Michael Jordan

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By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. Although, a summary of his basketball career and influence on the game inevitably fails to do it justice, as a phenomenal athlete with a unique combination of fundamental soundness, grace, speed, power, artistry, improvisational ability and an unquenchable competitive desire, Jordan single-handedly redefined the NBA superstar.
Even contemporaneous superstars recognized the unparalleled position of Jordan. Magic Johnson said, "There's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us." Larry Bird, following a playoff game where Jordan dropped 63 points on the Boston Celtics in just his second season, appraisal of the young player was: "God disguised as Michael Jordan.
A brief listing of his top accomplishments would include the following: Rookie of the Year; Five-time NBA MVP; Six-time NBA champion; Six-time NBA Finals MVP; Ten-time All-NBA First Team; Nine time NBA All-Defensive First Team; Defensive Player of the Year; 14-time NBA All-Star; Three-time NBA All-Star MVP; 50th Anniversary All-Time Team; Ten scoring titles -- an NBA record and seven consecutive matching Wilt Chamberlain; Retired with the NBA's highest scoring average of 30.1ppg.
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Michael Jordan makes the jump shot that catapults the Bulls over the Utah Jazz in the 1998 Finals.Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty ImagesHowever, his impact is far greater than awards and championships. He burst into the league as a rookie sensation scoring in droves with an unmatchable first step and acrobatic drives and dunks and concluded his career as a cultural icon. Along the way, he became a true champion who spearheaded the globalization of the NBA with his dynamic on court abilities and personal sense of style that was marketed to the masses.
He was an accessible star who managed to maintain an air of mystique. He was visible as "Air Jordan," as part of a sneaker advertising campaign and endorsing other products as well as the star of the movie, Space Jam. However, he would vanish into retirement twice only to return until hanging up the sneakers for the last time after the 2002-03 season.
Although Brooklyn born, Jordan was bred in the more tranquil North Carolina. The son of Delores and James Jordan, he shared a special bond with his father, which included baseball being both of their first love. However, following his older brother, Larry, whom he idolized and was a spectacular athlete in his own right, Jordan began to play basketball.
He attended Laney High school in Wilmington, North Carolina, but as a 5-11 skinny sophomore, he was cut from the varsity basketball team. The summer before his junior year, he grew to 6-3 and began his path to super-stardom.
A Tar Heel at heart, the high school All-American attended the University of North Carolina. As a freshman, he played somewhat in the shadows of upperclassmen James Worthy and Sam Perkins. However, he shone in the spotlight of the NCAA Championship game against Georgetown and another great freshman Patrick Ewing, whom he would foil future NBA championships for as well. Jordan scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and made the winning basket on a 16-foot jumper with 18 seconds in the game for the 63-62 victory.
As a sophomore, he was named College Player of the Year by The Sporting News. As a junior, he received that award again as well as the Naismith and Wooden Awards. After his junior year he was chosen with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.
The Houston Rockets selected 7-0 center Hakeem Olajuwon form the University of Houston with the No.1 pick, which most expected. The Portland Trail Blazers, however, with the No. 2 pick chose 7-1 center Sam Bowie from Kentucky, which was not as anticipated. Bowie had suffered several injuries while in college but the Blazers bypassed Jordan because just the year before the team selected another exciting shooting guard in Clyde Drexler. Although Drexler went onto to be a star, Bowie was an injury prone player with a journeyman pro career
However, Jordan, coming off a gold medal performance at the 1984 Olympics prospered in the pro game with a fabulous first season, earning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He averaged 28.2 ppg, (third behind Bernard King and Bird) 6.5 rpg and 5.9 apg. He also was selected to the All-NBA Second Team. Perhaps more important, the Bulls improved to win 11 more games than in the season prior to his arrival and made it to the playoffs. Jordan averaged 29.3 ppg in the first round series, but the Bulls lost in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
In his first season, he did not have outstanding shooting range and was thought to roam to often on defense resulting from playing trapping defenses in college according to his first NBA coach, Kevin Loughery. Yet, his medium game -- eight to 15-feet from the basket was impressive as evidenced by his .515 field-goal shooting percentage and his steals tended to compensate for his less than stellar straight-up defense. Improvement in both areas would come and he would ultimately be regarded as threat from anywhere on the floor and one of the best ever one-on-one defenders.

"There's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us."
-- Magic Johnson
Even in the exhibition season before his rookie campaign, players and coaches were sure that the Rockets and Blazers would regret their picks. King, the eventual leading scorer for that upcoming season, seemed sure as well when he spoke to Hoop magazine after a 1984 preseason game.
"All I can say," King says, "is that the people in Chicago are in for a real treat."
He was right. Jordan's greatness and likeabilty was apparent in just his first season. Home attendance at the venerable Chicago Stadium and on the road rose dramatically. Fans of opposing teams were seemingly content to see their team lose if in return Jordan put on show.
Jordan's personal style was equally authentic and unique as his basketball skills. Nike signed him to a major shoe deal because of his anticipated appeal, but he surpassed even the loftiest of expectations. One version of the sneakers he wore in his first preseason was an unseen before blend of his team's red and black colors that the NBA initially considered in violation of the "uniformity of uniform rule." Subject to fines if he continued to wear them, he occasionally did and the demand for that version and others in the Air Jordan line was unprecedented.
He also had a clause in his contract that allowed him, unlike most other NBA players, to play basketball anytime in the off-season -- known as the "love-of-the-game clause."
He dangled his tongue out of his mouth -- picked up from observing his dad working on mechanical devices -- as he levitated toward the basket and it became one of his first trademarks in personal style. He continued to wear the shorts of his beloved North Carolina basketball uniform under his Bulls uniform. This may have led him to wear longer game shorts although he has said that the extra length allowed him to bend at the waist and tug at the hem for a good resting position. Either way, the trend toward the baggy shorts was started and the entire league and sport would follow.
The rookie's mesmerizing effect was even suggested to have extended to referees as it was said that he was getting veteran preferential treatment allowing him to take that additional step on route to the basket rather than being whistle for a travelling violation. Many assessed that he eluded defenders so easily that he had to be travelling. However, video break down established that his first step was just so quick and that he was not in violation of the rulebook.
