Gandalf vs Dumbledore. It’s a comparison that’s been made on many fronts. Who’s cooler, who would win in a fight, who’s wiser, etc. To my knowledge, no one has ever explored what would happen if the two wise wizards played a game of one-on-one, basketball style. Nothing quite matches the mano a mano nature of one-on-one, right down to the name, except a fight or game of chess or game of Madden, but I’m trying to be original, okay?
Before we start, it’s important to set ground rules, especially since these dudes can do magic. First of all, we’re dealing with the version of Dumbledore right before he died (spoiler alert), and Gandalf the White after Frodo destroys the ring. I thought it might be instructional to play out two games between these bearded mentors, one with magic and one without. While there’s a chance Dumbledore has heard of basketball because of his love of Muggles, there’s no way Gandalf has ever heard of Naismith’s game. The NBA has a long reach, sure, but I doubt if it’s gone as far as Middle Earth. Maybe someday there’ll be an elf who has decent ball handling skills and can shoot the lights out who’ll be the eighth guy on an NBA bench. But until then, I’m not sure Adam Silver has an ambassador who can reach the elf/dwarf/hobbit demographic. Dumbledore also has an advantage in the fact that basketball is pretty close to quidditch so he’d have some familiarity with putting a ball through a hoop. Tough concept to grasp, but still.
Without magic, this matchup appears to be very closely contested. Gandalf definitely has more active experience fighting in with the fellowship and Gondor and his numerous other battles. He also has the advantage of not really being an old man. He was born (hatched?) as an old man, and is immortal, so he doesn’t have to deal with the aging effects that Dumbledore does. His greatest strength is probably also getting hobbits to do his dirty work, so don’t be surprised if Ringo Baggins (Frodo’s nephew. Totally canon) darts onto the court under Dumbledore’s sight line and grabs a steal or two. He’s probably better at drumming than basketball, but he’ll help. The Professor uses Harry to do a lot of his dirty work as well, so maybe it would turn into two on two, but Harry’s less likely to fly under the radar than a three foot tall hobbit.
Albus is quick on his feet, though. We see him dancing up a storm at the Yule Ball, and he manages to keep steady and stay on the edge of the lake when he and Harry are retrieving the locket horcrux. I’m sure those skills would come in handy keeping Gandalf in front of him on defense. I doubt Mithrandir would be able to knock very many outside shots, so that defensive ability would come in handy. When the Headmaster has the ball, Gandalf would do well to force him to the right. Dumbledore’s right hand, based on where we find him in time, is basically dead because he tried on the cursed Resurrection Stone/horcrux. Dribbling with a dead hand isn’t as easy as it sounds, so this puts Dumbledore at a severe disadvantage. Gandalf has two whole hands and has the battle experience necessary to dominate the physical aspect of the game. Neither wizard would likely be any sort of shooter, so this would definitely turn into a battle down low. Even without his sword, Gandalf wins that contest easily, and takes the non-magical game.
Playing with magic is a different kettle of fish, however. First, I have to set some more ground rules. Using magic on the ball or the hoop would be totally allowed. So would bringing a wand or staff on the court, as long as it didn’t physically touch the ball or other player. Magic directed at the other player would be a foul. Otherwise it would just turn into a fight, and I’m trying to be original, remember? Dumbledore has a clear advantage here, as his magic is more easily directed for specific purposes. He could just put a shield charm on the hoop, and Gandalf would literally have no chance at making a shot. It would be kind of a pain in the ass to undo the spell every time he got the ball, but Albus is just meticulous like that. Gandalf might be able to blast that spell out of the way with his staff, but I’m not completely convinced it would work. Dumbledore would also be extremely adept at just bewitching the basketball into the hoop. Or apparating up to the rim for an endless procession of dunks. Even Dikembe Mutombo couldn’t do anything about that. I just got the incredible image of Dumbledore dunking on Mutombo and giving him the finger-wag, Michael Jordan style. Gandalf would be powerless to stop it as well. Dumbledore easily wins this one. He’s just better at magic. All Gandalf can do is shoot light at Nazgul.
In conclusion, Gandalf has better physical skills, but Dumbledore has the edge on the magic front. There can be no doubt, however, that they’re both straight up ballers.