Brooks, Durant respond to Magic’s prediction

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Launches "The Fundamentals of Basketball" DVD NBA Store New York City, New York United States March 23, 2005 Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com To license this image (4686507), contact WireImage: +1 212-686-8900 (tel) +1 212-686-8901 (fax) info@wireimage.com (e-mail) www.wireimage.com (web site)

Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson was the keynote speaker at the ninth annual Champions of Health gala at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City on Monday night and said his former team has some work to do to take the Western Conference title away from the Thunder.

“The one thing that I do appreciate and love about the Thunder is they play hard and they play well together and they play good defense,” Johnson said. “So I think that the Lakers have to get that. And the Thunder will show the Lakers that they’re not going away. They’re going to be here for a long time.”

Johnson also shared a prediction: “I’m predicting that in three years – by 2016 – if the Thunder has not won a championship in three years, then they have disappointed all of us, including myself. They’re supposed to win one in the next three years, whether that’s this season, next season or the year after that. They’re too good. I know the organization, that’s their goal. They have the talent. They have the coach. Everything is in place. Now it’s up to them to just get it done. No, it won’t be easy. But when you’ve got that talent, that’s the main thing, you have to get that talent and they have it, both inside and outside, they’re going to be good.”

Thunder coach Scott Brooks was asked about Johnson’s prediction after Tuesday’s practice.