Magic Johnson’s shock basketball comeback to Sweden in 1999

Business ventures
One of the best
Lakers
Saving the NBA
Career stats
HIV
Greatest point guard debate
Love for the game
Playing in Europe
Sweden
Playing
Vintage Magic
'Thank you Sweden'
30 points
Couldn't carry on
Bankrupt
Denmark
Business ventures

NBA legend Earvin 'Magic' Johnson has been known to dabble in all sorts of business ventures throughout his life and basketball career, which took him to all corners of the globe.

One of the best

Johnson is one of the greatest basketball players and arguably the greatest point guard to grace a court.

Lakers

Johnson spent his whole NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five NBA Championships, three league MVPs, and three Finals MVPs.

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Saving the NBA

He and his arch-enemy, Larry Bird, single-handedly raised the NBA to the forefront of American sports in the 1980s with the blockbuster matchups between The Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

Career stats

Johnson averaged 19.5 points, 11.2 assists, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.9 steals in 13 seasons in Los Angeles, retiring in 1991 and returning for a short stint in 1996.

HIV

Johnson's early retirement in 1991 was due to him contracting the HIV virus, leaving the point guard in turmoil due to his obsession with the game.

Greatest point guard debate

In recent years, the 'The greatest point guard ever' debate between him and Stephen Curry has risen to the forefront of conversations after Curry claimed he was the best on former NBA star Gilbert Arenas's podcast.

Love for the game

You can make the argument for both being the best in that position, but one thing stands, Magic Johnson's passion and love for the sport of basketball can never be questioned.

Playing in Europe

Even after retiring from the NBA for good in 1996, Johnson still wasn't finished, coming up with a solution to still play basketball again in Europe.

Sweden

In 1998, Johnson went scouting for teams to purchase, landing in Sweden and buying a club called the M7 Boras.

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Playing

Buying the team wasn't enough for Magic, who subsequently decided to play for a handful of games in the 1999-2000 season in the Swedish League.

Vintage Magic

Even at age 40, Johnson was still head and shoulders above the rest of the players, producing 14 points and eleven assists in his debut for his team.

'Thank you Sweden'

According to fadeawayworld.net, speaking after his debut, Johnson said: "This is an atmosphere anyone would be happy to play up under and I'm just happy to be here. Thank you to Sweden for having me. We all had a good time."

30 points

In five games he played for the Swedish franchise, he scored 30 points in one of those games, which was the biggest highlight of his time there.

Picture – YouTube @Courtsidepodden

Couldn't carry on

Johnson didn't have enough juice in his legs to carry on playing beyond his five games for the team and left after the 1999-2000 season.

Bankrupt

Following his departure from the team, the M7 Boras went bankrupt, giving Johnson a bad end to what started as a fantastic advert for Swedish basketball.

Denmark

To conclude his basketball career, Magic also tried his luck in Denmark, playing for The Great Danes. After that, his career playing basketball was over, finishing one of the greatest careers in history.

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