Despite all the attention, Jordan retained a sense of humility. He did not ridicule the Blazers for not taking him. Early on in his first season, he told Sports Illustrated, "He [Bowie] fits in better than I would. They have an overabundance of big guards and small forwards." His self-effacement was more apparent when in that same article he said, "I'd like to play in at least one All-Star game."
That goal was quickly accomplished as later that season he was voted a starter to the 1985 All-Star East squad. There, he probably faced one of his first professional obstacles. The media ran with the idea that Eastern All-Star teammate Detroit Pistons' Isiah Thomas, had led a "freeze-out" of the golden rookie limiting his opportunities to score by not passing him the ball.
Jordan scored seven points in 22 minutes and was left to face questions concerning the alleged conspiracy. The affair grew a life of its own over the years, but Thomas refuted such accusations. The whole ordeal would come full circle when Thomas, as the coach of the 2003 East All-Star squad, persuaded Toronto Raptors' Vince Carter to relinquish his starting role to Jordan in his last midseason classic.
Three games into his second season, he broke a bone in his left foot. He was voted to the All-Star team but could not play as he was sidelined for 64 games. However, he came back late in the year to score a NBA playoff-record 63 points in a first-round game against the Celtics. The Bulls lost that game 132-131 in double-overtime and the series in a sweep, but Jordan averaged 43.7 ppg in the series. If there were any doubters to that point about Jordan's ability, surely there were no more.
Starting with the 1986-87 season he began a career-long onslaught on the NBA record book. That year saw him average 37.1 points in the first of seven consecutive seasons in which he led the league in scoring and topped 30 points per contest. Jordan scored 40 or more points in nine consecutive games and 23 straight in one game to set an NBA record. At the All-Star Weekend, he won the first of two consecutive Slam Dunk com petitions. However, again, the Celtics swept the Bulls in the first-round of the playoffs
That off-season, the Bulls began assembling a championship caliber team by drafting power forward Horace Grant and acquiring the versatile small forward Scottie Pippen from tiny Central Arkansas in a draft day trade with the Seattle SuperSonics for former University of Virgina center Olden Polyinice. In 1987-88, Jordan won every major award including MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and All-Star MVP. With the help of his teammates, Jordan led the Bulls to a first-round playoff win over the Cleveland Cavaliers before falling to the Pistons in five games in the conference semifinals.
The Pistons known as the "Bad Boys" for its aggressive style of play would defeat Jordan and the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals in the next two seasons as well. Utilizing a defensive scheme developed by Head Coach Chuck Daly and his staff, known as the "Jordan Rules", the Pistons dared Jordan to single-handily win games with constant double and triple teaming. The Bulls, however, were nudging to a championship as each successive season the team would get closer.
In the 1988-89 season, perhaps Jordan's best statistical campaign, he led the league with 32.5 ppg, was tenth in assists with a career high 8.0 apg and had a career high 8.0 rpg. He also ranked third in steals with 2.89 per game. Jordan propelled the Bulls past the Cavs in the first round of the playoffs as in the decisive Game 5; he scored the memorable buzzer beater-floating jumper over Craig Ehlo for a 101-100 victory.
Prior to the beginning of the 1989-90 season, Sports Illustrated published an article on Jordan's emerging golf game and his thoughts about joining the PGA tour after his NBA career was over. Chicago management, however, was making other moves.
That off-season, the Bulls let go Head Coach Doug Collins and hired Phil Jackson. Under Jackson's leadership, the Bulls instituted the triangle offense --a fluid passing and cutting system that created opportunities for all five players on the floor to score, but when the play broke down and the shot clock waned, Jordan had free reign to create his own shot.
The Bulls went 55-27 that season, the franchise's best record since 1971-72. Jordan set his career game-high in points with 69 against the Cavs in a 117-113 overtime win. He also emerged as a three-point threat, posting a .376 percentage -- 100 percentage points above his previous best. However, the Pistons defeated the Bulls in a tough seven game series in the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals.
That third consecutive playoff defeat to the Pistons prompted many to think out-loud that a scoring champion like Jordan could not lead his team to a title.
Were they ever wrong. The next year, Jordan led the Bulls as the team waltzed through the postseason losing only twice en route to the franchise's first NBA title. The redemptive blow was the sweep of the Pistons in the conference finals. And after losing the first game at home to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, the Bulls stormed back to win four straight to end the last remnants of the "Showtime" Lakers as Magic Johnson would retire before the beginning of the next season. Jordan averaged 31.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg and 8.4 apg earning the first of six NBA Finals MVP awards.
Jordan, who by now shaved his head completely bald triggering another trend and making him recognizable by just the dark rounded silhouette of his head, was now known as a champion. He was also known to be ultra-demanding of his teammates, ruffling more than a few feathers with his critiques. But winning was the soothing elixir. The Bulls would go on to successfully defend its title for two consecutive seasons, defeating both Drexler and the Blazers and the Charles Barkley-led Phoenix Suns in six games.
By the end of that three-year run, Jordan had eclipsed stardom and approached folk hero status. Early into his career, he drew Peter Pan like admiration for his gravity defying leaps and belief that he would remain youthful forever. However, during the three-peat, players and teams seemed to concede that the title was Jordan. He garnered a legion of fans young and old alike but in particular to kids he was a Pied Piper figure who were asked to follow him with his sports drink "Be Like Mike" advertising campaign.
In the 1992 Finals, Jordan opened up Game 1 with a record setting 35-point first-half performance to lead the Bulls to a 122-89 rout. Jordan seemed unstoppable as he drained several three-pointers over Blazer defenders and after one made three he shrugged his shoulders as if to say, I don't even know what's going on here. The Blazers bounced back and seemed poised to force a Game 7 as it took a 79-64 lead into the fourth quarter of Game 6. However, the Bulls roared back for a 97-93 series clinching win.
In 1993, Jordan led the Bulls past the Patrick Ewing-led Knicks for the fourth time in five postseasons -- this time in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games with out the home court advantage. Jordan scored 54 points in a 105-95 Game 4 win. And in the series' turning point that was Game 5, Jordan recorded a triple double (29 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists). But the crucial play was Pippen's successive blocks of putback attempts by the Knicks' Charles Smith in the final seconds that allowed the Bulls to escape the Garden with a 97-94 win. The Bulls sealed the series with a 96-88 victory in Game 6.
