Los Angeles no longer has the exclusive honor of boasting one of the greatest intersections in basketball and hockey. Nikola Jokic and Nathan MacKinnon recreated a feat 35 years after Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky did. After the Joker won his third MVP title in the 2023-24 season, Colorado Avalanche’s MacKinnon was named NHL’s MVP. Ball Arena and Denver now have both the reigning MVPs in the house. Across both leagues, this is the second time this has happened.

The last time both sports had MVPs in the same city was in 1989. Magic Johnson won his second of three MVPs leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row. Wayne Gretzky was playing for the Los Angeles Kings at that time. In 1989, he won the Hart Trophy for a record ninth time.

Magic won MVP again in 1990, a season before his retirement. He and Jokic are only two of nine players in NBA history to win at least three MVPs. 1989 was the last time Gretzky won MVP after consecutively taking the trophy from 1981 to 1987. Both are one of the six LA legends monumentalized at Crypto.com Arena with statues. That’s incredible company to be counted in for Jokic and MacKinnon.

Ball Arena has had both of its MVPs play 82 times this year. Jokic led the Nuggets to the second round of the Western Conference semis where they lost in a close 4-3 series. The Avalanche had a similar fate, losing to the Dallas Stars in the second round. Though they didn’t bring home the championships again this year, Denver loves having two MVPs at the same time.

Magic probably hasn’t been informed yet or he’s usually not one to skip congratulating any athlete. For most of Joker’s run, he’s predicted nothing but greatness.

Magic Johnson saw it coming

Before McKinnon would win the Hart Trophy, Magic Johnson had a prediction for Jokic. He wrote on X in April, “Jokic, who I believe will win the MVP award, had another unstoppable performance tonight, with 32/12/7.” The following month, his prediction came true.

Magic had congratulated Jokic on winning MVP in 2022 and 2023. He was also ecstatic that he was voted deserving of the Magic Johnson trophy as the Western Conference Finals MVP in 2023. After safely predicting a third win for his fave, he felt secure enough to not repeat another congratulatory post.

Jokic alone had been a thorn in the side of Magic’s Lakers for two seasons. Yet he’s been drawing comparisons to Magic (and even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) all season. His newest accomplishment is one more notch he shares with Magic.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.