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Image credit: Fadeaway World
The NBA was on the brink of collapse in the late 70s. Most people don’t care much about the game of basketball because baseball and football dominate American sports.
Then, two college players entered the NBA in the 1979-80 season and changed history forever. Those players were Larry Bird, who was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 draft but returned for another year of college.
Bird’s decision started the greatest NCAA championship game ever. The second player is Magic Johnson, who was the No. 1 pick in the 1979 NBA Draft.
Both Bird and Magic had viewers on their knees, not only with their incredible individual performances, but with the rivalry the two of them created between themselves and their two teams. Still, no matter how great Larry Bird was, Magic Johnson was one step ahead of him.
In today’s article, we’ll focus on Magic Johnson, arguably the greatest point guard in NBA history. His life was full of ups and downs, and we’re going to dig into it all.
This is the biography of Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr.
Earvin Johnson Jr. Magic
On August 14, 1959, Elvin Johnson Sr. and Christine Johnson gave birth to a son, named Elvin Johnson Jr. The family lived in Lansing, Michigan. They were a modest but hard-working family.
Earvin Sr. works at a General Motors plant while Christine works as a school administrator. Their hard work will affect Magic, and he will accept that throughout his career as a professional basketball player.
Before Magic could play professional basketball, he had to develop his game thanks to his hard-working parents. Erwin Sr. played basketball in high school when she was young, and Kristen grew up playing basketball with her brothers.
So, Magic definitely had a lot of basketball experience growing up. By the time Magic was in eighth grade, he had shown everyone that the future of basketball was possible.
Magic had scored 48 points in junior high school basketball and couldn’t wait to play basketball at Sexton High School, a high school near his home. Just before Magic entered high school, he learned that he had to go to Everett High School, a predominantly white school.
There, Magic will address racism at school and on the basketball team. White players sometimes don’t want to pass the ball to Magic, which causes Magic to step up and ask for the ball himself.
Magic’s move not only impressed other black students, but also made the white players finally include Magic in the team’s plan. Magic would quickly show his teammates, his coaches and others at the school that he could be the man to lead school basketball to greatness.
At just 15 years old, sophomore Earvin Johnson Jr. was so dominant in the game with his fine passing that a reporter for the Lansing State Journal named Fred Stableley Jr. gave Earvin the ” “Magic” moniker.
Magic even answered the question in a 2011 tweet:
During his senior year, Magic led his high school to a state championship. His high school career ended with a two-time All-State selection and a 1977 McDonald’s All-American selection.
Magic Dominate College and Become No. 1 Pick in NBA Draft
Despite receiving offers from big schools like UCLA and Indiana, Magic decided to stay close to home and attend Michigan State University. This option is viable for Magic because he wants to play point guard.
Michigan State head coach Jud Heathcote agreed to play Magic at point guard, a decision that would lead to great things. As a freshman, Magic averaged 17.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists while leading Michigan State to a 25-5 record and a place in the Elite Eight.
It’s been a great season for Magic, but it’s about to get even better for him. The following year, Magic averaged 17.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.4 assists.
This time around, the Magic lead Michigan State to a 26-6 record, but their performance in the NCAA tournament will be different. The Magic lead Michigan State into a championship game against Larry Bird’s Indiana State.
The game became the most watched college basketball game and it didn’t disappoint. Magic and Bird seemed to be chasing each other down the court, a preview of what was to come in the NBA.
At the end of the game, the Magic beat Bird 75-64 to win. The Magic scored 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists, earning him the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award.
Magic was named to the 1978-79 All-American team after the season, and the NBA Draft was calling his name, as he was expected to be the first if he left school early. It’s clear that Magic planned to make it to the NBA in college, but that’s actually false.
Magic didn’t intend to play professional basketball. In fact, he concentrated on his communication studies major, and later he became a TV commentator. Magic will one day be an NBA commentator, but first, his career is calling his name.
Magic takes over the NBA as a rookie
Magic Johnson was selected with the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, who had the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. As great as Kareem is, the Lakers are a terrible team. They need a spark, and Magic is that spark.
As a rookie, Magic was the ruler. He pushed the pace of the Lakers’ offense in a way they hadn’t seen before. The Lakers won 47 games in the year before Magic arrived, and 60 in Magic’s rookie season.
You’d think there was no doubt who was Rookie of the Year. The magician averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Still, it wasn’t enough to win the award.
In fact, the Magic received only 3.0 votes for the Rookie of the Year award, while the winner received 63.0 votes. Who beat Magic for Rookie of the Year? Larry Bird.
The Magic and Bird rivalry has been renewed, but the Magic will have the last laugh. When Bird’s Boston Celtics were eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Magic led his Lakers to the NBA Finals.