In the Finals, Jordan set a Finals record as he posted a 41.0 ppg average in the six game series victory over the Suns. In the decisive Game Six, the Bulls again stormed back to overcome a fourth quarter deficit. This time, Jordan scored nine straight points down the stretch leading to John Paxson's game winning three-pointer with 3.9 seconds on the clock for a 98-97 victory.
That summer, Jordan was the key figure in forming the Dream Team that competed in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. The 12-member roster, full of the era's best players were respected as basketball royalty by its opponents whom they outclassed on the way to the gold medal and idolized like pop icons by the world's fans.
But trouble was brewing. Jordan was under scrutiny for what was thought to be poor decisions with respect to his gambling endeavors. But that paled in comparison to the loss of his father who was murdered during an armed robbery. His father was Jordan's main confidant whom could be seen with his son on a regular basis as he climbed the ladder of success.
Emotionally drained and seeking new challenges, just one day before the start of training camp, Jordan stunned the basketball world by announcing his retirement.
After much speculation about his plans, Jordan returned to the spotlight in a baseball uniform. Attempting to fulfill a dream inspired by his father, the younger Jordan set his sights on Major League Baseball. He spent the 1994 baseball season playing for the Birmingham Barons, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox in the Class AA Southern League.
He was a competent if unspectacular performer. But Jordan's hope of reaching the big leagues seemed dim, and with Major League Baseball embroiled in a labor dispute as the 1995 season neared, he focused his competitive fire back on the NBA. Late in the 1994-95 NBA season, he came out of retirement with the succinct statement of "I'm Back."
He was back, albeit with the unorthodox No. 45 as he wanted to leave No. 23 behind, and attempted to carry the Bulls to another title. Jordan averaged 26.9 points in 17 regular-season games, which the Bulls played to a record of 13-4.
The most memorable game of the initial comeback occurred six games in when he scored 55 points against the Knicks in the Garden. That game, dubbed "Double Nickel," was extraordinary in that a new Jordan emerged. Robbed of his youthful bounce at age 32, he turned primarily to fade-away jump shots and spinning layups. And in the waning moments of a tie game, he drew attention as he dribbled around the perimeter then passed to a wide-open Bill Wennington under the basket for the winning points in a 113-111 victory.
His coach, Jackson, in the aftermath said, "It's rare that players can live quite up to New York. I've seen a lot of them fall flat on their faces because of the pressure to perform there. But he had the whole evening in the palm of his hand. Sometimes the game just seems to gravitate into his grasp."
In the playoffs, he poured in 31.5 ppg. But despite Jordan's presence in the lineup, the Bulls didn't have quite enough to get past the Orlando Magic in the conference semifinals. Chicago lost to the Shaquille O'Neal-led Magic in six games.
Jordan's championship quest was fulfilled the following season with almost a whole new band of players than in his first title runs. He began the season with his old No. 23 uniform but only his sidekick Pippen remaining from the first three championship teams. The Bulls added Dennis Rodman, an enigmatic player but a rebounding and defensive phenom.
The team enjoyed one of the most remarkable years ever posted by any club. Jordan led the NBA with 30.4 ppg as the Bulls charged to a record 72 victories during the regular season, then stormed through the playoffs with a 15-3 record ending in a six game series win over the Sonics.
Poignantly, Jordan recaptured the title on Father's Day and cradled the ball after the decisive game in a heap on the floor of the United Center, which replaced Chicago Stadium during his retirement, unabashedly crying. The emotional impact of the moment was overwhelming.
Along the way, Jordan captured the MVP awards for the regular season, All-Star Game and Finals, joining Willis Reed (1970) as the only men to win all three honors in the same season.
Although he had relinquished the MVP award to Karl Malone in 1996-97, Jordan was awarded MVP in 1997-98 and again led the Bulls to the NBA Championship with a satisfying six-game victory over Malone's Utah Jazz. Despite a horrible case of stomach flu in a critical Game Five, he would not let his team lose. He scored 38 points and the Bulls won the game and then the title at home in Game Six. He was also named the NBA Finals MVP for the fifth time.
The Bulls duplicated the three-peat in 1998-99 with another six game series win over the Jazz. Jordan with his team down three points at the close of Game Six, scored on driving move to the basket. And on the next Jazz possession, he stole the ball from Malone in the post to set-up his game winning jump shot. The shot over Bryon Russell with 6.6 seconds left on the clock is etched in many fans mind and photographic history.
After labor negotiations were resolved leaving a shortened season in 1999; Jordan left the game saying, "Right now I don't have the mental challenges that I have had in the past to proceed as a basketball player." Despite not playing for three seasons during his second retirement, Jordan was still probably the most recognizable athlete in the world.
However, after assuming an ownership and team executive role with the Washington Wizards in 2000, he returned to play the game he loves, after being visibly frustrated in the owners' box with the team's performance. On Sept. 25, 2001, he signed a two-year contract with the Wizards for the veteran's minimum.
Jordan brought in his old Bulls' coach Doug Collins and tried mightily to revive a once accomplished franchise that had sunken to moribund levels. But the Wizards, although an attendance draw around the league, failed to make the playoffs in Jordan's two years. However, moments of the great Jordan were apparent such as scoring 40 points a few days after his 40th birthday in the 2002-03 season.
He left as a player to return to an ownership and executive role with the belief that with the cluster of young stars, the NBA was in fine shape. Above all, Jordan recognized his place in the game. In his book, For The Love of The Game: My Story, Jordan wrote: "There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, and I don't believe there is only one greatest player either. Everyone plays in different eras. I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else's talent. I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era. Without Julius Erving, David Thompson, Walter Davis, and Elgin Baylor there would never have been a Michael Jordan. I evolved from them."
At the turn of the 21st century, ESPN, the preeminent all-sports network, conducted an expansive survey of media members, athletes and others associated with the sports world to rank the 20th century's greatest athletes. Jordan topped the list above Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali -- substantiating his link to those earlier cultural icons.

