Magic Johnson explains why Isiah Thomas was left off the Dream Team | First Take

You are the perfect person to answer this question in light of what we have seen in this documentary is that your way of putting to bed this notion that Michael Jordan himself played a role in Isaiah not being on the Olympic

dream

team

and more It's more important than that, years and years later, when you hear Isaiah say that's the only thing missing from his resume and how hurt he still is about it. What are you saying? Well, let me start with Isaiah

first

. I know he's hurt, I mean, he told her. be like that because when you know you're supposed to be on a

team

, the

dream

team, and he knows that we went on and did something special and he wasn't a part of that and that's the best basketball team ever put together and during that time he was surely one of those top 10 players, so it's going to bother him, but what I don't want to happen is that those two guys, Isaiah Thomas and Michael Jordan, you know, they're still going to have problems with each other today.

You know, everyone I'm almost 60. Look, I'm 60. So we have to leave behind that there are more important things in life. Now there are more important things in life than what happened. You know, 20 years ago,

magic

, let me,

magic

, let me throw this at you because Max and I. I got into this debate last week and I know Max is eager to say it. I don't know if he asked you just because I had technical difficulties. Max is saying that he was close between Stockton and Isaiah. He would have

take

n Isaiah over here but john stockton and isaiah were close to me and most of the basketball people I know when you respect john stockton a lot he was a hall of famer he was a hall of famer he was great but there is levels in this magic

johnson

and john stockton and isaiah

thomas

was not on the same damn level magic

johnson

take

s the court basketball icon I need an answer to that question about the comparison between this is very easy, there was no comparison with isaiah

thomas

to get there could Take over a game both by scoring wide as well as controlling the game as a point guard, there has never been a point guard that can do what Isaiah could do in terms of whether he could take over the game in the fourth quarter and win you the game. .

John Stockton didn't have that kind of skill his skill was more controlling the game running that amazing pick-and-roll game with Carl Malone also uh John was tough he was a great defensive player but he didn't have what Isaiah had in terms of being able to throw him the ball to isaiah there in the corner and say: go one by one and he will get you a basket. I saw it personally, personally, there was no way John Stockton could score 25 points in one quarter in the NBA Finals, he just didn't have that kind of ability. but he's still a hall of famer, don't take anything away from john stockton, you know, but isaiah was a special man, people came to see isaiah play and uh, he led his team to back-to-back championships, you know, That's hard to do now.

The Utah Jazz had their chance, but they came up short the times they made it to the NBA Finals because they didn't have that guy who could take over the game, only Carl Malone could score like that, but they didn't have the other players. but isaiah thomas was special, he won in college, he won in the nba and the guy is super smart too. He is a great businessman. He returned and graduated from Indiana. He also went and got it. I think he got the master's degree from him too. isaiah is special, special basketball player, special person, magic, i agree with you that i mean me and i would ultimately also pick isaiah because of what you just described, he could take over a game , he could do it through an injury and the bottom line is that he won. two championships and stockton had his opportunities on big teams and didn't make it and, in my opinion, there is a dividing line there, however, stockton was an NBA defensive player five times he was doubling Isaiah's total assists.

I'm not trying to listen to Car Malone. pick and roll that doesn't double the euro that doesn't go from seven to fourteen a game he was at his best at the time of the dream team when isaiah wasn't and I know you were actually out of the nba at that time and Larry Bird was in his last season as if he wasn't the same either and it's a legacy more than anything the inclusion of some guys on the dream team, but Isaiah was much bigger than Stockton, that would represent Stockton and was a much better bet. shooter than isaiah, it was easier for all of you to be around than isaiah looking at him now even though you feel bad for isaiah because i agree isaiah should have been on that team but looking at him now it was the wrong choice to take stockton En In other words, if you had to do it all over again, you still have to experience it with those same guys back then, what John Stockton brought to the team and the locker room.

Would you change everything and put Isaiah in place of John Stockton? If you had the ability to do it now, again, it has to be based on the right talent and what you've accomplished and based on the talent and what Isaiah accomplished, you have to put him in this on the team now, would it be better? ? teammate than john stockton on the dream team we don't know but john stockton was a great teammate and also played very well in the olympic games so no i will never take anything away from john stockton because i played against him um, six times a year, you know, he was incredible and you're right when you think about his jump shot.

Yes, he had a better jump shot than Isaiah, but he wasn't the go-to guy at the end of games. the fourth quarter where isaiah was the go to guy now when the fourth quarter came around you guys didn't need that yeah he got better he could hit the big shot to win the game for the pistons and we saw it time and time again. Isaiah scored 50 points 45 points we didn't see jon stockton do that and that's what we're talking about