text: who's better michael jordan or magic johnson?   michael jordan *had* to be better to will his teams to 6 titles. magic played with guys such as kareem, worthy, and michael cooper - jordan had pippen, grant, and rodman (for a couple of years) along with some guys who knew their roles. of course, magic would have a few more rings if not for bird and the celtics, but i'd still take michael, who became a better defender.  the below link shows a nice table for the greatest of the nba all-time greats: