Everything about Magic Johnson totally explained
Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jr. (born
August 14 1959) is a retired
American basketball player who played for the
Los Angeles Lakers of the
National Basketball Association (NBA). After winning a championship at both the
high school and
college level, Johnson was selected first overall in the
1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers. Johnson established his reputation as a great player after winning a championship in his first season, and the Lakers went on to win a total of five championships during the 1980s. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he'd
HIV, but he returned to win the MVP of
1992 All-Star Game. He retired again for four years after protests from his fellow players, but he returned in 1996 to play 32 games for the Lakers, before retiring for the second and final time.
Johnson's career achievements include five NBA championships, three
Most Valuable Player Awards and three
Finals Most Valuable Player Awards. He also played in nine
NBA Finals series,
12
All-Star games, and was voted into 10
All-NBA First and Second Teams. He led the league in regular season
assists four times, and he's the NBA's all-time leader in assists per game with an average of 11.2 per game. Johnson was also a member of the "
Dream Team" U.S. basketball team which won the
Olympic gold medal in 1992.
For his accomplishments, Johnson was honored as one of the
50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and enshrined in the
Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. He was also rated the the greatest NBA point guard of all time by
ESPN in 2007. His friendship and rivalry with
Boston Celtics star
Larry Bird—based on regular games at championship level between the Lakers and Celtics—were well-documented. Since his retirement, he's been an advocate for HIV/
AIDS prevention and
safe sex, as well as a philanthropist.
Professional biography
Early years
Earvin Johnson Jr. was the sixth of ten children born to Earvin Sr., a
General Motors assembly worker, and Christine, a school custodian. Johnson grew up in
Lansing, Michigan, and came to love basketball as a youngster, idolizing players such as
Earl Monroe and
Marques Haynes. "I practiced all day," he later said. "I dribbled to the store with my right hand and back with my left. Then I slept with my basketball." After the game, Fred Stabley Jr., a sports writer for the
Lansing State Journal, nicknamed him "Magic", despite Johnson's Christian mother thinking that the name was sacriligeous. During his final high school season, Johnson led Lansing Everett to a 27–1 win loss record while averaging 28.8 points and 16.8 rebounds per game.
Michigan State University
Although Johnson was recruited by top-ranked colleges such as
Indiana and
UCLA, he decided to play close to home. Although he initially wanted to go to the
University of Michigan, he eventually decided on
Division I Michigan State University in
East Lansing, after their basketball coach
Jud Heathcote promised Johnson that he'd play
point guard.
Initially, Johnson didn't want to play professionally, and instead focused on his major of
communication studies, and his desire to become a television commentator. But playing with future NBA players
Greg Kelser and
Jay Vincent, Johnson averaged 17.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game as a
freshman, and led the
Spartans to a 25–5 record, the
Big Ten Conference title, and a berth in the
1978 NCAA tournament. The Spartans reached the
Elite Eight, but they lost narrowly to eventual national champion
Kentucky.
Before the 1978–79 season, Johnson was featured on the cover of
Sports Illustrated, as one of the top ten
sophomore players in the country. During the season, Michigan State again qualified for the
NCAA Tournament, where they advanced to the
championship game, and faced
Indiana State University, which was led by senior
Larry Bird. In what is still the highest-rated college basketball game ever, Michigan State defeated Indiana State 75–64, and Johnson was voted
Most Outstanding Player of the
Final Four.
Rookie season in the NBA (1979–80)
Although the
Los Angeles Lakers finished with 47 wins and advanced to the second round of
the playoffs in the
1978–79 season, they owned the first pick of the
1979 NBA Draft due to a previous trade with the
New Orleans Jazz. Although the management of the Lakers were intitially skeptical of drafting Johnson, owner
Jerry Buss eventually persuaded them to draft Johnson. Johnson said that the "most amazing" part about being with the Lakers was to play alongside
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
center who would become the leading scorer in NBA history. But despite Abdul-Jabbar's dominance, he'd failed to win a championship with the Lakers, and Johnson was expected to help the Lakers achieve their goal of a championship. Johnson's averages of 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game for the season ensured that he was named both an
All-Rookie selection and an
NBA All-Star Game starter, although the
NBA Rookie of the Year Award went to his rival Bird, who had been drafted by the
Boston Celtics. where they faced the
Philadelphia 76ers, who were led by future Hall of Fame
forward Julius Erving. The Lakers took a 3–2 lead, but Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 33 points a game in the series, sprained his ankle in Game 5, and was unable to play in the remainder of the series. He also became one of only four players to win NCAA and NBA championships in consecutive years.
