Byron Scott got to see two of the greats up close and personal.
Scott was part of Magic Johnson‘s ‘Showtime’ Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s and won three NBA titles with the legendary point guard in the famous purple and gold.
The retired shooting guard also witnessed the meteoric rise of Michael Jordan when the young Chicago Bull transcended basketball in the ’80s and ’90s.
Scott recently invited ex NBA star Metta World Peace, formerly Ron Artest, onto his ‘Byron Scott’s Fast Break’ podcast where the pair discussed all things hoops.
At one point during the conversation, World Peace was asked who was the toughest to guard between MJ and Kobe Bryant — who Artest won an NBA title alongside with the Lakers in 2010.
“You have to throw LeBron in there [too],” the former Defensive Player of the Year said.
Scott went on to explain the similarities between Jordan and former teammate Magic, highlighting their similarities as well as their differences.
“MJ had a different mindset than any player I’ve ever played against. Just like Magic had a different mindset to any player I’ve played with.
“He [Magic] just wanted to win and didn’t care how it was done. He literally could average 30 points every game.
“He’s 6ft 9in, 230-240lbs. Point guards were 5ft-6ft back then. You couldn’t guard him.
“MJ — and Kobe was the closest thing to him — had a ‘I’m going to kill you mindset. I’m going to destroy you on the basketball court. I’m going to beat you so bad you don’t want to see me the next time we play.’
“But he loved that smoke. If you could guard him he had nothing but mad respect for you.
“You can’t guard him guard him, but if you can give him hell, he got nothing but mad respect for you.
“His defense was incredible,” Artest added, saying MJ’s defense inspired him to be a defensively minded player.
“Black Cat was off the chain, man,” Scott concurred.
‘His Airness’ entered The Association in 1984 off the back of a national title in college, but the NBA was a different step up and still very much Magic Johnson and Larry Bird‘s world.
Magic and Bird dominated the 1980s, winning eight championships between them (five Lakers, three Celtics), and reinvigorating the NBA on a global scale.
By 1991, Jordan was ‘the man’ while Bird and Magic were in the twilight of their careers. MJ and Magic faced each other in that year’s NBA Finals, in what was Jordan’s first appearance and Magic’s last.
The Bulls would win the series, 4–1. Jordan averaged 31.2 points on 56 percent shooting to go along with 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals en route to his first NBA Finals MVP Award.
A year later, MJ, Magic, and Bird eventually got to team up when they suited up for Team USA at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, although co-captain Bird only played a bit part role.
The iconic ‘Dream Team’ captured a gold medal that summer and Bird retired later that year, admitting to Johnson, “Magic, you know, you and I were then, and Michael Jordan is now.”
Bird was right. Jordan’s Bulls won two separate three-peats in the 1990s — the first between 1991-1993 and the second between 1996-1998.
No. 23 went a perfect 6-0 in NBA Finals, winning six Finals MVPs and cementing his status as the greatest to ever do it.
