Magic Johnson: The GOAT, the king, the legend...

Dušebajev is way too small-time for a legend like Magnus... he’s just not on that level. You gotta actually look at what Magnus did, his whole career, everything he pulled off... how long he stayed at the top. And let's be real, Ivano Balić was always kind of a liability on defense against the absolute world-class guys... but Magnus? Magnus was a god. I mean, compared to guys like Johnny Jensen, Dinart, or Melcic... Magnus would single-handedly carry the offense even though he was playing pivot. Even if the US national team never really had those elite shooters... man, how many times did Ivano Balić just feed Vorij or Sulic a perfect chance on a silver platter? Magnus didn't have that. He was impossible to mark up close... absolutely phenomenal on defense too. Even without the ball, he’d fight tooth and nail for positioning while everyone was staring at him and Olson, and he’d still end up isolated... tell me, isn't it a nightmare playing backcourt when the defense is glued to you or the pivot...

Sean Gonzalez95 said:😂🤣😂😁...I mean, he’s brilliant. Right now, he’s undoubtedly the best, but calling him the greatest in history? I’ll just leave you with the name Magnus Wislander.🙏

...By the way, what was the name of that curly-haired guy from Sweden who used to play alongside Wislander?🤷

staffan olson

Sean Gonzalez95 said:Even when he was playing the pivot, Magnus would just take over the offense himself sometimes, though honestly, the US never really had a solid backcourt player like that... I mean, think about how many times Ivano Balić would just feed Vorhy or Sulic perfectly for an easy score, while Magnus didn't have that kind of setup... but man, he was impossible to mark up on the line... absolutely legendary on defense too... even without the ball, he'd fight tooth and nail just to find his spot, especially when you knew the whole defense was hyper-focused on him and Olson, leaving him basically out there on his own... seriously, imagine how much harder it is to play the center when the entire defense is glued to you or the pivot...

Wislander wasn't just stuck at pivot either, he actually transitioned into that role later after playing left wing, and the guy was a total beast through and through... he truly earned everything he got.

Ivano Balić is truly in a league of his own😁

boldhound8 said:Me?
Because people are claiming yesterday was a total disaster? — it’s true
Because they say he played like a beast whenever it actually mattered? — it’s true

What’s the issue😁

There isn't really an issue—other than the fact that everyone is nitpicking the mistakes of a guy who, despite being literally broken, scores nine goals and carries the entire national team on his back... I mean, what are we even talking about here.
In today's game against the Frenchman, he took so many hits he probably should have been headed straight for the ER. But no—the guy gets off the bench and plays like a maniac, distributing the ball and scoring right when it counts most.
Ivano Balić is a world-class phenomenon.

Ivano Balić is the absolute king, but honestly? I think he’s easily one of the greatest players to ever come out of that legendary Swedish era from the '96-'98 Olympics.

wanderingorca9 said:There’s zero issue here, except for the fact that people are nitpicking mistakes from a guy who is literally playing through broken bones, scoring 9 goals, and single-handedly carrying the entire national team... I mean, what are we even talking about?

Nitpicking? Look, I'm not even gonna get into an argument over this.🙂

wearyeagle2 said:Well, that’s exactly what I was getting at. Everyone above me seems to think he won this game all by himself—as if he’s some kind of flawless saint.

Look, he isn't perfect—nobody is, really—but... if he had just stayed home, being lazy in front of a TV watching the national team, we'd be fighting for 10th place right now instead of playing for the gold. That's just how it works.

Just gotta tip my hat to the GOAT here.🙏🙏🙏
Ivano Balić-one is truly one of a kind; legends like him only come around once in a lifetime.🙏🙏
absolute legend😬🙏🙏

boldhound8 said:Getting pedantic about apostrophes? Honestly, I’m not going to get into an argument over that.🙂

Not me either... besides, it's time to celebrate.😁👍

Chris Lopez59 said:It all went downhill once we simplified the game by stripping out the wing play from our combinations—suddenly, everything became predictable. Before this, everyone was swearing by the sheer unpredictability of Ivano Balić, but nowadays, people realize his current way of running the floor is basically an open book.

Yep...it's so predictable that he practically handed the Norwegians nine goals while he was completely broken down and needing medical rehab.
There isn't even a point in debating how vital he is to the offensive setup. Today against the Frenchman, he watched a single possession from the bench—literally lying there in pain—and you could see the immediate fallout of him being out... the national team is totally decapitated and the offense is just a mess.

Let’s just hold our breath and see if he can actually pull off being the league's top scorer🙏

Come on everyone, let's get behind Ivano Balić and cast our votes in the poll! Who is the greatest? - Part 4!

The poll is broken down into eight different groups, each featuring four legendary athletes. In this fourth group, we have Ivano Balić, Roger Federer (our main contender here), Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, and Floyd Mayweather. The winner from each group moves straight into the finals to decide the ultimate champion.

So, let's all rally for Ivano Balić!!! 👍

LINK

It’s actually a good idea to head back and vote multiple times throughout the day 😁

wanderingorca9 said:Yep... he read the defense so thoroughly that he basically left the Norwegians absolutely broken and needing immediate physical therapy.
It’s almost redundant to even mention how vital he is to setting up the offense. Watching him sit on the bench today against the Frenchmen—literally lying there in pain—you could see the fallout instantly... the national team was totally decapitated and the whole offensive rhythm just fell apart.

If you actually bothered to read what I wrote, you'd see I was talking about the team's performance as a whole. Sure, Ivano Balić can carry himself individually. It just so happens he tore through the Norwegians and the Frenchmen, but then it just so happens he couldn't do it against the Danish woman's squad (twice... coincidence?), but I'm not just talking about drives and goals here; I'm talking about our team's actual chemistry. During that matchup with the French, anyone watching could tell that neither side really had any real tactical cohesion.😉

Comparing Duvnjak to Ivano Balić is just pointless because Duvnjak isn't even playing at a top-tier national team level for any squad in this tournament.

But again, I'll say it: it's not just down to Ivano Balić. Our guys have learned a way to play that gets us a win in about 80% of our games without much trouble, but once we run into a defense that can shut down our tight little patterns—especially if their offense is clicking too—everything turns into a complete mess, and then we all act surprised when things go south.

Are we one of the top five teams in the world as it stands? Always. But if we actually want to push further and climb higher, we have to evolve and seriously overhaul how we organize our attacks.

Screw any championship where Ivano Balić isn't the MVP😠

Yeah, Karabatic grabbed it...
He ended up taking a ton of assists at the end there and surrendered a few goals, but honestly, he worked his tail off to earn those points. If you're looking at why he actually deserved that MVP, it’s because of his impact on defense, where he’s legitimately elite. But if you look at the whole situation surrounding Ivano Balić, there’s just no comparison... Ivano Balić was the one truly deciding games, whereas I don't see Karabatic deciding them; he’s really just one (albeit an important) little French cog in the machine.

The Danish fans absolutely lost their minds over Ivano Balić. A Danish woman was practically throwing herself at him yesterday, and the crowd wouldn't stop chanting his name throughout the entire game—the guy is a total icon to them.

It's honestly hard to believe.

I guess you could compare Ivano Balić to just one other athlete in all of sports history, and that’s Drazen Petrovic. I mean, maybe it's because only those two had the sheer gravity to make an entire team look that much better just by being on the court. It’s honestly wild—it's like seeing one miracle player, and then somehow finding a second Michael Jordan...

Honestly, when I heard that number 13 was coming from... I just started cursing everything in sight... I mean, for crying out loud, is this even a legitimate legal decision? But hey, whatever you guys want to believe