Ups and downs (1980–83)
Early in the
1980–81 season, Johnson was sidelined after he suffered torn
cartilage in his left
knee. Johnson missed a total of 45 games, Johnson made his much-anticipated return before the start of the
playoffs, but the Lakers' assistant and future head coach
Pat Riley later said that Johnson's return made the Lakers a "divided team". The Lakers faced the
Houston Rockets, who finished only 40–42 in the regular season, in the first round, but the Rockets upset the Lakers 2–1, after Johnson airballed a last-second shot in Game 3 on a play originally designed for Abdul-Jabbar. During the off-season, Johnson signed a 25-year, $25-million contract, which was the highest-paying contract in sports history up to that point.
During the
1981–82 NBA season, Johnson had a serious dispute with Westhead, who Johnson said made the Lakers "predictable". After Johnson demanded to be traded, Buss fired Westhead, and replaced with with Riley. Although Johnson denied responsibility for for Westhead's firing, he was booed across the league, even by the Lakers' fans. Johnson said his third season was when the Lakers started to become a great team, and credited Riley with making Lakers successful.
During the
1982–83 NBA season, Johnson averaged 16.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game and earned his first All-NBA First Team nomination. With Johnson's teammates
Norm Nixon,
James Worthy and
Bob McAdoo all hobbled by injuries, the Lakers were swept by the Sixers, and Malone was crowned the Finals MVP. After winning the first game, the Lakers led by two points in Game 2 with only 18 seconds to go, but Johnson lost the ball to Celtic
Gerald Henderson, who hit the tying
layup. On the ensuing possession, Johnson failed to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded, and the Lakers lost 124–121 in overtime.
In the
1984–85 NBA season, Johnson returned to form and averaged 18.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 12.6 assists per game in the regular season. However, Abdul-Jabbar, who was now 38 years old, scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in Game 2, and his 36 points in the Game 5 win were instrumental in establishing a 3–2 lead for Los Angeles. said the Finals win was the highlight of their careers.
Johnson again averaged a double-double in the
1985–86 NBA season, with 18.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 12.6 assists per game. However, in the
next season, Johnson averaged a career-high of 23.9 points, as well as 6.3 rebounds and 12.2 assists per game, The game-winning shot, which Johnson dubbed his "junior, junior, junior sky-hook", put the Lakers up three games to one, and Los Angeles went on to win in six games. For his feats, Johnson was awarded his third Finals MVP title. Johnson had another productive season with averages of 19.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 11.9 assists per games. who were nicknamed the "Bad Boys" because of their physical rough style of play. After splitting the first six games 3–3, Laker forward and Finals MVP
James Worthy had a triple-double of 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, powering his team to a 108–105 win.
In the
1988–89 NBA season, Johnson's 22.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 12.8 assists per game earned him his second MVP award,
Although Abdul-Jabbar retired the
following year, Johnson won his third MVP award after a strong regular season with averages of 22.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 11.5 assists per game. Johnson performed well during the
1990–91 NBA season, with averages of 19.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 12.5 assists per game, and the Lakers reached the
1991 NBA Finals against the
Chicago Bulls, who were led by
shooting guard Michael Jordan, a five-time scoring champion regarded as the finest player of his era. Although the series was portrayed as a matchup between Johnson and Jordan, Bulls defensive stalwart
Scottie Pippen defended well against Johnson, and despite two triple-doubles from Johnson during the series, Finals MVP Jordan led his team to a 4–1 win. He stated that both his wife Cookie and their unborn child didn't have HIV, and that he was going to dedicate his life to "battle this deadly disease". At the time, AIDS was commonly associated with
homosexuality, and only a small percentage of HIV-positive people had contracted it from heterosexual sex. Rumors abounded that Johnson was
gay or
bisexual, but he denied that he was either. became a major new story around the country, and was later named as ESPN's 7th most memorable moment. Many articles praised Johnson as a hero, and U.S. President
George H. W. Bush said: "For me, Magic is a hero, a hero for anyone who loves sports."
