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Anthony Gharib, ESPN
The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves face off on Tuesday in an opening night matchup between familiar foes. A beef brewed between the organizations during the summer, though not between anyone who will play against each other on the court.
Lakers great Earvin “Magic” Johnson and the Wolves’ Anthony Edwards made their respective debuts in the NBA over 40 years apart. Johnson and Edwards have some similarities — they were drafted first overall, primarily played the guard position and starred for a Western Conference team.
However, the two have found a way to clash, particularly during the previous offseason. Edwards initiated the bad blood with comments about Johnson’s era and the Lakers icon hasn’t forgotten the slight.
Here’s a breakdown of their brief beef history.
Ant stirs the pot
Edwards isn’t shy about speaking his mind and in an August interview with the Wall Street Journal, he did just that.
When asked about how his generation of basketball is different from earlier ones, Edwards said he didn’t watch the older era so he couldn’t speak on it. But he noted that Michael Jordan was the only one who really had skill, a reason why Kobe Bryant stood out, according to Edwards.
The comments caught the attention of Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas and Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett, but they struck a nerve specifically with Johnson.
Magic doesn’t hold back
It took less than a week for the Hall of Famer to address Edwards, and he didn’t hold back.
Johnson flexed his championship résumé when referring to the Timberwolves guard — Johnson won a championship at the high school, college and the NBA levels. Even though Johnson said he wouldn’t respond, his statement offered a response in itself.
Magic gets the last word
A month after his initial reaction, Johnson appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and Edwards’ comments were discussed again. The former Lakers guard had a lengthy-but-simple response this time.
Johnson said Edwards “should’ve asked somebody, maybe his father or his grandfather” about some of the players in that era. Johnson began listing names and described them as “some of the most dominant players that have ever played.”
Johnson then took another jab at the lack of winning on Edwards’ résumé.
“You might want to talk-trash when you won something,” he said. “If this came from some of the guys who just won on the [Boston] Celtics team, OK, you might want to look at it. But you haven’t won anything.”
He also offered advice to the young star. He told him to concentrate on teams like the Dallas Mavericks, who eliminated the Timberwolves in the postseason, rather than what happened “in a time you weren’t born.”
Source: www.espn.com