Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player and former head of basketball operations for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers (NBA). Johnson, widely regarded as the best point guard of all time, spent 13 seasons with the Lakers, was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
After winning titles in high school and college, the Lakers selected Johnson first overall in the 1979 NBA draft. In his debut season, he won a championship and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, and he went on to win four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s. Magic Johnson announced his retirement in 1991 after contracting HIV but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. Following player protests, he retired for four years before returning in 1996, at the age of 36, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and last time.
Three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, 12 All-Star games, and ten All-NBA First and Second Team nods are among Johnson's career accomplishments. He topped the league in regular-season assists four times and is the all-time leader in average assists per game (11.2) in the NBA. After leaving the NBA in 1992, Johnson founded the Magic Johnson All-Stars, a traveling squad that played exhibition games all around the world.
Magic Johnson, who was named one of America's most prominent black business people by Ebony magazine in 2009, has several business interests and was a part-owner of the Lakers for several years. Magic Johnson was also a member of the group that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 and the Los Angeles Sparks in 2014. During Johnson's ownership of both organizations, the Sparks won the WNBA championship in 2016 and the Dodgers won the World Series in 2020. Magic Johnson has ten NBA championships across his playing and ownership careers, five as a player and five as a minority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Born: August 14, 1959
Nationality: American