Despite his retirement, Johnson was still voted by fans into the
1992 NBA All-Star Game, although his former teammates
Byron Scott and
A.C. Green said that Johnson shouldn't play, and several NBA players, including Utah Jazz forward
Karl Malone argued that they'd be at risk of contamination if Johnson suffered an open wound while on court. However, Johnson led the West to a 153–113 win and was crowned All-Star MVP after recording 25 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds. The game ended after he made a last-minute
three-pointer, and players from both teams ran onto the court, hugging him and exchanging high-fives. During the tournament, Johnson played infrequently due to knee problems, but he received
standing ovations from the crowd, and he used the opportunity to attempt to inspire HIV positive people. and Johnson retired permanently, saying: "I am going out on my terms, something I couldn't say when I aborted a comeback in 1992." Today, he runs
Magic Johnson Enterprises, a company that has a net worth of 700 million dollars, and owns several subsidiaries, including Magic Johnson Productions, a promotional company;
Magic Johnson Theaters, a nationwide chain of movie theaters; and Magic Johnson Entertainment, a movie studio. He also is an NBA analyst for
Turner Network Television, and he's a major supporter of the
Democratic Party, and has endorsed
Phil Angelides for
Governor of California, and
Hillary Clinton for
President of the United States.
Johnson first fathered a son in 1981, when Andre Johnson was born to Melissa Mitchell. Johnson, who doesn't have
AIDS, currently takes a drug cocktail from
GlaxoSmithKline, which he endorses.
HIV activism
After announcing his infection, Johnson teamed up with his physician Dr. Lynn Montana to help educate the world's youth about the risks associated with HIV. although he later diversified the foundation to include other charitable goals. In 1992, he joined the National Commission on AIDS, but left after only eight months, saying that the commission wasn't doing enough to combat the disease. He doesn't have
AIDS
Johnson stated that abstinence is the safest way to avoid contracting HIV via sexual contact, and he used his status as a basketball player to help debunk several popular misconceptions about HIV. holds the Finals record for assists in a game with 21, He holds the All-Star Game single game record for assists with 22, and the All-Star Game record for career assists with 127.
For his feats, Johnson was voted as one of the
50 Greatest Players of All Time by the NBA in 1996, and he was introduced into the
Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2006,
ESPN.com rated Johnson the greatest point guard of all time, and stated: "It could be argued that he's the one player in NBA history who was better than Michael Jordan."
Rivalry with Larry Bird
Ever since the 1979 NCAA Finals, in which Johnson's Michigan State squad defeated Larry Bird's Indiana State team, Johnson and Bird were linked as rivals. From 1980 to 1988, their respective Lakers and Celtics teams won eight of nine NBA titles. The rivalry reached its climax in the mid-'80s, when their teams met in three NBA Finals (1984, 1985, 1987). Johnson appreciated the rivalry greatly, asserting that for him, the 82 game regular season was composed of 80 normal games and "the two", for example the Lakers-Celtics games. Similarly, Bird admitted that Johnson's
box score was the first thing he looked at after every game day, stating everything else was unimportant. Apart from the on-court differences, the rivalry proved significant because it drew national attention to the faltering NBA. Prior to Johnson and Bird, the league had gone through a decade of declining interest and low TV ratings. With the two Hall-of-Famers, the league won a whole generation of new fans, drawing both traditionalist adherents of Bird's dirt court Indiana game and those appreciative of Johnson's public park flair. Sports journalist Larry Schwartz of ESPN even went as far as to assert that Johnson and Bird saved the NBA from bankruptcy. When Bird retired in 1992, Johnson appeared at his retirement ceremony and described Bird as a "friend forever", and During Johnson's induction into the Hall of Fame, Bird formally inducted Johnson in the ceremony.
Books
Biographies
Johnson's
autobiography is Other biographies include:
Instructional
Further Information
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