Editing Magic Johnson (section)

== Legacy ==
In 905&nbsp;NBA games, Johnson tallied 17,707&nbsp;points, 6,559&nbsp;rebounds, and 10,141&nbsp;assists, translating to career averages of 19.5&nbsp;points, 7.2&nbsp;rebounds, and 11.2&nbsp;assists per game, the highest assists per game average in NBA history.<ref name="stats" /> Johnson shares the single-game playoff record for assists (24),<ref name="assrec">{{cite web |website=NBA Encyclopedia: Playoff Edition |title=Magic Johnson Career Stats |url=http://www.nba.com/history/players/johnsonm_stats.html|access-date=June 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616051831/http://www.nba.com/history/players/johnsonm_stats.html|archive-date=June 16, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> holds the Finals record for assists in a game (21),<ref name="assrec" /> and has the most playoff assists (2,346).<ref>{{cite web |website=NBA Encyclopedia: Playoff Edition |title=All-Time Playoffs Individual Career Leaders |url=http://www.nba.com/history/records/alltime_playoffs_ind_career.html|access-date=May 8, 2008|archive-date=May 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530092226/http://www.nba.com/history/records/alltime_playoffs_ind_career.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He is the only player to average 12 assists in an NBA Finals series, achieving it six times.<ref name=espn_alltime_rank>{{cite news |title=All-Time #NBArank: Magic No. 4 |date=February 10, 2016 |publisher=ESPN |url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/nbarank4/all-nbarank-4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160211001219/http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/nbarank4/all-nbarank-4|archive-date=February 11, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> He holds the All-Star Game single-game record for assists (22), and the All-Star Game record for career assists (127).<ref name="assrec" /> Johnson is one of only eight players in the history of basketball to achieve the [[Triple Crown (American basketball)|Triple Crown]] — winning an NCAA championship, NBA championship, and Olympic gold medal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Beslic |first= Stephen|date=November 11, 2022 |title=Eight players who have won NCAA, NBA, and Olympic titles |url=https://www.basketballnetwork.net/latest-news/seven-players-who-have-won-ncaa-nba-and-olympic-titles |work= Basketball Network|location= |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Davis">{{cite news |last= Cohn|first=Jordan |date= October 11, 2020|title= Anthony Davis joins 7 other players to win NBA Finals, NCAA Championship, Olympic gold medal|url=https://www.audacy.com/thefandc/sports/nba/anthony-davis-joins-basketballs-triple-crown-club |work=[[106.7 The Fan]] |location= |access-date=November 27, 2024}}</ref>

{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|quote="Magic is head-and-shoulders above everybody else [...] I've never seen [anybody] as good as him."|source=—[[Larry Bird]]<ref name="LegendProfile">{{cite web |author=NBA.com Staff |title=Legends profile: Magic Johnson |publisher=NBA |url=https://www.nba.com/news/history-nba-legend-magic-johnson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210100752/https://www.nba.com/news/history-nba-legend-magic-johnson|archive-date=February 10, 2024|access-date=February 10, 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
Johnson introduced a fast-paced style of basketball called "[[Showtime (basketball)|Showtime]]", described as a mix of "no-look passes off the [[fast break]], pin-point [[alley-oop]]s from halfcourt, spinning feeds and overhand bullets under the basket through [[double team|triple teams]]."<ref name="nbafullbio">{{cite web |website=NBA Encyclopedia: Playoff Edition |title=Magic Johnson Bio |url=http://www.nba.com/history/players/johnsonm_bio.html|access-date=May 8, 2008|archive-date=January 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126080348/http://www.nba.com/history/players/johnsonm_bio.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Fellow Lakers guard [[Michael Cooper]] said, "There have been times when [Johnson] 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."<ref name="nbafullbio" /><ref name="espnshowtime" /> Johnson could dominate a game without scoring, running the offense and distributing the ball with flair.<ref name=espn_alltime_rank /> In the [[1982 NBA Finals]], he was named the Finals MVP averaging just 16.2 points, the lowest average of any Finals MVP award recipient in the three-point shot era.<ref name=espn_alltime_rank />

