NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson did not respond kindly to recent comments from Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, who shared his thoughts about players from past generations. During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Edwards was asked about how his generation compares to ones from the past, to which he responded by saying “Michael Jordan was the only one that really had skill.” As you can imagine that comment spread like wildfire around social media, which led to several people chiming in on Edwards’ opinion.
Johnson, a Lakers legend, gave his thoughts on the matter during a speaking appearance at an event in Los Angeles, when media personality Stephen A. Smith brought up Edwards’ comments.
“I never respond to guy that’s never won a championship,” Johnson said. “He didn’t win a college championship, I don’t know if he even won a high school championship.”
Johnson’s comments drew a big reaction from the crowd present for the event, and you could tell that while he didn’t want to give credence to what Edwards said, he did take issue with the quote. It’s true, Edwards hasn’t climbed the mountaintop in the NBA just yet, but he did just lead the Timberwolves to the Western Conference finals at just 23 years old.
With a majority of the team returning this upcoming season, the Wolves should be in a prime position to get back there and even make the NBA Finals. Edwards has only scratched the surface of his potential, and he’s only going to get better as he gains more experience in the league. And yes, Edwards also didn’t win a championship in his lone season at Georgia, but given his one season in college coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which resulted in the cancellation of March Madness that year, he never even got a shot to try and win one.
And just for the record: Edwards did in fact win a state championship in high school (and just won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics), but I doubt that matters to Johnson much.
As much as Edwards’ comments have clearly rubbed some folks the wrong way, with even Isiah Thomas chiming in on social media saying, “Propaganda works, so be careful what you choose to believe,” the rising star did admit to not being able to speak on those eras as much because he didn’t really watch much basketball from back then. That makes sense given he was born in 2001. This also isn’t the first time he’s made comments about Hall of Fame players that have raised some eyebrows. Earlier this year, when asked if Jordan could guard him, Edwards responded with an emphatic “Hell nah.” While he does consider Jordan the greatest to ever lace them up — as he said so in the same interview — Edwards’ overflowing confidence reigns supreme when comparing himself to other players from past generations.
It’s unclear if Edwards truly believes that players from the ’80s and ’90s truly lacked skill, or if he meant it just as in comparison to today. Because when comparing the two, it’s obvious to see the advancements in how basketball is played in the NBA, especially when it comes to athleticism and shooting ability. But if he actually believes players back in the day actually lacked skill in general, he’s flat out wrong. As we’ve seen countless times with the NBA, clip out any quote and it will make the rounds on social media and will surely anger players both past and present to some degree.
