Lakers News: How Magic Johnson Prompted Immortal Michael Jordan Finals Moment

It was an inadvertent MJ-to-MJ assist.

Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Fame point guard Magic Johnson may have been one year into his somewhat early retirement, working as an NBC commentator, but that didn't stop him from trash-talking the reigning king of the NBA, Chicago Bulls Hall of Fame shooting guard Michael Jordan.

In a classic anecdote, Johnson revealed to Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson of Bally Sports exactly how he inspired one of Air Jordan's signature NBA Finals games in 1992.

Michael Jordan’s shoulder shrug game was caused by Magic Johnson after the Lakers legend kicked MJ's ass in a card game the night before.

Magic Johnson told me that MJ took that peraonally & took it out on the Portland Trail Blazers by hitting six 3-pointers.

👀

▶️ PRESS… pic.twitter.com/Pa8DaKVn8c

— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) June 4, 2023

"I'll give you something nobody knows," Johnson said. "Okay, The night before he hit all of them threes against Portland, we’re playing bid whist [a classic card game] at his house. His dad and I, we bust him up, we tore him up, I’m running six nose and five specials on Michael.”

"So we play and I say: ‘Michael I gotta go home, you’ve got a game. Because remember, I’m working for NBC at that game, so I’m coming [to] the game. He said, ‘Nah MJ [Magic Johnson],' because Mike was just so competitive. When he loses, he don’t want you to leave."

Here, Johnson revealed that this contest happened ahead of the Bulls' first NBA Finals contest of their series against the Portland Trail Blazers -- a.k.a. "The Shrug Game."

"So we play and I say, 'No, I’m going home to the hotel.' Remember, he made four, five [three-point shots] in a row. When he made that last one, he turned to the scorers' table — he was turning to me," Johnson said. "He was so hot that night. He owed me a lot. Because I’m the one he was mad at, that’s why he took it out on [Portland All-Star swingman] Clyde Drexler the next day."

Here's the moment:

This was made all the more remarkable by the simple fact that Jordan was not at that point a strong shooter from long range. The 6'6" wing connected on just 27% of his 1.3 triple tries a night that season.

Chicago went on to win the series in six games, the team's second straight title. It had won its first against Johnson's Lakers the year prior.

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