Throughout his career, Magic Johnson has done his best to be better than Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. The famous Lakers point guard was driven by the desire to become the greatest player of all time and told what he was doing to achieve his goals vis-à-vis the two legends…
When he was on the NBA courts, Magic Johnson was literally obsessed with becoming the best of all time. For a few years, he also evolved in the company of certain players who also took up a lot of space in this debate, including Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. Both men shocked fans and media season after season with their incredible performances.
Three times MVP during the 80s, Magic did not necessarily have much to envy to its two main competitors. However, it was difficult to stand out as the islands were all extremely strong. But that wasn’t a problem for the point guard, who turned it into motivation instead. And everyone in the California locker room knew…
Honest Magic on Larry Bird and Jordan!
For many years, Pat Riley coached Magic Johnson at the Lakers. From 1981 to 1990, the two men had time to create a strong relationship but above all to get to know each other by heart. The coach knew his star was obsessed with doing better than Larry Bird and Michael Jordan and therefore used a very particular technique. The former leader had also explained it at a press conference:
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He knew that only Larry Bird and Michael Jordan mattered to me. I wanted to top them, so he would draw the systems on the board and say to his assistant, “Did you see what Larry Bird did tonight? Wow, 40 points 12 rebounds and 7 assists”. And I was sitting right next to it. Then he said, “I can’t believe Jordan scored 60 points tonight, 60! “. He did this without ever looking me in the eye but he made sure I had their stats in mind.
He was doing this to get me to do a big triple-double and I was doing it because I was angry to see what they had achieved. That’s how he motivated me. He came to provoke me to keep Larry Bird and Michael Jordan in mind. (…) Join them? Even when I’m playing games, I never try to get all the best guys with me. I just try to go with guys who want to play. Yeah, let’s go. I love that underdog feeling. Come on, let’s beat these guys.
Ingeniously, Pat Riley succeeded in motivating his star by ensuring that she was well and truly aware of the craziness that Larry Legend and His Airness were unleashing. We must also believe that thanks to the stubborn side of Magic, this technique has borne fruit more than once. Be that as it may, the three men offered incredible performances for several years that will remain in legend forever…
Poke a star’s ego and you’ll quickly see results. Pat Riley understood this very quickly and often used this technique to galvanize Magic Johnson. The former Lakers point guard was obsessed by overtaking Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and no doubt that thanks to that, he only got better.
2023-09-03 18:20:00
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