Magic Johnson is well-known for his jovial and friendly personality. However, as Dominique Wilkins revealed, he was quite the strategic competitor as well, always looking to get a leg-up on his opposition. In fact, if the Atlanta icon is to be believed, the 65-year-old once even went as far as to send a woman to his room ahead of a game.
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Wilkins recently sat down with All The Smoke‘s Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. During the interview, he recounted his experience of playing against Johnson during his rookie year.
The 64-year-old revealed that once his team got to the hotel, he immediately headed for his room to rest prior to the game against the Lakers. And just as he did, a green-eyed woman showed up to his door.
The man behind the woman’s arrival was apparently Magic Johnson. Wilkins said,
“I’ll tell you what he did my rookie year. So we check in the hotel. And, I’ve been in my room about 30 seconds, man. I had my bag, so, you know, didn’t need anybody bringing my bags. I hear a knock at the door.”
“I look at the peephole, this tall lady with brown hair, green eyes. I’m like, ‘who the hell is this?!’… She says ‘Compliments of Earvin Magic Johnson’. Scared the hell out of me. I said ‘Nooooo'”
Magic Johnson’s tactic here most certainly seems a bit underhanded. However, back in those days, NBA players got away with a lot more than that. And it appears that the Lakers legend took full advantage of it.
However, Wilkins did not seem to have any ill feelings towards Magic. In fact, prior to this story, he even paid him some massive compliments, stating,
“To me, he [Magic Johnson] is the greatest point guard ever because of what he did. First of all, in the conference, that Western Conference, man they had some monsters out there. And they dominated! Dominated ’em! And Magic Johnson brought a different level of basketball to LA that they had never seen. It was that Showtime Lakers. That’s all Magic!”
Magic Johnson may not have been solely responsible for the Lakers’ success. However, he was a massive part of the ‘Showtime Lakers’ brand. So, it is hard to disagree with Dominique Wilkins’ opinion on the Lakers legend.
