History repeated itself in 2008 when two of the most coveted teams in the NBA, met in the NBA Finals. The Los Angeles Lakers were up against the Boston Celtics, giving fans and the older generation a taste of a long-standing rivalry over decades. But regardless of the outcome, neither team had any of their star players from their previous generation in attendance. Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson was on the team’s masthead at the time in 2008. However, he wasn’t happy over the fact that the young players were barely interested in learning anything from him.
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In the book, From When the Game Was Ours, Magic Johnson went on to talk about the difference in mentality in players from his time to the players that were in the league then. He described how players from his age would go up to older players and ask them how it all was whereas players in today’s generation thought they already knew it all.
Johnson knew that the current players in the league thought of him and other older players as old-school. What baffled him the most was the fact that they were all playing basketball and not a different game entirely.
As much as Johnson wanted to impart his knowledge to the next generation, only Derek Fisher was the one who reached out to him to ask him a few things regarding the game. Larry Bird on the other hand chose to keep his distance from the limelight as he decided to stay home in Indianapolis.
“Although Johnson was on the Lakers’ masthead, his interaction with the 2008 team was minimal because so few of the players seemed interested in his input. “I love the Lakers,” Magic said. “I’ve been through it all. In our day you went up to the old players and asked them how it was. You learned from them. “It bothers me the young guys don’t have enough respect to do that today. They feel they know it already. And the second part is, they think we’re ‘old school,’ like they are playing a different game than we did. They don’t realize basketball is basketball. The only player that’s ever asked me anything is [point guard] Derek Fisher,”: From When the Game Was Ours
Having won five NBA championships, three MVPs, and three Finals MVPs, Magic Johnson must’ve had a plethora of knowledge he could’ve imparted on the 2008 Lakers team. Unfortunately, the young players felt as if they already knew everything and did not need a helping hand.
In the end, the Celtics managed to triumph over the Lakers which may have felt even worse For Johnson, given how Magic wanted to give them a few insights on how to come out as winners.
Magic Johnson’s disappointment with the Lakers squad
Magic Johnson had already been a part of five NBA championship rosters and had seen plenty of wins around him. However, deep down, Johnson was sure that the Los Angeles Lakers would not go on to win the 2008 NBA championship and it was due to Lamar Odom.
Before Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Johnson saw Lamar Odom return to the hotel after a shopping spree, 2-3 hours before the game. This is when Johnson knew how the players were not taking it seriously.
“Johnson rode down the elevator with the Lakers coaches and informed them of what he’d seen. ‘They don’t grasp the magnitude of this moment,’ said veteran assistant Frank Hamblen. ‘They don’t understand they might never have this chance again.’”
Johnson wasn’t just disappointed in Odom but was not too happy with Kobe Bryant either who had promised to keep the team in check. Fortunately for the Lakers, the 2008 loss sparked a fire under the team and they went on to win back-to-back NBA titles in 2009 and 2010.
