How Magic Johnson redefined greatness in basketball and beyond

Magic Johnson isn’t just a basketball great – he’s the heartbeat of a generation. With his infectious charisma and game-changing vision, he led the Showtime Lakers to five NBA titles and forever altered the sport. Let's take a look back at his unique journey.

Earvin Johnson, who we all know as Magic Johnson, was born in Lancing, Michigan in 1959 to his father Earvin Senior, and his mother Christine.

Photo: instagram@magicjohnson

Growing up, Johnson was a highly successful high school basketball player, scoring 48 points in a game in junior high school. He had the hope of going to play at Sexton High School, which was predominantly black, as the NBA official website documented in a profile.

Photo: instagram@magicjohnson

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His plans for playing at Sexton drastically changed after he started getting bussed to a predominantly white school, Everett High School. There, he would face racism on a regular basis.

Playing for Everett High School, 15-year-old Johnson recorded an extraordinary triple-double, scoring 36 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists. Local Journalist Fred Stabley dubbed him as ‘Magic’ Johnson, as the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The newly named ‘Magic’ Johnson would take his Everett team to a 27-1 record, leading them to an overtime state championship victory.

After numerous offers from top-ranked colleges across the country, Johnson decided to stay close to home and play for Michigan State where he became a local superstar.

His success at college level would take him and his Michigan State team to the NCAA championship final against Indiana State, in which Magic and his team beat new rival Larry Bird 75-64.

After averaging 17 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.9 assists over a glittering two-year spell in college, in 1979 Johnson entered the NBA draft where he was selected first overall by the LA Lakers.

With the help of future Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar, the Lakers went to the finals in Magic’s first season in the NBA against Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers.

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With the Lakers 3-2 in the series, star man Abdul Jabbar who averaged 33 in the series got injured. In game 6 Johnson played center and scored 42 points to help the Lakers win the title.

Off the back of 1980s triumph, Lakers owner Jerry Buss created the concept of ‘showtime’ with the idea of mixing ‘run and gun’ basketball and Hollywood entertainment at the games, as Time magazine reported.

With Johnson and Abdul Jabbar spearheading the fast and exciting brand of basketball, the Lakers went on to win five championships across the decade with Johnson winning three Finals MVPs.

Following on from the 1979 NCAA championship final, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson transcended the reach of the NBA, as they matched up against each other in three out of four NBA finals between 1984-1987.

The match-ups between each other were seen by the fans as more than sport. It was Lakers vs Celtics, Black vs White, and Showtime vs blue-collar grit. NBA TV ratings went through the roof.

Prior to the 1991-1992 season, Johnson announced to the world that he had contracted HIV and that he would retire immediately.

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Although he had retired, Magic was voted into the 1992 All-Star game by the fans. Despite his former teammates telling him he shouldn’t play, he did anyway and scored 25 points, helping himself to the MVP award, as The Guardian recounted.

Having never competed in the Olympics, Johnson was selected in 1992 to play in the so-called ‘Dream Team’ with Hall of Famers such as Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.

Team USA went 8-0 at the games, beating the teams by an average of 43 points a game. Johnson finished the Olympics averaging 8 points and 5.5 assists.

Post-retirement, Johnson started to invest in sports teams, with his first investment being a minority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Following on from the Dodgers purchase, he also bought ownership with the Los Angeles Sparks and Los Angeles FC.

Under the ownership of Magic Johnson, the Sparks won the 2016 WNBA championship, LAFC won the 2022 MLS Cup, and the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series.

Magic Johnson will go down as one of the greatest winners of all time in his career, winning a total of 13 championships across three sports and four decades.

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