Magic Johnson

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Earvin "Magic" Johnson
Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin "Magic" Johnson was one of them. Just how great a basketball player was Johnson? So great, perhaps, that future generations of hoop fans may wish they had entered the world years earlier-just so they could have seen Magic play in person instead of watching him only on highlight reels. He was what Bob Cousy was to the 1950s, what Oscar Robertson was to the 1960s, what Julius Erving was to the 1970s. Still, Earvin Johnson was even more than a revolutionary player who, at 6-9, was the tallest point guard in league history

Magic Johnson is famous for his brilliant passing skills, all-round sublime talent and engaging personality. At 6-9, he was - and still is - the tallest point guard in league history, and his illuminating smile made him the most admired as well. He started getting national attention as a 15-year-old high school player. After an Everett High School game in which he had 36 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists, a sportswriter nicknamed the young, enthusiastic ballplayer 'Magic'. Magic led Everett to a 27-1 record and the state title in his senior year, averaging 28.8 ppg and 16.8 rpg.
He attended Michigan State and led the Spartans to a 25-5 record and the Big Ten Conference title. As a Sporting News All-America sophomore, Johnson's team won the NCAA Championship and he was named Most Outstanding Player.
Johnson entered the 1979 NBA draft with two years of eligibility left, and was selected by the Lakers with the first pick overall. He was quickly billed as the team's saviour, and teamed up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to introduce LA to 'Showtime'.
Magic was the first-ever rookie NBA Finals MVP in 1980.
In the late eighties, Magic was diagnosed with the virus called HIV, and was forced to retire, after opponents was feared of the tought of being infected.
Magic coached the Lakers for the final 16 games of the 1993-94 season, compiling a 5-11 record.
Magic staged a not very succsessful comeback as a power forward in the 1995-96 season. He complained about not having enough control on court, and was fined after bumping a referee. He decided to retire again after the season.
RECORDS
Playoff assists, career: 2,320
Playoff steals, career: 358
Assists, playoff game: 24 vs. Phoenix, May 15, 1984
Assists, playoff game, half: 15 vs. Portland, May 3, 1985
Assists, NBA Finals game: 21 vs. Boston, June 3, 1984
Assists, NBA Finals game, half: 14 vs. Detroit, June 19, 1988
Assists, All-Star game, career: 106
Assists, All-Star game: 22, 1984
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
MVP: 1987, 1989, 1990.
NBA Titles: 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988
All-NBA First Team: 1983-1991
All-NBA Second Team: 1982
NBA All-Star: 12 times
NBA All-Star MVP: 1990, 1992
All-Rookie Team: 1980
Playoff MVP: 1980, 1982, 1987
IBM Award: 1984
Citizenship Award: 1992
Assist leader: 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987
FT percentage leader: 1989
Steals leader: 1981, 1982
Olympic Gold Medal: 1992
High School State Championship: 1977
NCAA Title: 1979
NCAA Final Four MVP: 1979

Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. was born August 14, 1959 in East Lansing, MI. He grew up with nine brothers and sisters. His father worked in a General Motors Plant and his mother was a school custodian. Young Earvin would pass his time singing on street corners with his friends and of course played basketball. His neighbors nicknamed him “Junior” or “June Bug”, and he was on the courts by 7:30 most mornings. He first got the nickname “Magic” when he was a star at Everett High School. A sportswriter who had just watched the 15-year old score 36 points and have 16 rebounds and 16 assists (nba.com) gave it to him. During his high school career, he was named Associated Press and United Press All-State three years. He also was a McDonald’s All-American in 1976-77.
Magic Johnson wanted to attend college close to home and decided to attend Michigan State University in East Lansing. He was an All-American and All-Big Ten selection in both 1978-79. He was named to The Sporting News All-America First Team in 1979, led Michigan State to the 1979 NCAA Championship, and was named NCAA Division 1 Tournament MVP in 1979. Magic had a great college career and that is where his rivalry with Celtics Legend Larry Bird began as his team beat Bird’s Indiana State team in the 1979 title game (hoophall.com) Having accomplished what he wanted at the college level he gave up his remaining two years of eligibility and entered the NBA Draft. Magic Johnson was the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. In his rookie season, he helped lead the Lakers to the NBA Championship. In Game 6 of the series, he filled in at center to replace injured Kareem Abdul Jabaar and led the Lakers with 42 pts, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. The Lakers won the series 4-2 (grove.ufl.edu).
Magic had many NBA highlights during his career. He led the Lakers to five NBA Championships (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988), (hoophall.com). He is the Lakers all-time assists leader with 10,141, and all-time steals leader with 1,724. He was named NBA MVP 3 times (1987, 1989, 1990), and was awarded the IBM Award for all around contributions to his team’s success in 1994. He was on the All-NBA First Team nine times and Second Team once. In 1983-84, Magic led his Lakers to the NBA Finals against the Celtics where Larry Bird helped his Celtics defeat the Lakers in 7 games. The following year the Lakers would avenge their loss by defeating Boston in the Finals. The rivalry between Johnson and Bird was intense and displayed two tremendous basketball players. Magic was a twelve-time NBA All-Star and won the All-Star MVP twice. Prior to the start of the 1991-92 season, Johnson stunned the world with his announcement that he had tested positive for the HIV virus and was retiring from basketball. After being voted into the 1992 All-Star Game, he made a triumphant showing earning the MVP award and leading the west to a dominating win. He also began an AIDS awareness campaign for which he received the leagues J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. Magic Johnson was also selected to the 1992 Olympic Dream Team that would go to Barcelona, Spain and cruise to the Gold Medal. In the 1995-96 season, Magic announced he was returning to the Lakers and made his return January 29, 1996 against the Golden State Warriors at the Great Western Forum. Following a first round playoff loss to Houston, Johnson announced he was going back into retirement (grove.ufl.edu).
Magic Johnson made a brief coaching stint with the Lakers in 1993-94, however did not continue after that. He has kept busy outside of basketball. He wrote a safe-sex book, runs multiple businesses he started while playing, and has worked for NBC as a television commentator. He also opened a chain of movie theaters in minority neighborhoods, which started in Los Angeles and has spread to other cities. Magic is also playing for his All-Star team that travels and plays exhibitions. He was named Vice President of the Lakers in 1994-95, and was named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players in 1996. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on September 27, 2002 and was introduced by of all people, Larry Bird.

Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin "Magic" Johnson was one of them.
Just how great a basketball player was Johnson? So great, perhaps, that future generations of hoop fans may wish they had entered the world years earlier -- just so they could have seen Magic play in person instead of watching him only on highlight reels.
