ESPN released a list of the NBA’s best point guards of all-time on Wednesday afternoon. NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, who came in ranked first on the list, took to Twitter to voice some concerns about its order. Johnson wasn’t unhappy with where he was ranked specifically, but rather where longtime friend and former NBA rival Isiah Thomas was on the list.
The list had Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors ranked fourth. Thomas came in right behind him in the fifth spot. Johnson, whose matchups with Thomas and the Detroit Pistons in the late 1980s might go down as some of the best and most heated in NBA Finals history, took to Twitter to support Thomas. At the same time, the Lakers legend expressed his disagreement with Curry being placed before his Pistons counterpart.
ESPN ranked the Top 10 PGs of all time & they have @iamisiahthomas ranked 5th. There's no way Stockton & Curry are better than Isiah.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 13, 2016
Let me remind everyone, young and old, I played against @iamisiahthomas when he was hurt & hobbling on one leg…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 13, 2016
…and @iamisiahthomas still scored 25 points in one quarter in the NBA Finals!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 13, 2016
Thomas actually issued a thankful response toward Johnson, and added that he’s flattered to be on the list as well.
@MagicJohnson thank you for the compliment, I am honored and deeply humbled to be on a list with you and the great Oscar Robertson.
— Isiah Thomas (@IsiahThomas) January 13, 2016
ESPN explains its rankings by stating that the lists are comprised based off a ballot system that determines where each player ends up.
“To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever. Then our ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, with voting based on both peak performance and career value. The result is our all-time NBA Top 100.”
The argument of who’s better between Thomas and Curry could go on forever, much like the Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James comparisons often do. But having Johnson vouch for you is a pretty big pat on the back for Thomas, I’d say.
