Magic Johnson weighed in on the Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James debate. Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Magic Johnson: Michael Jordan the greatest ever, LeBron James the best all-around player

By Zac Wassink | Last updated May 21, 2020 5:23 PM ET

On Monday evening, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith spoke with Los Angeles Lakers legend, five-time NBA champion, and Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks co-owner Magic Johnson about the ESPN docuseries "The Last Dance" and about what it was like to face and know six-time champion Michael Jordan.

A few minutes into the conversation, Smith asked a question on the minds of many who watched the ESPN series: Who, between Jordan and current Lakers star LeBron James, is the better player and the greatest of all time?

Johnson's answer may surprise some:

Magic chimes in on MJ vs. LeBron pic.twitter.com/wCEVbe1G7J
— ESPN (@espn) May 21, 2020

"First of all, let's not take anything away from LeBron James. Because LeBron James is a great basketball player and one of the all-time greatest that's ever played the game.

"When you think about an all-around basketball player, he probably is the best of all time as an all-around basketball player. But when you want to say 'who is the greatest ever?' It's still Michael Jordan.

"Now LeBron James' chapter is not closed yet, right? He still has some basketball to play. So maybe he has a chance to catch (Jordan) later on if he can get some more championships under his belt.

"At the end of the day, they're both great. They played the game the right way. They made their teammates better. They won championships. And thank god for LeBron, because, right now, that's what we're watching.

"This is his time. This is his era. And he's dominating this era and in his time."

James has three titles on his resume and a career NBA Finals record of 3-6. He turns 36 years old in December.

The debate wages on.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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