LA Lakers News Roundup: Four-time champ calls LeBron James more Magic Johnson than Michael Jordan, Jeanie Buss joins Michael Jordan for the launching of Cincoro Gold and more | 16th September 2022

The LA Lakers’ LeBron James has a game that is more similar to Magic Johnson than Michael Jordan, according to John Salley. “Spider” played in both eras and gave his thoughts on the comparisons between MJ and “King James.”

Michael Jordan brought in the governors of the LA Lakers and Boston Celtics for the launch of his tequila Cincoro Gold. LA’s Jeanie Buss rubbed elbows with Emilia Falazzari and Wyc Grousbeck of the Celtics.

Health will be key for the LA Lakers’ success next season based on Austin Reaves’ evaluation. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook played only 21 games together, which is less to build chemistry.

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LeBron James’ game has more shades of Magic Johnson than Michael Jordan, according to John Salley

John Salley played against Magic Johnson when he was part of the Detroit Pistons’ “Bad Boys” era. He’s seen the “Magic Man” perform at his best and finds the point guard’s game more similar to LeBron James than Michael Jordan's.

Salley was also a teammate of Jordan once and won a championship with the Bulls, so he has unique thoughts on the comparison. In an interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson on Bovada Sports, Salley said:

“He is Magic Johnson. But Magic also had the Michael Jordan killer aspect. Magic is like a mixture of both."

LeBron James’ size, height and playmaking skills make him the modern version of Magic Johnson. LBJ was also more athletic than “Junior”. Salley has an interesting take on who he thinks the best NBA player is:

"I always said that the best player that was in the NBA is Earvin-Larry Bird-Johnson because they’re like one person. They’re both so intense, that it was amazing."

Salley mentioned that MJ retired more than two decades ago and no one has replicated his game after Kobe Bryant’s retirement. He also suggested that James' style is just so significantly different than Jordan’s, so comparing the two is unfair.

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Michael Jordan’s tequila launching involved LA Lakers governor Jeanie Buss

Michael Jordan's business ventures have been just as mind-boggling as his on-court exploits. He recently launched Cincoro Gold, along with four other co-founders. The other founders are Jeanie Buss of the Lakers, Wyc Grousbeck and his wife, Emilia Fazzalari, owner of the Boston Celtics and finally, Bucks' co-owner Wes Edens. LA and Boston is the most storied rivalry in all of pro sports, so seeing their top executives together is something very rare.

Part of what attracted the governors to join Jordan’s tequila business was the legendary player’s competitiveness. According to Jordan's founding team, he approaches his business challenges in the same way he played basketball. As per a story on "Insider", they said:

"There isn't one interaction where it doesn't come out," said Fazzalari.

"If it doesn't really work out, no one else really likes it, we're gonna have free tequila that we're gonna love," Grousbeck said of Jordan's mentality.

Once their brand picked up in the market, Grousbeck spoke about Jordan's plans to take the brand global. He said:

"Or we could go for global domination, 'that's Michael'."

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Austin Reaves contends that health will be the key to the LA Lakers’ success next season

LeBron James and Anthony Davis, in separate exit interviews, missed a large part of last season due to injuries. AD played only 40 games last season while LeBron James had 56. Davis, James and Westbrook played on only 21 games together last season.

In an interview with Shams Charania of "The Athletic", LA Lakers guard Austin Reaves called health the most crucial factor next season:

“Health is the main thing. I mean, you can’t really avoid some situations, like AD’s ankle injury last year. Just tough situations like that are hard. But, I mean, that’s the goal. The goal is to win every game we play. So we’re ready to get us started.”

Anthony Davis’ health could be key for the LA Lakers this season. He has only played 76 games in two seasons. The last time he was healthy, the Lakers won the championship.

LeBron James has also been injured more times over the last five years than in his first 15. Losing “King James” to an injury would be a fatal blow to the Lakers’ title hopes.

Reaves is right. As long as they are healthy, the LA Lakers could surprise many basketball fans next season.