NBA Draft: 30 greatest draft picks in league history
20. . Point Guard. Michigan State Spartans, 1979 (No. 1). Magic Johnson. 3. player
Greatest NBA Draft picks in league history: Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
In terms of direct comparison, it may be impossible to decide between Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird. Yet in the category that matters most Johnson pulled ahead, bringing home five championships for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Michigan native starred at Michigan State, where he not only won a title, but countless accolades and national popularity as well. He was the No. 1 pick in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would not only play his entire career, but contribute as a coach and in a front-office role.
On the Lakers, Johnson teamed up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to dominate the 1980s, reaching the NBA Finals in his first season (a win over the Philadelphia 76ers) and a total of nine times in the next 12 seasons. Magic mirrored his foil in Bird: 12 NBA All-Star nods, 10 All-NBA selections, three MVP awards. In fact, their career Box Plus-Minus is somehow exactly the same at 7.2.
Johnson helped bring celebrity back to the NBA, and he was the conductor of the “Showtime” Lakers. In the 25 years before Magic, the Lakers won just one title (1972), despite 10 trips to the NBA Finals. In the next 30, they won 10. His contributions to the Lakers franchise can never be truly quantified, and he is the greatest draft pick in the history of their storied franchise.