Here’s a Team That Changed Face of Game

It’s time to rewrite the book on the all-time All-NBA team.

This brilliant idea came to me recently when I sat under the Laker basket at the Forum and watched Earvin (Magic) Johnson coming at me in living 3-D.

Usually when I go to a Laker game, I am seated in the rafters, in the main press section. No complaint. Chick Hearn sits up there. You can really see the plays unfold, watch the entire court. Great seats if you’re a scout. I’m not a scout. I can’t even read a compass.

But at the Lakers’ game against the Houston Rockets, I lucked out and drew a seat on the baseline press row, normally reserved for the reporters who cover every game.

I had forgotten what a different sport it is when you’re 2 feet away. The players sweat, curse, bleed, bellow, whine, punch, gouge, slap, grab and elbow. Some of them even play dirty.

They also do remarkable things, such as making baskets while their defender is doing all of the above.

The great thing about the end-court, front-row seat is that it is the best place in the world from which to view the most exciting sports play in the world--the Lakers’ fast break. Therefore, it is a great place to watch Magic Johnson operate.

Magic’s teammates call him Buck, ever since he was a rookie and Norm Nixon referred to him as the young buck. For a different reason, the name still fits. Other point guards--like Isiah Thomas and John Stockton--resemble pesky little bugs, dodging and darting. Magic, in wildlife terms, is more of a runaway buck, crashing through the forest.

He pounds the ball, he lowers a shoulder, he whirls and twirls. He directs traffic with one hand and slaps away his defender’s hands with the other. The ball dribbles itself.

Against the Rockets, Magic had 17 points, 18 assists and 13 rebounds. Routine game.

What did surprise me that day, though, was that on at least three occasions, Magic threw a pass that caught a teammate unawares. Ten years into his NBA career, it would seem that there would be no way Johnson could still surprise a Laker with a pass.

You play on Magic’s team, there are 2 cardinal rules:

1. Move.

2. Look.

In fact, that’s the entire Laker play book. Just kidding, Riley.

But the Lakers know that you must look for the ball when you’re not open. The traditional basketball definition of open is Greek to Johnson. When you’re on the court with Magic, you’re like a truck-stop greasy spoon--always open.

“He never fools me,” Byron Scott said. “One pass he threw to Mychal (Thompson) today was unbelievable. I could not believe it got through. But my first year, I learned that you always watch him.”

It doesn’t happen often, but that afternoon Magic caught Thompson, A.C. Green and James Worthy by surprise. They knew they had goofed. They knew Magic knew. And they knew that he knew that they knew, so they knew it was OK.

“They’ll tell me, ‘I’ll get the next one, Buck,’ ” Magic said.

Since the Lakers won the game easily, Magic could chuckle about the minor mix-ups.

“I’m thinking, ‘After all these years, they should know me,’ ” Johnson said. “But hey, it happens. I’m making passes we hadn’t did in a while.”

Is he still inventing passes this late in his career?

“You don’t be satisfied,” Magic said. “You’re always looking for ways to improve.”

And seemingly he has improved his game this season. There’s probably not much doubt now that Magic belongs on the all-time All-NBA starting five. In fact, this might be a good time to revise the entire team.

So I will.

Criteria? My team has to consist of guys who not only stunned and excelled, but who raised the entire game to a new level for everyone. Each, in a different way, invented the wheel.

My team:

Elgin Baylor, F. Translated playground flash and flair into NBA language. Opened the sport to a whole new style. Paved the way for Dr. J. This is no all-nostalgia team, by the way; Baylor’s game would hold up today.

Larry Bird, F. Individual statistics, team results, style, intensity. It breaks my heart to leave Dr. J off the team, but nobody said this was going to be easy.

Wilt Chamberlain, C. So dominating it was scary. Because of Wilt, they widened the key, changed the rules, finally succeeded in holding him to 50 points a game one season. The NBA game is better today, of course. Bring Wilt back in his prime right now and he’d only score 45 a game.

Michael Jordan, G. While everyone else was trying to invent the wheel, Jordan showed up with a radial tire. Not a team player? We won’t know until he gets a team. Look, I don’t want to hear any rebuttals or equal-time pleas for Oscar or Jerry. Just roll the film.

Earvin Johnson, G. A blend of Joe Montana and Minnesota Fats. Magic’s personal view of a basketball game must be something like Dali’s personal view of clocks.

If you don’t like my team, pick your own. Meet you at the gym. Bring your trash and your cash.