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Magic's "junior, junior sky-hook" in Game 4 of the 1987 Finals is part of NBA lore.Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty ImagesHe was what Bob Cousy was to the 1950s, what Oscar Robertson was to the 1960s, what Julius Erving was to the 1970s.
Still, Earvin Johnson was even more than a revolutionary player, who, at 6-9, was the tallest point guard in league history. His sublime talent elicited wonder and admiration from even the most casual basketball fan.
Whether it was a behind-the-back pass to a streaking James Worthy, a half-court swish at the buzzer or a smile that illuminated an arena, everyone who saw Johnson play took with them an indelible memory of what they had witnessed. From the moment he stepped onto the court, people pondered: How could a man so big do so many things with the ball and with his body? It was Magic.
Johnson accomplished virtually everything a player could dream of during his 13-year NBA career, all of which was spent with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a member of five championship teams. He won the Most Valuable Player Award and the Finals MVP Award three times each. He was a 12-time All-Star and a nine-time member of the All-NBA First Team. He surpassed Robertson's career assists record, a mark he later relinquished to John Stockton. He won a gold medal with the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
His all-around play inspired the addition of the term "triple-double" to basketball's lexicon, although history demands that Robertson be recognized as the first man to regularly post double figures in three statistical categories in the same game. Unfortunately for the Big O, nobody had thought of the term triple-double back in the 1960s.
Johnson did all of this while maintaining a childlike enthusiasm born of a pure love of sport and competition. Beyond all the money, success and fame, Johnson was just happy to be playing basketball.
If there was one aspect of Johnson's game that awed people the most, it was his brilliant passing skills. He dazzled fans and dumbfounded opponents with no-look passes off the fastbreak, pinpoint alley-oops from halfcourt, spinning feeds and overhand bullets under the basket through triple teams. When defenders expected him to pass, he shot. When they expected him to shoot, he passed.
Said former Lakers swingman Michael Cooper: "There have been times when he has thrown passes and I wasn't sure where he was going. Then one of our guys catches the ball and scores, and I run back up the floor convinced that he must've thrown it through somebody."
Born on August 14, 1959, Earvin Johnson Jr. grew up in Lansing, Mich., with nine brothers and sisters. His father worked in a General Motors plant; his mother was a school custodian. Young Earvin passed the time by singing on street corners with his buddies and, of course, by playing basketball. "Junior," or "June Bug" as his neighbors called him, was on the court by 7:30 many mornings.
"I practiced all day," Johnson told USA Weekend. "I dribbled to the store with my right hand and back with my left. Then I slept with my basketball."

From the moment he stepped onto the court, people pondered: How could a man so big do so many things with the ball and with his body? It was Magic.
Johnson was first called "Magic" when he was a star at Everett High School. He was given the nickname by a sports writer who had just seen the 15-year-old prepster notch 36 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists. (Johnson's mother, a devout Christian, thought the nickname was blasphemous.) As a senior, Johnson led Everett to a 27-1 record and the state title while averaging 28.8 points and 16.8 rebounds.
Johnson wanted to attend college close to home, so he enrolled at Michigan State in East Lansing. He put up impressive numbers as a freshman (17.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 7.4 apg), leading the Spartans to a 25-5 record and the Big Ten Conference title. As an All-America sophomore Johnson directed his team to the national title in 1979, beating Larry Bird's Indiana State squad in perhaps the most anticipated (and most watched) NCAA Championship Game ever played.
Having accomplished all he wanted to on the college level, Johnson passed up his final two seasons and entered the 1979 NBA Draft. The Utah Jazz were supposed to draft in the first position, but the Jazz had conveyed their 1979 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers three years earlier as compensation for the free-agent signing of Gail Goodrich. Thus the Lakers took Johnson with the first overall pick.
The team had just undergone big changes: a new coach in Jack McKinney, a new owner in Dr. Jerry Buss, and seven new faces on the court. With the country's most exciting college player in a Lakers uniform, Buss hoped the normally reserved Forum crowds would get up off their hands and onto their feet. "Showtime" was born.
Fans attending Johnson's first game witnessed the sort of exuberance he would display throughout his entire career. After a buzzer-beating shot by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to defeat the San Diego Clippers on opening night, Johnson went berserk, distributing bone-jarring high-fives and bear hugs. At this rate, most observers thought, the kid would burn out in no time. Even Abdul-Jabbar had to tell the rookie to cool it, because there were 81 more games yet to play -- and that didn't count playoffs.
That season's NBA Rookie of the Year Award went to Bird of the Boston Celtics. But the NBA champion was Los Angeles. The Lakers rolled to the Western Division title with a 60-22 record, the league's second best. (Paul Westhead took over as coach after McKinney was seriously hurt in a bicycle crash 14 games into the season.) In 77 games Johnson's numbers mirrored those of his days at Michigan State (18.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 7.3 apg). He became the first rookie to start in an NBA All-Star Game since Elvin Hayes 11 years earlier.
In the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, Johnson's performance in the series-clinching sixth game was the stuff of legend. Abdul-Jabbar was sidelined with a badly sprained ankle sustained during his 40-point effort in Game 5. Up 3-2, the Lakers could wrap things up on the 76ers' home court.
Enter Johnson, the 20-year-old rookie. Assuming Abdul-Jabbar's position at center, Johnson sky-hooked and rebounded the Lakers to victory with 42 points, 15 boards, seven assists and three steals. He even jumped for the opening tap. Johnson became the first rookie ever to win the Finals MVP Award. The stunning effort exemplified his uncanny ability to do whatever the Lakers needed in order to win.
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Magic Johnson was always driving ahead of the competition.Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty ImagesIn the Los Angeles Times, Westhead said of his amazing rookie: "We all thought he was a movie-star player, but we found out he wears a hard hat. It's like finding a great orthopedic surgeon who can also operate a bulldozer."
The next year was not nearly as kind to Johnson or to the Lakers. In the first month, 7-2 Tom Burleson of the Atlanta Hawks fell on Johnson's left knee, forcing him to miss 45 games with torn cartilage. He came back in time for the Lakers' best-of-3 playoff series against the Houston Rockets. Johnson had made only 2 of his 13 field-goal attempts when he tossed up an airball as time ran out in Game 3. The Lakers lost the game, 89-86, and the series.
