Mcmillan Plays Like Magic -- Sonic Guard Knew How To `Read' Laker Superstar

"The guy that gives me the most trouble, night in and night out, is Nate McMillan of Seattle. He does to me what I do to other people." - Earvin "Magic" Johnson, after Game 1 of the NBA Finals, June 6, 1989

The fruitless search lasted for more than a decade and was fraught with desperate reaches.

The Seattle SuperSonics made one when they signed a guard named Craig Dykema in 1983. They tried to bill him as a player with skills "not unlike Magic Johnson." The only thing magic about Dykema was the disappearing act he pulled before the Sonics played a game that year.

The next Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

No doubt, as many will bear that mantle in the future, as have in the past. And ultimately prove themselves unworthy. When Magic Johnson retired from professional basketball last Thursday after learning he had been infected with the AIDS virus, he left a vacancy that probably never will be filled.

The Miami Heat have a 6-foot-6 point guard in Steve Smith, who even hails from Johnson's alma mater, Michigan State. But unless the NBA rookie proves himself an uncommonly astute student of film and history, the closest thing to Magic, for some time, will be right here in Seattle.

At least in terms of style, if not substance.

What the Sonics' Nate McMillan has over Smith and the other Magic-wannabe's is five years of close encounters. During that period, they were Pacific Division rivals and two-time playoff opponents.

"I knew what he liked to do because I do similar things," McMillan said. "When I played against him, I pretty much tried to read him when he was coming downcourt. As he would come at me, I'd try to think of what I would do, and try to react before he did it. A lot of times, it worked."

Last season, after a game against Seattle at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., Johnson was asked if there were any NBA point guards who reminded him of himself. Yes, he responded. Then, as he did after Game 1 of the 1989 NBA Finals against Detroit, the Laker superstar invoked the name of Seattle's Nate McMillan.

The size, and rare ability to peer over a defender's head in search of open teammates. The thrill of starting a play, as opposed to finishing it. The ability to take the ball off the board and push it upcourt. The chest-high dribble, executed with backside and left arm extended. The inspired playmaking, especially the ability to skip a pass through traffic.

These were the attributes Johnson said he detected when he looked in a mirror and saw McMillan.

That's no coincidence.

"From the time I was in high school, I always tried to base my game on his game," said McMillan, a native of Raleigh, N.C..

McMillan, of course, is an imperfect copy.

Both came into the league with crooked perimeter games. But Johnson improved his to the point where he averaged 19.7 points and 52.1 percent shooting over his 12-year career. McMillan has averaged 6.2 points and has never come close to shooting 50 percent for a season.

That missing dimension prevented McMillan from filling the prediction that he'd rival Johnson as a "triple-double" (double figures in points, rebounds and assists) threat.

McMillan was the Sonics' full-time starter at point guard for four seasons. In two of them, he was one of the few NBA point guards to have more assists than Johnson in head-to-head matchups. In three, he had more steals; and in all four, he had fewer turnovers.

Through all of this, they spoke at length just once. It was after their encounter in the 1987 Western Conference championship, which capped McMillan's rookie season. McMillan was honeymooning in the Bahamas when Magic materialized in an elevator at his hotel. Johnson invited the newlyweds to his boat for breakfast but, well, honeymoons being honeymoons, they never found the time.

It was a missed opportunity that pales in comparison to those McMillan will miss during this and ensuing seasons. At least five to six times a year, he could count on Johnson to push him to heights he'd never known against other adversaries. Now that's over.

"I never really looked at the Lakers as a team; I always just looked at them as Magic Johnson," McMillan said. "I could play against this guy all day long, and compete and have fun doing it.

"I definitely feel an emptiness. The game is going to be missing a lot with him gone. The Lakers are just not going to be the Lakers anymore. Now I have to look at that team as just the Lakers, and get myself up for that, instead of looking at Magic.

"In a sense, it's going to be a little boring."

Note

-- Although Shawn Kemp's sprained left foot has healed somewhat, the Sonic forward will not accompany the team on a five-game swing that begins Thursday in Cleveland. However, Kemp on Sunday was able to shed the "walker" used to protect his injury, which has prevented him from playing a regular-season game. --------------------------------------------------------------- MCMILLAN VS. MAGIC

How Seattle's Nate McMillan fared, during four seasons as a full-time starter, against Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers:

McMillan Johnson

Ast. Stl. Turn. Ast. Stl. Turn. ---------------------------------------------------- 1989-90 8.0 1.75 1.0 7.5 1.00 3.8. .................................................... 1988-89 9.3 1.75 2.5 13.3 1.66 3.2. .................................................... 1987-88 9.3 1.83 3.0 9.0 2.00 4.2. .................................................... 1986-87 9.2 1.60 1.4 11.7 1.66 3.3.