Johnson was exceptional because he played point guard despite being 6&nbsp;ft 9&nbsp;in (2.06&nbsp;m), a size reserved normally for [[frontcourt]] players.<ref name="nbafullbio" /> His career 138&nbsp;triple-double games places him fourth all-time behind [[Russell Westbrook]], [[Oscar Robertson]], and [[Nikola Jokić]].<ref>{{cite web |title=NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Triple-Doubles |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/trp_dbl_career.html |website=basketball-reference.com |access-date=February 9, 2025 |archive-date=December 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226220158/https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/trp_dbl_career.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Johnson is the only player in NBA Finals history to have triple-doubles in multiple series-clinching games.<ref name=espn_alltime_rank />

For his feats, Johnson was voted as one of the [[50 Greatest Players in NBA History|50 Greatest Players of All Time]] by the NBA in 1996,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/history/players/50greatest.html |title=The NBA at 50 |publisher=National Basketball Association|access-date=May 15, 2008|archive-date=May 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519214031/http://www.nba.com/history/players/50greatest.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and selected to the [[NBA 75th Anniversary Team]] in 2021.<ref name="75th" /> The [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]] inducted him in 2002.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://assets.espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0605/1391196.html |title=Johnson, Brown elected to Hall of Fame |date=June 5, 2002 |publisher=ESPN|access-date=May 15, 2008|archive-date=September 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925141726/http://assets.espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0605/1391196.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ESPN's ''SportsCentury'' ranked Johnson {{abbr|No.|Number}} 17 in their "50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top N. American athletes of the century |url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/athletes.html|access-date=January 3, 2023 |publisher=ESPN|archive-date=September 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909034514/https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/athletes.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, [[ESPN]].com rated Johnson the greatest point guard of all time, stating, "It could be argued that he's the one player in NBA history who was better than Michael Jordan."<ref name="greatestpg">{{cite web |publisher=ESPN |date=May 11, 2006 |title=Daily Dime: Special Edition&nbsp;– The 10 Greatest Point Guards Ever |url=https://www.espn.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-GreatestPointGuards|access-date=September 13, 2007|archive-date=February 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216111709/http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-GreatestPointGuards|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Bleacher Report]] also listed Johnson first in its all-time NBA point guard rankings.<ref name="top10pg">{{cite web |last=Bailey |first=Andy |title=NBA All-Time Player Rankings: Top 10 Point Guards |publisher=Bleacher Report |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2852716-nba-all-time-player-rankings-top-10-point-guards|access-date=August 10, 2020|archive-date=January 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118182459/https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2852716-nba-all-time-player-rankings-top-10-point-guards|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, to commemorate the NBA's 75th anniversary, ''[[The Athletic]]'' ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Johnson as the 5th greatest player in NBA history, and the highest ranked point guard.<ref name="Oram" /> Several of his achievements in individual games have also been named among the top moments in the NBA.<ref name="playoffmoments" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Singer |first=Michael |title=Jordan to Bird: Top 10 moments in NBA All-Star history |newspaper=USA Today |date=February 17, 2017 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2017/02/17/ranking-top-10-nba-all-star-moments/98047416/|access-date=June 25, 2019|archive-date=July 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707073609/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2017/02/17/ranking-top-10-nba-all-star-moments/98047416/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/encyclopedia/moments/60moments.html |title=The 60 Greatest Playoff Moments |publisher=NBA Encyclopedia: Playoff Edition|access-date=May 12, 2008|archive-date=March 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319204157/https://www.nba.com/encyclopedia/moments/60moments.html|url-status=live}}</ref> At the [[2019 NBA Awards]], Johnson received the [[NBA Lifetime Achievement Award]] (shared with Bird).<ref name="lifetime">{{cite magazine |last=Kimble |first=Lindsay |title=Larry Bird and Magic Johnson Receive NBA Lifetime Achievement Award |url=https://people.com/sports/nba-awards-2019-larry-bird-magic-johnson-lifetime-achievement/ |magazine=People |date=June 24, 2019|access-date=June 24, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308073329/https://people.com/sports/nba-awards-2019-larry-bird-magic-johnson-lifetime-achievement/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, the NBA began awarding MVPs for the conference finals; the [[NBA Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award|Western Conference Finals MVP]] trophy is named after Johnson, while the Eastern Conference trophy is named after Bird.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Feldman |first=Dan |url=https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/05/12/nba-to-name-conference-finals-mvps/ |title=NBA to name conference finals MVPs |publisher=[[NBC Sports]] |date=May 12, 2022|access-date=May 18, 2022|archive-date=June 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610165832/https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/05/12/nba-to-name-conference-finals-mvps/|url-status=live}}</ref>