A special feeling is in the L.A. air as the first round of the 2024-25 NBA playoffs is set to begin on Saturday.
The Los Angeles Lakers will enter the postseason as the Western Conference's No. 3 seed after finishing with a 50-32 record in head coach JJ Redick's first year on the job. The successful regular-season showing has landed the Lakers an opening-round series with the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves, leaving time to tell how LeBron James and Luka Doncic will handle Anthony Edwards & Co.
As with all NBA playoff series, former players and fans alike are already predicting who'll emerge victorious from the upcoming Lakers-Timberwolves showdown. Unfortunately, Los Angeles fans likely won't be thrilled by one franchise legend's take on the upcoming series.
Magic Johnson Disrespects Lakers With Comments Before Timberwolves Series
When it comes to former Lakers greats, few are as beloved as Magic Johnson. The five-time NBA Champion and Hall of Fame icon's name will forever be associated with the purple and gold, and his outspoken personality is just one of the many reasons fans love him.
That said, Johnson's opinions can sometimes land him in hot water. That's exactly what happened when the three-time MVP hopped on social media on Thursday to comment on the upcoming Lakers-Timberwolves series.
"I'm scared for my Lakers because the game's most exciting player, superstar Anthony Edwards, is a matchup problem," Johnson wrote, adding in a separate post that the likes of Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura must step up to help L.A. win the series.
I’m scared for my Lakers because the game’s most exciting player, superstar Anthony Edwards, is a matchup problem.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 18, 2025
As much love and respect as Johnson deserves, his comments are completely disrespectful to his former team.
There's no denying Anthony Edwards' status as one of the NBA's top young players, especially after averaging a career-high 27.6 points on .447/.395/.837 splits last season. At the same time, Edwards is the Lakers' first-round opponent's best player, and the last thing Johnson should be doing is hyping up the competition while putting Redick's squad down.
It's also absurd to call Edwards "the game's most exciting player" when the likes of Doncic and James are right there.
Even if Edwards "is a matchup problem," the Lakers proved they could handle him by evenly splitting their four regular-season meetings with the Timberwolves. Only the last of those meetings was played after L.A. acquired Doncic, though, which ended up being a 111-102 home win for the Lakers on Feb. 27.
With only 27 playoff games under Edwards' belt, it'll be crucial for the Lakers to make life as difficult as possible in this series. Successfully doing so while forcing the Timberwolves to turn to Julius Randle and Naz Reid as their top offensive weapons will improve Los Angeles's odds of advancing.
For now, Lakers fans hope Johnson will fully support the team going forward rather than bringing them down with more controversial takes.
The good news is that all signs point to Redick's team proving Johnson and their other doubters wrong. The Lakers head into Round 1 of the NBA playoffs as FanDuel Sportsbook's -186 series favorite over the Timberwolves.
More Los Angeles News & Rumors:
Odds update periodically and are subject to change.