Magic Johnson

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player.

Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

After winning a national championship with Michigan State in 1979, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers, leading the team to five NBA championships during their "Showtime" era.

His friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series, are well documented.

Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, broadcaster and motivational speaker.

Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award.

After leaving the NBA in 1991, he formed the Magic Johnson All-Stars, a barnstorming team that traveled around the world playing exhibition games.

Johnson was the co-captain of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team ("The Dream Team"), which won the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona.

After protests against his return from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996, at age 36, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time.

Known for his extraordinary court vision, passing abilities, and leadership on the court, Johnson was one of the most dominant players of his era.

His career achievements include three NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA Finals MVPs, nine All-NBA First Team designations, and twelve All-Star games selections.

He led the league in regular season assists four times, and is the NBA's all-time leader in average assists per game in both the regular season (11.19 assists per game) and the playoffs (12.35 assists per game).

He also holds the records for most career playoff assists and most career playoff triple-doubles.

Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021, and became a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame—being enshrined in 2002 for his individual career, and again in 2010 as a member of the "Dream Team".

Johnson is a former part-owner of the Lakers and was the team's president of basketball operations in the late 2010s.

He is a founding member of Guggenheim Baseball Management, managing entity of the MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers, and also partly owns the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, the MLS' Los Angeles FC, and the NFL's Washington Commanders.

Johnson has won 14 total championships during his career, one in college, five as an NBA player and eight as an owner.

Earvin Johnson Jr. was born in Lansing, Michigan, to General Motors assembly worker Earvin Sr. and school janitor Christine.

Johnson, who had six siblings and three half-siblings by his father's previous marriage, was influenced by his parents' strong work ethic.

His mother spent many hours after work each night cleaning their home and preparing the next day's meals, while his father did janitorial work at a used car lot and collected garbage, all while never missing a day at General Motors.

Johnson would often help his father on the garbage route, and he was teased by neighborhood children who called him "Garbage Man".

His mother raised him in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Johnson came to love basketball as a young man.

His favorite basketball player growing up was Bill Russell, whom he admired more for his many championships than his athletic ability.

He also idolized players such as Earl Monroe and Marques Haynes, and practiced "all day".

Johnson came from an athletic family.

His father played high school basketball in his home state of Mississippi, and Johnson learned the finer points about the game from him.

Johnson's mother, originally from North Carolina, had also played basketball as a child, and she grew up watching her brothers play the game.

By the time he had reached the eighth grade, Johnson had begun to think about a future in basketball.

He had become a dominant junior high player, once scoring 48 points in a game.

Johnson looked forward to playing at Sexton High School, a school with a very successful basketball team and history that also happened to be only five blocks from his home.

His plans underwent a dramatic change when he learned that he would be bused to the predominantly white Everett High School instead of going to Sexton, which was predominantly black.

Johnson's sister Pearl and brother Larry had bused to Everett the previous year and did not have a pleasant experience.

There were incidents of racism, with rocks being thrown at buses carrying black students and white parents refusing to send their children to school.

Larry was kicked off the basketball team after a confrontation during practice, prompting him to beg his brother not to play.

Johnson did join the basketball team but became angry after several days when his new teammates ignored him during practice, not even passing the ball to him.

He nearly got into a fight with another player before head coach George Fox intervened.

Eventually, Johnson accepted his situation and the small group of black students looked to him as their leader.

When recalling the events in his autobiography, My Life, he talked about how his time at Everett had changed him:

"As I look back on it today, I see the whole picture very differently. It's true that I hated missing out on Sexton. And the first few months, I was miserable at Everett. But being bused to Everett turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. It got me out of my own little world and taught me how to understand white people, how to communicate and deal with them."