Commentary : Magic and Michael Are Certainly in a Class by Themselves

The weather has turned hot, but outside at the ballpark is not the place to be. The place to be is inside, at the arena. Inside, watching the MJs.

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

Magic wears No. 32. Michael wears No. 23. See, you can even reverse their numbers. But no one can reverse or downplay their impact on the game, the sport and those of us mesmerized by their undying brillance.

At the moment, they are the two greatest basketball players in the world. And maybe the two greatest basketball players of all time.

Yes, Bird-watchers, Larry is still loved. But he may never be the same after last season’s surgery on both Achilles’ tendons. He’ll be 33 Dec. 7. Besides, he’s a forward. As great as a forward can be -- and in his prime, Bird was the greatest forward in history -- he simply can’t dominate the way a point guard can because, unlike a point guard, he doesn’t have the ball all the time.

As Magic and Michael seem to.

If you were starting a team, who would you choose?

If history is the guide, I’d choose Magic. When he added an outside shot and three-point range to his already devastating repertoire, he surpassed Bird.

What can’t Magic do? Never forget that, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stayed home in Los Angeles with a sprained ankle, the Lakers finished off the stunned 76ers in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA championship series in Philadelphia when Magic, then a rookie who should have been finishing his junior year at Michigan State, moved to center and had 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.

Magic has been carrying the Lakers ever since. Some people would have you believe it’s no big deal, saying he’s had plenty to work with. Forget it.

What he’s had is an over-the-hill center (Kareem), a fastbreak forward (James Worthy) who gets most of his points on layups via Magic assists and an inconsistent shooting guard (Byron Scott) who hasn’t been guarded honestly since he entered the league, because who’d be left to double-team Magic?

And those are the Lakers’ greats. Contrast that supporting cast with Bird’s. Kevin McHale is one of the greatest forwards in history and a strong candidate for the Hall of Fame. Robert Parish is an excellent center -- in this decade, you’d certainly prefer having him on your team to Kareem.

This Celtics trio formed the best front line in basketball history. Throw in an excellent guard and a great clutch player (Dennis Johnson) and a good guard (Danny Ainge), and the case is made that Bird had a more talented supporting cast than Magic.

Yet Magic’s Lakers have won five championships to Bird’s three. Magic is the greatest passer ever. He makes everyone on his team twice as good as they’d be without him because he gets them the ball exactly when and where they want it.

He’s the best rebounding guard ever. His drives to the basket are unstoppable. He beats you with the three-pointer and hook shot with equal facility. He led the league in free-throw percentage. He’s the greatest point guard ever.

Unless (or until?) Michael Jordan supplants him.

Bulls Coach Doug Collins switched Jordan to point guard at midseason. At the time, some people thought point guard, with all the added ballhandling, might not be good for Jordan or the Bulls. Sort of the way hosting the “Tonight Show” might not have been good for Johnny Carson or NBC.

Jordan is the most electrifying performer in sports, but, because his various Chicago supporting casts have been so unremarkable, some people who put winning first were reluctant to place him on the highest pedestal with Magic and Bird, opining perhaps Jordan’s incredible abilities somehow detracted from what coaches call “the team concept.” And, therefore, winning.

I dare anyone to say that now. With Jordan at point guard, the Bulls are the closest thing to a one-man team the NBA conference finals have ever seen. Yet here they are, having upset the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks, two teams that manhandled them in the regular season. All because of Mr. Jordan.

Sunday they upset the Detroit Pistons at Auburn Hills, Mich., in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern final. The Pistons were undefeated (7-0) in the playoffs and 34-3 since Feb. 28 until they lost Sunday’s opener. Where will it end?

Jordan, despite so much evidence to the contrary, is human. He has to get tired. But he’s already made his point(s). In the last several weeks, he has toyed with triple-teams attempted by some of the world’s greatest athletes. He has made them look like fools.

He has also made fools of those misguided “purists” who view Jordan more as a sideshow than a dedicated winner because he jumps so much higher and more spectacularly than the low-flying Bird and Magic.

Jordan is a better defensive player than Magic -- or just about anyone else, for that matter. And, unlike Magic the scorer, Jordan cannot be stopped.

Who would you choose? The media voted Magic league MVP. Jordan won the award in 1987-88.

You can argue about who is better, but you can’t argue this: Neither the Lakers nor the Bulls would be playing in their respective conference finals if not for Magic and Michael. Each is providing his version of the greatest show on earth, and we are twice-blessed to be able to sit back and enjoy.