Of the four major pro sports in the nation, basketball is the most superstar-driven. The NBA is very dependent on superstars to generate good ratings, especially in the playoffs, and teams are very dependent on superstars in order to have a real shot at winning a championship.
But what is the exact definition of a superstar in the NBA? There is a big difference between being a superstar and a mere star, and the line between the two levels can get blurred.
Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who was as much a superstar as just about any other athlete who has ever lived, went on ESPN’s “First Take” and gave his definition of a true superstar.
“A person who can go on the road and sell the building out,” Johnson said. “Simple. I’m going to see that person. You gotta be box office. You running home from the office and saying, ‘I gotta see him on TV.’ Larry Bird, people running home. Charles Barkley, people running home. Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal), people running home. Kobe [Bryant], people running home. And then of course the greatest that’s ever played, Michael Jordan. People running home to see him or they’re trying their best to get into the arena to see that brother play. That’s a superstar who can go on the road and sell the building out.”
Johnson, of course, was someone whom people would flock to arenas or watch television to see play. He, along with Bird, made the NBA into a prominent, thriving league in the 1980s, and he led the Lakers to five world titles while once and forever defining Lakers mystique.
But of course, being a superstar is about much more than being exciting to watch, and Johnson also gave a critical element of being such an athlete.
“Superstar player, they gotta lead you to the championship. They gotta lead you to the championship and it’s gotta mean so much to them. It’s gotta be painful, it’s gotta hurt. And so a superstar is a guy who makes his teammates better. It’s not just getting yours, but how do you also inspire the other guys to bring them up to a level. That’s a superstar to me that makes an impact on that team, in that locker room, in that city.”
During that same appearance on “First Take,” Johnson made it clear to Luka Doncic that the expectation is that, as the new face and main superstar of the Lakers, he must lead the team to a championship.
Doncic is already apparently getting in better shape during this early phase of the offseason, and if the franchise brings in a couple more pieces, especially at the center and wing spots, perhaps Doncic will start to create his own legacy as a Lakers legend.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Magic Johnson on what it means to be an NBA superstar
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
