary passing. While Mike has the highest career scoring average, Buck has the most career assists per game (11.2).

Coming to the shooting efficiency, while Mike was more aggressive, taking on the role of the go-to scorer, Johnson was more careful with his shot selection. His field goal percentage was a solid 52%. However, when it comes to defense, there’s really no comparison.

MJ’s resume speaks for itself—Defensive Player of the Year, 3x steals leader. And just an all-around defensive nightmare for opponents. Magic? Well, let’s just say defense wasn’t his strongest suit. But before you jump to conclusions based on any of the facts above, you should know what the two players think of each other when it comes to the GOAT debate.

During a conversation with SLAM, Mike once faced the question of where he finds place among legends like Magic and Larry Bird. “I don’t put myself above them… we’re all on parallel ground here,” he said. He even admitted that playing against them early in his career helped shape his game. It’s clear that despite MJ being the majority favorite for the GOAT debate, he does not consider himself above Johnson. But what about the LA Lakers icon?

Magic Johnson has another player in his GOAT list but with Michael Jordan at top

Johnson has never been shy about his GOAT pick—MJ. “LeBron is special too in his own right too, and people shouldn’t forget that either, but when it’s all said and done, if you come at me and ask me, that’s who I am going to with and it’s MJ,” Buck said on the Dan Patrick Show. 

The Lakers icon has said it before, and during an appearance on NH ExperienceTV, he didn’t hesitate to say it again. But here’s where it gets interesting. While MJ remains at the top of Johnson’s list, he believes there’s one player who comes close—Kobe Bryant. Johnson praised Kobe’s worldwide impact, calling him the second-best player after MJ.

“Offensively, he’s the second-best dude at that two-three guard, two small forward position behind Michael Jordan,” Magic said. It’s clear that both Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan hold each other at apex positions in their viewpoints and GOAT considerations. So, despite the 40YO rapper’s comment, any comparison between the two players is redundant.