Lakers News: Celtics Hall Of Famer Recalls Hilarious Scrimmage Against A Retired Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson brought a certain level of excitement and quite the unique play style when he first touched down in the NBA and it's safe to say that he inspired many of the bigger guards that we see in the league today. Back in the 1980's, fans of the Los Angeles Lakers could only watch as he somehow ran the fast break better than any traditional point guards and helped lead the franchise to five championships during his time.
Even back during one of the more physical eras of basketball, superstars would try to take advantage of getting to the free throw line as much as possible. This remains one of the top tactics that we see today from the most talented players as they already take on so many offensive responsibilities and free throws can go a long way when it comes to putting pressure on the defense and making a difference on the final score.
Therefore, it makes a lot of sense that even when Johnson's playing days with the Lakers were over and he kept up his love for the game by showing up to summer pickup games at UCLA, he continued this habit.
Boston Celtics champion Paul Pierce made an appearance along with Johnson on the 'All The Smoke' podcast and talked about a specific pickup game he played against the retired 6'9 guard and broke down an interesting late-game foul call.
"The game is tied up 6-6, we going to 7," said Pierce. "I'm like alright, I got Magic. Magic go up with a hook, I challenge the shot. He miss the hook... we get the rebound, throw it ahead, we score. Magic look down like.. that don't count, that's a foul. I didn't even touch him, he said bring that back, you know that's a foul."
(Via All The Smoke)
Magic's legacy had already been built by that time and the two started cracking up as the story was told so it's safe to say that there probably was some truth to Pierce's side!
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