Earvin Johnson Jr., better known to us as "Magic" Johnson was born in 1959 in Lansing, Michigan. He started playing basketball seriously while a student at Everett High School in Lansing, MI and played at Michigan State as well - however, he was drafted by the LA Lakers in 1979. The son of a General Motors worker and a school custodian, Johnson was born into a large family and discovered his love of basketball as a child. Johnson claims that he even slept with his basketball!
It was while still in high school that Johnson acquired his famous nickname. A sportswriter covering a high school game felt that no other word could adequately describe Johnson's skill with the ball. Johnson wanted to stay near his family after high school, so he attended Michigan State also in East Lansing. Even on the Michigan State Spartans, he achieved some notoriety, with scores of up to 17 in a single game. With Johnson, the Spartans took a Big Ten conference title and racked up a 25-5 record! In his second year on the team, the Spartans took on Indiana State (then featuring Larry Bird) to won the national title in what was one of the most highly followed NCAA games of all time.
Deciding to go professional, Johnson decided to declare his eligibility for the draft in 1979, where he was snapped up by the Lakers. Lakers fans were incredibly excited to see one of the nations' best college players on their team. Larry Byrd ended up winning the NBA Rookie of the year award, the Lakers did capture the NBA championship in Johnson's first year on the team with a 60-22 record. The next year, Johnson and the Lakers performed even better, with Johnson matching his college records - he was the first rookie to start in an all star game since 1969.
As fans and sportswriters everywhere will tell you, in 1980, the NBA finals that featured the Lakers and Philly's 76ers showed a legend in the making when Johnson performance clinched the win in the sixth game of the series. In that game, he scored 42 points, 15, boards, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Again, he was the first and only rookie to ever win the Finals MVP Award. As Magic put it, "I just wanted to do whatever the (Lakers) needed to do to win. I was having fun." The following year, pro sports hit Johnson, when he missed 45 games with a torn knee cartilage.
Upon his recovery, the Lakers lost no time in regaining their glory, destroying all opposition to take the division title and once again defeated Philadelphia in the NBA finals; and Johnson won his second NBA finals MVP award.
In 1984, Magic signed a $25 million dollar contract with the Lakers and they won three NBA titles in the following four years. In the 1986-87 season, he scored an astounding 38 points against Houston and 46 points against the Sacramento Kings-a career high. During this season, he also achieved a career-high average of 23.9 points per game- and Johnson was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player of the Year. He would win this award again in 1989 and 1990.
Prior to the 1991-92 season, Magic made the announcement that he had tested positive for the HIV virus and would be retiring. He did play at the All-Star game that year and won the game's MVP Award, but at this point in his career, Magic turned to outreach-for HIV and AIDS and received the leagues J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. Not one to be kept down, Magic played for the 1992 US Olympic "Dream Team, wrote a book on safe sexual practices, and ran several businesses. He worked for NBC as a sports commentator and with only sixteen games left in the 1993-94 season, he took the offer of replacing Randy Pfund as the Lakers head coach.
In his 13 season NBA career, Magic Johnson achieved an astounding 17,707 points ( a 19.5 point per game average), 6,559 rebounds and 10,141 assists. This is in addition to his 1,724 steals (Johnson holds the record for ninth most steals in an NBA career). Johnson was also invited to the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time team in 1997 and entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. Johnson remains as modest as ever and continues to focus on his philanthropic work, but he is indisputably a living legend in the game of basket ball. As one of his fiercest rivals and greatest admirers, Larry Bird says of Johnson: Magic is head-and-shoulders above everybody else. I've never seen anybody as good as him.
It was while still in high school that Johnson acquired his famous nickname. A sportswriter covering a high school game felt that no other word could adequately describe Johnson's skill with the ball. Johnson wanted to stay near his family after high school, so he attended Michigan State also in East Lansing. Even on the Michigan State Spartans, he achieved some notoriety, with scores of up to 17 in a single game. With Johnson, the Spartans took a Big Ten conference title and racked up a 25-5 record! In his second year on the team, the Spartans took on Indiana State (then featuring Larry Bird) to won the national title in what was one of the most highly followed NCAA games of all time.
Deciding to go professional, Johnson decided to declare his eligibility for the draft in 1979, where he was snapped up by the Lakers. Lakers fans were incredibly excited to see one of the nations' best college players on their team. Larry Byrd ended up winning the NBA Rookie of the year award, the Lakers did capture the NBA championship in Johnson's first year on the team with a 60-22 record. The next year, Johnson and the Lakers performed even better, with Johnson matching his college records - he was the first rookie to start in an all star game since 1969.
As fans and sportswriters everywhere will tell you, in 1980, the NBA finals that featured the Lakers and Philly's 76ers showed a legend in the making when Johnson performance clinched the win in the sixth game of the series. In that game, he scored 42 points, 15, boards, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Again, he was the first and only rookie to ever win the Finals MVP Award. As Magic put it, "I just wanted to do whatever the (Lakers) needed to do to win. I was having fun." The following year, pro sports hit Johnson, when he missed 45 games with a torn knee cartilage.
Upon his recovery, the Lakers lost no time in regaining their glory, destroying all opposition to take the division title and once again defeated Philadelphia in the NBA finals; and Johnson won his second NBA finals MVP award.
In 1984, Magic signed a $25 million dollar contract with the Lakers and they won three NBA titles in the following four years. In the 1986-87 season, he scored an astounding 38 points against Houston and 46 points against the Sacramento Kings-a career high. During this season, he also achieved a career-high average of 23.9 points per game- and Johnson was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player of the Year. He would win this award again in 1989 and 1990.
Prior to the 1991-92 season, Magic made the announcement that he had tested positive for the HIV virus and would be retiring. He did play at the All-Star game that year and won the game's MVP Award, but at this point in his career, Magic turned to outreach-for HIV and AIDS and received the leagues J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. Not one to be kept down, Magic played for the 1992 US Olympic "Dream Team, wrote a book on safe sexual practices, and ran several businesses. He worked for NBC as a sports commentator and with only sixteen games left in the 1993-94 season, he took the offer of replacing Randy Pfund as the Lakers head coach.
In his 13 season NBA career, Magic Johnson achieved an astounding 17,707 points ( a 19.5 point per game average), 6,559 rebounds and 10,141 assists. This is in addition to his 1,724 steals (Johnson holds the record for ninth most steals in an NBA career). Johnson was also invited to the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time team in 1997 and entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. Johnson remains as modest as ever and continues to focus on his philanthropic work, but he is indisputably a living legend in the game of basket ball. As one of his fiercest rivals and greatest admirers, Larry Bird says of Johnson: Magic is head-and-shoulders above everybody else. I've never seen anybody as good as him.
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