Former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin recently questioned whether LeBron James still wants to win as badly as he did earlier in his career, and Magic Johnson insists Los Angeles Lakers fans do not have to worry about that.
In a series of tweets on Friday, Johnson defended LeBron’s hunger to win and said James is fully committed to bringing an NBA championship back to LA. He also spoke about the difficulty of winning a title even when you have great players.
Laker Nation, I can tell you firsthand that LeBron James is committed to bringing a championship back to LA. He promised the people of Ohio he would bring a championship to Cleveland and he accomplished his mission.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) August 2, 2019
It isn’t fun playing with any great player if we don’t win the championship. It takes a lot of hardwork, pain, and suffering. The greatest coach in NBA history, Pat Riley, told our showtime Lakers we would never enjoy what we accomplished until we retired. He was right.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) August 2, 2019
It’s hard getting to a championship in any league or level, harder to win the championship, and you can’t imagine the difficulty of maintaining that level of excellence.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) August 2, 2019
That seemed like a direct response to what Griffin said in a Sports Illustrated feature that was published this week. The former Cavs GM, who was recently hired as the executive vice president of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans, questioned how motivated LeBron was after he fulfilled his promise of delivering a title to Cleveland.
“There wasn’t a lot else for him,” Griffin told SI. “I don’t think he’s the same animal anymore about winning.”
Griffin also said he grew tired of having to build a roster around LeBron every year and described it as “inorganic and unsustainable and, frankly, not fun.”
Johnson played a major role in helping to get James to sign with the Lakers, so he should have a pretty good idea of where LeBron’s head is at. Magic also recently predicted that LeBron will win NBA MVP next season. For his part, LeBron has indicated that he could be on the verge of blowing up on Griffin and his other critics. Stay tuned.
