This is getting ridiculous

First, Michael Jordan said that unlike LeBron James, he never would have teamed up with another elite player, conveniently overlooking the fact that he won all those championships playing with Scottie Pippen, who was named one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time during the 1990s Bulls dynasty.

Now, Yahoo reports that Magic Johnson "says he could never imagine joining forces with other huge stars during his career."

Magic Johnson won NBA championships playing with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six-time NBA MVP, scored more points than anyone else in NBA history, 19-time all-star, probably one of the ten best players ever) and James Worthy (seven-time All Star, also named one of the 50 greatest NBA players ever.)

LeBron James, by contrast, spent his career in Cleveland playing with the likes of Delonte West. So it seems a little hollow for players like Jordan and Johnson to suggest that LeBron lacks their competitive fire. Players who, through nothing more than their own good luck, played for teams that surrounded them with superstars probably shouldn't criticize a player for doing on his own what his front office was incapable of. In any case, their comments would be a bit more believable had Johnson or Jordan left his star-studded team as a free agent in order to prove he could win on his own. (Not to mention the fact that Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan never had the opportunity James had, so they really can't be certain what they would have done.)

Oh, and Michael Jordan won his championships with Phil Jackson as his coach; Magic Johnson had benefit of Pat Riley. Mike Brown may end up in their league, but I wouldn't count on it.

Finally, just in case Larry Bird joins the chorus: Bird played with all-time greats Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish and Dennis Johnson. Those mid-80s Celtics teams featured four Hall of Famers in addition to Bird.

UPDATE: Via ESPN's Henry Abbott, here's what Magic Johnson said in 1991 about the possibility of being drafted by the Chicago Bulls: "I wouldn't have played here. ... The only reason I came out was to play with Kareem and the Lakers." So ... yeah.

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