Magic Johnson on why Isiah Thomas was easily better than John Stockton: 'No way John Stockton could score 25 points in a quarter in the NBA Finals'

Isiah Thomas and John Stockton are two of the best point guards in the history of the NBA. Both played in the 80s and 90s and figured in 19 regular season games against each other. The Utah Jazz guard won their career head-to-head showdown 11-8, but Thomas outplayed Stockton with averages of 22.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game versus 13.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 11.4 assists, and 1.7 steals during those 19 meetings.

Showtime Lakers guard Magic Johnson saw Zeke and Stock first-hand during his legendary NBA career. And for Magic, picking between the two is easy. In fact, he said it was a "no-comparison" in favor of the Bad Boys team captain.

"Isiah Thomas could take over a game both scoring-wise as well as controlling the game as a point guard," explained Magic. "There's never been a guard that can do what Isiah could do in terms of whether he could take over the game in the fourth quarter and win you the game. John Stockton didn't have those type of ability. His ability was controlling the game, running that incredible pick-and-roll game with Karl Malone. No way John Stockton could score 25 points in a quarter in the NBA Finals."

Zeke could take over the game

Thomas famously scored 25 third-quarter points in Game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals against Magic and the Lakers and did so with an injured ankle. "Zeke" finished that game with 43 points and eight assists, but the Pistons controversially lost the game due to a phantom foul call on Bill Laimbeer. Detroit would go on to lose the championship in Game 7, with Thomas still bothered by the injury.

Many believe that the Pistons could have three-peated if their floor general had not gotten hurt in that 1988 series, but it is what it is. Still, Thomas led the Bad Boys to back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, winning Finals MVP honors during their second title run.

"Isiah led his team to back-to-back championships and that's hard to do," added Magic. "The Utah Jazz had their opportunity but they came up short the times that they went to the NBA Finals because they didn't have the guy that could take over the game."

Stockton lost back-to-back Finals to MJ and the Bulls

Meanwhile, Stockton helped the Jazz win a franchise-record 64 games during the 1996-97 season and a league-best 62-20 mark the following year. Utah made the NBA Finals during both seasons, but they lost both series to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Stockton averaged only 15.0 points per game in '97 and only 9.7 points per game in the '98 Finals.

"I'm not going to take anything away from John Stockton because I played against him six times a year, and he was incredible," continued Magic. "But he wasn't the go-to guy at the end of the games, in the fourth quarter where Isiah was that guy. We saw Isiah score 50 points, 45 points. We didn't see John Stockton do that, and that's what we're talking about."

Sure, John's primary role in Jazz was as a playmaker. He wasn't required to score as many points as Isiah did on the Pistons. But there were many games in the playoffs and Finals where Karl Malone struggled, and as the co-star on that team, Stockton's inability to take over cost them the win. The Pistons had no such issues with "Zeke." As Magic said, it's not even a comparison.