Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were two of the winningest players in the NBA until The Terminator showed up

Akash Murty | 22/08/2022
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were two of the winningest players in the NBA until The Terminator showed up

The superstars of the 80s, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had the highest win percentages in the NBA before Kawhi Leonard took over.

Bill Russell in the 60s and Michael Jordan in the 90s might have been the two most dominant players when it came to wins in Playoffs and championship games. Russell won 11 championships in his 13-year NBA career, whereas Jordan won all the six Finals he appeared in.

But even they didn’t come close to the superstars of the 80s — Larry Bird and Magic Johnson when it came to winning throughout the season.

We all remember the mesmerizing duo for taking the Lakers-Celtics rivalry and the NBA as a whole to greater heights, but they also did have a hunger for winning which made them who they were.

While creating the greatest rivalry of all time as they went at each other as the top teams from the East and West, Bird and Magic established themselves as two of the winningest players of all time. But there is a man who beat them both to it.

Also read: StatMuse reveals NBA players with most 1000+ assists seasons and there is no Chris Paul or Jayson Kidd

 

Kawhi Leonard has the highest win percentage, higher than Larry Bird and Magic Johnson

Winning almost 3/4th of the games they appear in, Magic and Bird are the #2 and #3 ranked players among the NBA players with the highest win percentage (min. 500 games). StatMuse revealed the player with the highest win percentage, and it’s The Claw who leads the list.

We all know that there is no beating a fit and healthy Kawhi Leonard who has played with another top winner, Tim Duncan and has won championships against the best of the game of the last decade – LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

Leonard is as offensively skilled as Bird and Magic and is an All-Defensive First team and DPOY level defender when he is not dealing with injuries. But for the past few seasons, he has been dealing with them more often than not.

Also read: Phil Jackson would have to flip a coin if he had to pick between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant

Let us hope he is all ready this year because the Clippers clearly will be among the championship contenders with him on the team. Without him fully available, though, they will be in shambles like last season.

 

 

Post Edited By: Akash Murty
Kawhi Leonard Larry Bird Magic Johnson

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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