NBA History: 5 greatest playmakers of all time

LeBron James
LeBron James

#1 Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson

The first overall pick of the 1979 NBA Draft Earvin 'Magic' Johnson was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers. He spent his entire NBA career with the Lakers as a point guard.

Magic's addition to the LA franchise helped them win an NBA Championship in his rookie season and he became the youngest player ever to win the Finals MVP (a record that he still holds). Magic may have been one of the best ever at making teammates around him better.

Under Pat Riley, Johnson became one of the league's best all-round players and won five NBA titles. Magic Johnson led a fast-paced Lakers attack, he was great at running plays, passing ball to his teammates and even scoring with perfection. Magic has the highest assist average of all time (11.2 assists per game) and ranks fourth in career assists (10,141). He also holds the record for most assists in a playoff game, an NBA Finals game and in playoffs history (2,346).

If not for his early retirement in 1991 due to him testing positive for the HIV, he would have rivaled John Stockton for the most assists record in the league.

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