Johnson and the Lakers rebounded in 1981-82, winning their division and defeating the 76ers in another six-game NBA Finals in which Johnson repeated as MVP. The season also had its share of ugliness. Early on, Westhead wanted to restructure the offense in a way that Johnson believed would have reduced his role. In a widely reported incident, Johnson exploded in the lockerroom after a game in Utah. "I can't play here anymore. I want to leave. I want to be traded," he was quoted as saying. Reporters waited for the signal that Johnson was joking. It didn't come.
Westhead was fired the next day and replaced with assistant coach Pat Riley. At Riley's first home game, fans at the Forum booed Johnson during introductions. In Seattle he was jeered whenever he touched the ball. He paid the price in the All-Star balloting and was not selected as a starter for the only time in his career other than his injury season. It took Johnson's stellar playoff performance to silence the hecklers.
On the court, Johnson's play was as splendid as it was consistent. He won his second consecutive steals title that season and for the remainder of his career would never dip below averages of 17.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 10.5 assists.
The two years following the Westhead flap were great for Johnson individually but tough for Los Angeles. Johnson won the first two of his four league assists titles and continued to improve upon his already brilliant all-around play. In the 1982-83 NBA Finals against rival Philadelphia, however, Lakers Norm Nixon, Worthy and Bob McAdoo were all hampered by injury. The 76ers swept the series.
By the 1984 NBA Finals, Nixon was gone, Abdul-Jabbar was pushing 40 and Johnson had signed a then record 25-year, $25 million contract. The grueling seven-game series against Boston marked a low point in Johnson's career. His playmaking gaffes at the end of Games 2, 4 and 7 contributed to the Lakers' defeat.
With Johnson improving his outside shot and setting assists records, the Lakers won three NBA titles in the next four years. The first of this string came in the 1985 Finals win over their nemesis the Celtics. After being destoyed in Game 1 of the series ,148-114, dubbed the "Memorial Day Massacre" as the game was played on that holiday, the Lakers would rebound to take the series in six games. The decisive victory came on the Garden parquet floor 111-100 and marked the first time the Lakers defeated the Celtics in a Finals after eight previous failures strecthing back to when the Lakers played in Minneapolis.
During the 1986-87 season, with Abdul-Jabbar sidelined briefly with an eye infection, Johnson did something most pro scouts had said he couldn't do: score. He pumped in 38 points against Houston and then a career-high 46 points in the next game against the Sacramento Kings. His 23.9 season average was the highest of his career.
That season, Johnson was named NBA Most Valuable Player. It had taken him eight years, in which time Bird had landed three MVP Awards. Johnson had wanted it badly. Before the winner was announced, Johnson told the Los Angeles Times, "Right now, he's 3 and I'm 0. That bugs me a little." (He would eventually tie Bird in the MVP count, claiming the award again in 1989 and 1990.)
Johnson won his third Finals MVP Award in 1987, following a six-game victory over Boston. It was also the year that Johnson took Abdul-Jabbar's place as leader of the team. In games of H-O-R-S-E during practice, the 40-year-old center taught his protégé how to shoot a sky-hook. Johnson quickly mastered his own version of the shot, which he used to make the game-winning basket in the Game 4 victory at the Garden, 107-106. That win propelled the Lakers to a second Finals' win over the Celtics in three years.
In 1988, the Lakers edged the Detroit Pistons in a bitter seven-game series to become the first team since the 1968-69 Celtics to repeat as champs. The following two seasons Johnson averaged more than 20 points and led the Lakers to two more division titles. In 1988-89, Abdul-Jabbar's final season, Johnson suffered a hamstring injury in the NBA Finals and the Lakers were swept by a well-rounded Pistons team. The next year Los Angeles suffered its earliest departure from the playoffs in nine years, losing to the Phoenix Suns in the Conference Semifinals.
Johnson in the 1990-91 campaign helped the Lakers to a 58-24 record. After upsetting a Clyde Drexler-led Portland TrailBlazers team that won the Pacific Division in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers made another trip to the NBA Finals. The Lakers lost to the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan in five games, but it was the ninth time Johnson had reached the Finals in his 12 seasons.
Before the 1991-92 campaign Johnson stunned the world with the announcement that he had tested positive for the HIV virus and was retiring from the NBA. He made a triumphant appearance at the All-Star Game that season, however, earning the game's MVP Award and leading the West to a 153-113 victory. He also began a campaign to promote AIDS awareness, an effort for which he received the league's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.
Johnson went on to play for the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team, write a book about safe sex, run several businesses he had started as a player, work for NBC as a television commentator and explore the possibility of purchasing an NBA franchise. With 16 games left to play in the 1993-94 season, he replaced Randy Pfund as the head coach of the Lakers.
The team was fighting for a playoff berth when Johnson assumed the reins, and Los Angeles immediately won five straight. But after the club lost five of its next six outings, Johnson announced that he would not return as coach the following season.
"I want to go home," he told theAssociated Press. "It's never been my dream to coach. I want to own, to be a businessman. You've got to chase your dreams." Johnson got his wish in June 1994, when he purchased a share of the Lakers and became a part-owner.
In 1995 Johnson got involved in another business venture, opening a chain of movie theaters in minority neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area, an enterprise he later took to other cities.. He also continued to entertain fans around the world when he took his barnstorming basketball team (made up of former college and NBA players) to Asia and Australia.
But he wasn't through with the NBA. After sitting out 4 1/2 seasons he made a comeback late in the 1995-96 campaign, playing the final 32 games of the regular season for the Lakers. By then he had bulked up to 255 pounds and did as much of his playing at power forward as he did at guard. After the Lakers were ousted by Houston in the First Round of the 1996 playoffs, Johnson retired once again.
In his 13 NBA seasons Johnson compiled 17,707 points (19.5 ppg), 6,559 rebounds (7.2 rpg) and 10,141 assists (11.2 apg) in addition to 1,724 steals, good for ninth place on the all-time list. He also holds the top marks for most All-Star Game assists (127) and three-point baskets (10).
In 1996-97, Johnson was selected to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 2002, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Was he the best player of his day? Another all-time great thinks so.
"Magic is head-and-shoulders above everybody else," Larry Bird once observed in the Chicago Sun-Times. "I've never seen [anybody] as good as him."

Oscar Robertson

Oscar Robertson, the "Big O," is the player against whom all others labeled "all-around" are judged, and he may remain the standard forever.
