In the recent episode of the Gil’s Arena Show, former Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings player Rashad McCants came up with a hot take. He suggested replacing Magic Johnson with Tim Duncan from the list of Top 5 players. Gilbert Arenas was not having it with this take and seemed extremely baffled. Indeed, undermining the arguably greatest point guard in the league’s history with such a statement would have any fan of the league astounded.
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While talking about Victor Wembanyama’s potential to become the greatest Spurs legend, the crew discussed Tim Duncan being an underrated superstar despite being a 3x Finals MVP and winning five NBA championships. When Arenas asked McCants who he would remove from the Top 5 list of NBA legends to include Tim Duncan, the former Timberwolves player unhesitantly answered,
“We don’t need Magic.”
Arena’s list of Top 5 players included LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and Shaquille O’Neal. Adding Duncan to his list, McCants said, “You said Kobe, LeBron, Mike, Timmy (Tim Duncan), Shaq. We don’t need Magic…We don’t need him in the top five!” This take can baffle many NBA fans, including 3x All-Star Gilbert Arenas, who couldn’t believe what he was hearing. However, McCants had an explanation for the same.
McCants believes Duncan’s greatness in the league’s history exceeds that of Magic Johnson. Reasoning his take, McCants added, “I feel Tim Duncan’s resume is better than Magic’s. I feel like the skill set, resume, what he has done, I’d put Magic at six.”
Note that Johnson is also a 5x NBA champion and a 3x Finals MVP, similar to Duncan. However, the Showtime Lakers legend has one more league MVP title than Tim Duncan, a 2x MVP winner. Despite Johnson setting the precedent for fast-break basketball plays, McCants said he does not like seeing him in the top five list. Though Johnson had stats to rest his case, McCants still would not accept that to give the Showtime legend his due flowers.
McCants agreed to put Johnson in the Top 5 only if LeBron James never existed in the league. The panel, including Gilbert Arenas, was baffled hearing the ‘absurd’ reasonings and explanations McCants gave. With this episode, McCants definitely started a new debate for the fans to engage in. While we cannot change Rashad’s views on Magic, perhaps most of the fans would disagree with his take and definitely keep Johnson high up in their Top 5 list.
Is Tim Duncan’s resume better than Magic Johnson’s?
Tim Duncan and Magic Johnson have somewhat similar resumes from their playing careers in the NBA. Both players are legends for their respective franchises, having won five NBA championships and three Finals MVP. However, there are several categories where both the players edge over each other in their respective playing careers.
Duncan edges Johnson with more All-NBA First Team selections (10), All-NBA Team selections (15), All-Defensive Team selections (15), All-Star appearances (15), and a Rookie of the Year title. However, Johnson is ahead of Duncan with more Season MVP titles (3), assists leader titles (4), and stats leader titles (2).
Furthermore, if we were to count their averages, Tim Duncan’s 19 PPG is slightly below Magic Johnson’s 19.5 points per game. Johnson is also ahead of Duncan in assists and steals, having 11.2 APG and 1.9 steals per game compared to Duncan’s 3.0 APG and 0.7 steals per game.
Both the players have an equal amount of stats to rest their case to belong in the top 5 list. However, as evident as it may seem, Magic Johnson’s achievements in 13 seasons compared to Tim Duncan’s in 18 seasons clearly make Johnson a definite contender to remain a Top 5 basketball player of all time.