The NBA Finals will be where Magic shines and shows everyone what a player he really is. Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has had an incredible series through the first four games.
Kareem scored 33, 38, 33 and 23 points in his first four games. Then, in Game 5, Kareem suffered a badly sprained ankle midway through the game. Now, Kareem is back, and he had a monster game with 40 points and 15 rebounds.
The problem was that after the game, Abdul-Jabbar lost the adrenaline rush that had helped him finish the game, and he was ruled out for Game 6. Without Kareem, the Lakers seem to have no chance.
Magic Johnson disagrees, as he thinks the Lakers have a great chance. He started the game at center for Kareem, making the game-opening jumper.
The Magic will go out and get the rookie’s greatest NBA Finals game. He scored 42 points on 14-23 shooting. The Magic also grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out 7 assists.
The Lakers beat the 76ers 123-107 to win the NBA championship. Magic was named Finals MVP for his performance in Game 6.
It’s not common for a rookie to become a champion, and only Magic has ever won the Finals MVP award. Still, this wouldn’t be the last time the Magic won a championship or Finals MVP.
Yes, Magic would rule the 1980s, set up what is still considered the greatest rivalry in NBA history, and, along with Bird, help the NBA recover from its near-collapse to become the world’s One of the most popular sports on the Internet.
magical lakers dynasty
The Lakers won the title in 1980, then lost a shocking first-round loss to the Houston Rockets the following season. The Rockets would go on to the Finals, but lost to the Larry Bird-led Boston Celtics.
The Lakers would return to the Finals in the ’80s with the Magic in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1989. Los Angeles won championships in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988.
In all of those Finals in 1984, 1985 and 1987, Magic would face off against his opponent, Larry Bird. The 1984 Finals will be especially fought for Magic, as he chokes on several big moments.
With seven seconds left in the second, the score was tied at 113-113 and the Lakers were expected to take a 2-0 lead. Magic handles the ball, and you expect him to make a difference in the crunch time, and yet, that doesn’t happen.
When the time is up, the magician dribbles and the magician gets the ball. Does he dribble and attack the paint? Behind the back pass? Alley-oop to Kareem? none of the above. The Magic dribbled off the clock and it didn’t pass until the buzzer sounded.
Things will get worse in Game 4. The Lakers took a 2-1 lead in the series and held on to a five-point lead with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter.
First, the Magic made mistakes. Then he made two free throws with 34 seconds left in overtime. The Lakers fell 129-125 in Game 4 and will lose the series in seven games.
After the series, Celtics fans began calling Magic “Tragic Johnson.” The mainstream media got wind of it and called him a “tragic magician”.
Despite this tragic event, Magic overcame his opponent in the 1987 NBA Finals. Magic led the Lakers to victory over the Celtics in six games.
Magic won the Finals MVP with averages of 26.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 13.0 assists. That performance was great, but Magic’s best moment came in Game 4.
With 7 seconds left in the game, the Lakers trailed 106-105. All eyes are on Magic. Will he be tragic again? Of course not; Ervin would work his magic on the Celtics.
The Magic hit the now-famous “baby hook” shot to beat Larry Bird and the Celtics. Magic doesn’t get any more tragic than that. Not until at least 1991. That’s when the truly tragic moments in Magic Johnson’s life will come.
Magic Johnson’s Surprising Illness and Retirement
Magic Johnson last won a championship in 1988, but he did return to the NBA Finals when his Lakers took on Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Although the Magic played well in the series (18.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 12.4 assists), the Magic’s Lakers lost in five games.
Magic hoped to bounce back in 1991-92, but tragedy would strike his life and the entire NBA community. On November 7, 1991, Magic held a press conference to announce his retirement from the NBA due to HIV infection.
“I will have to retire from the Lakers due to my HIV status. Today. First of all, I just want to make it clear that I do not have AIDS – because I know many of you – want to know this – but have HIV virus.
“My wife is fine. She’s negative so she’s fine. I’m going to go on and live a long time and bother you guys like me [sic] there is always. So, you’ll see me around.I plan on joining the Lakers and the league – hope so, David [Stern] Will have me for a while – and move on with my life.
“I think now I’m enjoying the other aspects of my life… because of the season, the long hours of training, etc. I just want to say I’m going to miss the game. I’m going to be the face of the HIV virus now because I want people — young People realize that they can practice safe sex.
“And you know sometimes you’re a little naive about it, you think it’s never going to happen to you. You just think it could happen to other people and so on. It’s happened, but I’m going to deal with it, my life Going on. I’m going to be here, enjoy the Lakers game, and all the other NBA games around the country. So, my life goes on, I’m going to be a happy man.”
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