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"The Big O" Oscar Robertson is recognized as one of the game's most versatile players of all-time. Dick Raphael/NBAE/Getty ImagesStatistically, one need look no further than the numbers Robertson put up in 1961-62, just his second year in the league: 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game-an average of a triple-double for an entire season. Not even Magic Johnson or Larry Bird could match those numbers.
During his 14-year NBA career with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks, Robertson became the top-scoring guard of all time, amassing 26,710 points. Among all players, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Elvin Hayes, and Hakeem Olajuwon have scored more.
His average of 25.7 ppg per game ranks as the sixth-highest mark ever among retired players, and he averaged 30 points or more in six seasons. Although John Stockton and Magic have surpassed Robertson's career record of 9,887 assists, some argue that Robertson's total came in an era when an assist was credited much less generously than it is today. Robertson also averaged 7.5 rebounds for his career and led his team in rebounding once, a rare feat for a guard.
Robertson's playmaking and scoring brilliance were rewarded with commendation after commendation, and finally with an NBA title in the twilight of his career. He was NBA Rookie of the Year in 1960-61, played in 12 straight NBA All-Star Games, was selected to the All-NBA First Team nine consecutive seasons, won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 1963-64, and helped the Milwaukee Bucks win the NBA Championship in 1971. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979 and named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996-97.
At 6-5 and 210 pounds, Robertson was the first "big guard." Magic was only one-year old when Robertson registered his first NBA assist, crashed the boards for his first NBA rebound and sank a jumper for his first NBA points.
Just how good was Robertson? "He is so great-he scares me," Celtics Coach Red Auerbach once said. Former teammate Jerry Lucas told the Indianapolis Star: "He obviously was unbelievable, way ahead of his time. There is no more complete player than Oscar."
Born in 1938, Robertson grew up dirt-poor in a segregated housing project in Indianapolis. In the projects he not only learned basketball but also learned firsthand about racial discrimination and economic inequality. He was drawn to basketball instead of baseball -- which was more popular in the neighborhood-because it was "a poor kids' game." He learned how to shoot by tossing tennis balls and rags bound with rubber bands into a peach basket behind his family's home.
Robertson attended Crispus Attucks High School, an all-black school that had no gym and one that white schools refused to play-until Robertson arrived. At Crispus Attucks, Robertson's natural physical abilities and instincts were polished by Coach Ray Crowe, who was obsessed with teaching the basics of the game.
Robertson smoothly combined his street smarts with Coach Crowe's fundamentals. He averaged 24.0 points and was named Indiana's "Mr. Basketball" as a senior. The team went 31-1 in 1955 and 31-0 in 1956 (including a state-record 45 straight victories) and took state titles both years. The all-African-American school had brought home Indianapolis's first-ever state championship.
But city leaders were uneasy about how the team's celebration might take shape. The players were driven outside of town to hold their party because, said Robertson in the Indianapolis Star, "They said the blacks are gonna tear up downtown."
Robertson's on-court brilliance, and the off-court racism to which he was subjected, continued at the University of Cincinnati. As a collegian, he was nothing short of incredible, scoring 33.8 ppg with a one-handed style that made his shots virtually unblockable. Three times he won the national scoring title, was an All-American, and was named College Player of the Year.
He led the Bearcats to two Final Fours and an 79-9 record during his three varsity seasons. Among his 14 NCAA records was a career scoring mark that stood until Pete Maravich bested it in 1970. As a sophomore Robertson scored 56 points in a tournament game at Madison Square Garden, and he scored 62 points in another contest.
Cincinnati, however, had never had a black player before. In the late 1950s road trips through the Midwest were awkward, to say the least. Barred from hotels until his junior year, Robertson often had to stay in college dorms. "I'll never forgive them," he told the Indianapolis Star years later.
Co-captains on the gold medal-winning 1960 U.S. Olympic basketball team, Robertson and Jerry West entered the NBA one after the other in the 1960 NBA Draft. Robertson went to the Cincinnati Royals as a territorial pick (the system allowed a team to claim a local college player in exchange for giving up its first-round pick). West went to the Lakers, who were moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, as the first overall selection of the regular draft. Robertson, too poor to own a basketball as a child, signed for $33,000 per year.
Robertson exploded onto the NBA scene, finishing third in the league in scoring (30.5 ppg) and winning NBA Rookie of the Year honors for 1960-61. The Big O made his first of 12 consecutive trips to the NBA All-Star Game, winning the MVP Award after scoring 23 points and setting a record with 14 assists, one better than Bob Cousy's previous mark. Robertson also ended Cousy's eight-year string of regular-season assists titles by leading the league with 9.7 per game. With forward Jack Twyman contributing 25.3 points per game, the Royals improved to 33-46. The team, however, remained in the Western Division cellar.
It would only take until Robertson's second year for him to achieve true NBA stardom. In 1961-62, the year he averaged a triple-double, Robertson led the Royals to the first of six straight trips to the playoffs. He repeated as assists champion with 11.4 per game and a total of 899, smashing yet another record set by Cousy, who had accumulated 715 assists two years earlier. The sharpshooting Robertson also finished fourth in field goal percentage (.478), and his average of 12.5 rebounds per game was a career high. Success did not follow the Royals to the playoffs, however; they were dumped in the first round by the Detroit Pistons, three games to one.

Just how good was Robertson? "He is so great-he scares me."
-- former Celtics Coach Red Auerbach
Robertson had another great year the following season (28.3 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 9.5 apg, .518 field goal percentage). With Twyman continuing to put up big numbers, Cincinnati battled past the Syracuse Nationals in the division semifinals. In the next round against the Boston Celtics, Robertson's heroics forced a Game 7, but the Royals fell to the eventual world champions.
Throughout the mid-1960s the great Boston and Philadelphia 76ers teams would stand impenetrable, keeping the Royals from advancing to the NBA Finals. The rivalries made for classic matchups between Robertson, the Celtics' Cousy and the 76ers' Hal Greer.
