Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jr.: Basketball
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jr. (born August 14, 1959) dominated the court as one of America’s best basketball players. He played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 13 seasons. Johnson was selected first overall during the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers. After revealing the he had acquired AIDS in 1991, he retired from the LA Lakers but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game and won the Star MVP Awards. Johnson retired again for four more years but returned in 1996 to play 32 more games for the LA Lakers before finally retiring for the third and final time.
Greatest Sporting Achievements
Magic Johnson won an NBA Finals MVP during his rookie season and four more championships with the Lakers during the 80s. He tallied 17,707 points, 6,559 rebounds and 10,141 assists translating to career averages of 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 11.2 assists per game. He was also member of the 1992 US Men’s Olympic Basketball Team (“The Dream Team”) which won Olympic gold medal in 1992. He’s part of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and earned a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Why Was He So Good?
His height gave him an advantage standing 6 ft. 8 inches. He was able to combine the size of a power forward, the one-on-one skills of a swingman, and the ball handling talent of a guard.
What You May Not Know
- It was in high school when Johnson earned his famous nickname “Magic” when he recorded a triple-double 36 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists in one game.
- At first, Magic Johnson didn’t want to play professionally since he wanted to focus more on his studies as a communication major. He had a desire of becoming a television commentator.
- After years of retirement, Johnson became a powerful force in business.
Related Pages
- More basketball players
- Athlete Database home
- About the sport of Basketball
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