NBA Holds Key to Match-Up of Magic, Michael

Promoters are hoping for a one-on-one match-up of basketball giants Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, but NBA officials could foul the deal by withholding approval.

The players, Jordan for the Chicago Bulls and Johnson for the Lakers, have already agreed to the battle of the giants.

Representatives of Jordan and Johnson have met periodically with the NBA and the players’ association and remain optimistic that they will approve the charity event, scheduled tentatively for the last week in June, said Ross Levinsohn, a New York-based spokesman for Jordan.

“Our last meeting with the NBA and players’ association was last Thursday,” Levinsohn said. “We’ve been in semi-constant contact.”

But the NBA remains tight-lipped about whether it intends to approve the request.

“An event such as this--like any other basketball-related exhibition--requires approval by the NBA and the players’ association,” said NBA spokesman Terry Lyons in a telephone interview Wednesday from New York. “This event has not been approved by either.”

Lyons said a player’s contract “specifically states that any basketball event or competition has to be approved by the NBA and the players’ association. From my understanding, the players’ association isn’t behind this and the NBA isn’t as well.”

But he added, “I don’t know where the next 18 months will take us.”

Charles Grantham, executive director of the players’ association, said, “We are looking at the proposal, and we will make a decision at some point in the future.”

The one-on-on would consist of two 15-minute halves to be broadcast on pay TV by Choice Entertainment of Los Angeles.

The winner would receive $1 million, with any additional money going to charities of the players’ choices, Levinsohn said.