In 1963-64, Robertson became one of the league's dominant players. He won the All-Star and regular-season MVP Awards and led the Royals to a 55-25 record, good enough for second place in the Eastern Division. Robertson finished first in the league in both assists (11.0 apg) and free throw percentage (.853) and ranked second in scoring (31.4 ppg). By this time the Royals had assembled a powerful supporting cast for the young superstar, with Twyman, rookie Jerry Lucas and Wayne Embry up front and Adrian Smith joining Robertson in the backcourt. Cincinnati also had a new coach, Jack McMahon, who had played with the Royals when they were in Rochester.
In the postseason, the Royals muscled past the 76ers in five games, only to meet the mighty Celtics in the division finals. Although the Royals were firing on all cylinders and Robertson was in top form, Cincinnati was still no match for Boston, which won all four games by at least 10 points.
Throughout the decade Robertson averaged at least 25 ppg, 6 rpg and 8 apg. The league was full of stars at the time, including West, Chamberlain, Russell, Elgin Baylor, Willis Reed and John Havlicek.
That Robertson stood out as equal to-and, in the eyes of many, even better than-these players was testimony to his greatness. From 1960 to 1968 Robertson was the only player other than Chamberlain or Russell to win the MVP Award. And it took Chamberlain's prodigious point totals to keep Robertson from winning a scoring title.
No other player excelled in as many ways as Robertson did. Basketball watchers marveled at his hardworking style of play. Knicks guard Dick Barnett once said: "If you give him a 12-foot shot, he'll work on you until he's got a 10-foot shot. Give him 6, he wants 4. Give him 2 feet and you know what he wants? That's right, man, a layup." Red Auerbach joked that after telling his players to stretch out their fingers extra wide while defending Robertson, "Oscar shot the ball through their fingers!"
Before the 1969-70 season, near the end of Robertson's peak as a player, the Royals brought in Cousy as head coach. Cincinnati had missed the playoffs two years in a row, and attendance was suffering. To draw fans and generate some excitement, the 41-year-old Cousy even put on a uniform and played seven games in the backcourt with Robertson.
Then, prior to the 1970-71 season, the Royals stunned the basketball world by trading Robertson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk. Theories attempting to explain the trade abounded. Many observers believed it was Cousy's jealousy of Robertson that led to the trade. The Big O had just broken many of Cousy's records and Cincinnati was suddenly too small for the both of them. "Whatever his reasons were," Robertson later said, "I think he was wrong and I'll never forget it." Fans up and down the Ohio River mourned.
Also in 1970, Robertson became part of one of the most important court cases in NBA history. The landmark Oscar Robertson suit, filed by the NBA's Players Association against the league, stalled a proposed merger between the NBA and the American Basketball Association. The anti-trust suit, named after Robertson because he was president of the union at the time, challenged the merger as well as the legality of the college draft and the NBA's reserve clause that prohibited free agency. Six years after the suit was filed, the NBA finally reached a settlement, the leagues merged and the draft remained intact.
But drafted players won the right to snub their prospective employers for a year and reenter the draft. In addition, teams were no longer required to provide compensation when signing a free-agent player. This encouraged the signing of more free agents and eventually led to higher salaries for all players.
At age 31 and still searching for an NBA Championship, Robertson joined second-year center Abdul-Jabbar (then called Lew Alcindor) in the Bucks' lineup. With Abdul-Jabbar winning the scoring title and the MVP Award, Milwaukee posted the NBA's best record in 1970-71 at 66-16. Robertson had what for him was a typical late-career season: He played in all but one game and tallied 19.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per contest.
Compared to Robertson's postseason struggles in Cincinnati, the Bucks' relatively easy road through the 1971 playoffs was an unusual experience. Milwaukee breezed by the San Francisco Warriors and Los Angeles to reach the NBA Finals against the Baltimore Bullets. The Bucks glided past the Bullets and their strong frontcourt of Wes Unseld and Gus Johnson in four games, the first Finals sweep in 12 years.
With a championship ring now adorning one of Robertson's famous fingers, people around the league started asking the question: "Is the Big O the best ever?" Although obviously not a question that could be answered objectively, a strong case was being made by sports writers and basketball experts all over the country.
With his legs starting to go, Robertson considered retirement. He managed to play three more seasons, however, helping the Bucks to division titles in each of those years. Stymied in the playoffs in 1972 and again in 1973, the Bucks reached the Finals in Robertson's final year and were favored to win the title in 1974 against the Celtics. In what stands as a classic series, an Abdul-Jabbar sky-hook in double-overtime of Game 6 gave the Bucks new life and forced a Game 7. In the finale Dave Cowens delivered 28 points and 14 rebounds, leading Boston to a 15-point victory.
It was an emotional end to one of the most remarkable careers in the history of American sport. The Big O had single-handedly redefined the role of the basketball guard, laying the foundation for players such as Magic Johnson. No one, however, may match Robertson's overall greatness.
Robertson left the NBA with 26,710 points, 9,887 assists and 7,804 rebounds collected in 1,040 games. He shot .485 from the field and .838 from the line. In 86 playoff games Robertson averaged 22.2 points, 8.9 assists and 6.7 rebounds. He led the league in assists six times and in free throw percentage twice. His teams made the playoffs in 10 of his 14 years in the league.
After his retirement Robertson worked to improve the living conditions of African-Americans in his hometown of Indianapolis by helping to build affordable housing. He remained a harsh critic of social policies that adversely affect minorities, particularly African-Americans.

Robertson co-captained the 1960 United States Olympic gold medal team-considered by many as the greatest assemblage of amateur talent ever-before beginning a prolific 14-year NBA career with the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. As a rookie in 1961, Robertson won the first of three All-Star Game MVP awards (1961, 1964, 1969) along with being named Rookie of the Year. Robertson captured the 1964 NBA MVP Award with impressive numbers, 31.4 ppg, 11.0 apg and 9.9 rpg, but the "Big O's" best statistical season came in 1961-62. Oscar averaged a triple double for the entire season, averaging 30.8 ppg, 11.4 apg and 12.5 rpg, a feat that has never been duplicated. He earned All-NBA honors 11 times and led the Royals and the Bucks to 10 playoff berths. In 1971, Robertson teamed with Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to land Milwaukee its only NBA title, the Bucks' third year as a professional franchise. Robertson concluded his career with 26,710 points (25.7 per game), 9,887 assists (9.5 per game) and 7,804 rebounds (7.5 per game). Upon retirement, Robertson left a lasting impression on the NBA record books as the all-time leader in career assists and free throws made.