Former president of the Lakers, Magic Johnson (65 years old on August 14) has perfectly succeeded in his reconversion as a businessman, but it is the images of an extraordinary player, master of showtime, which will remain forever engraved in our heads.
Three NBA MVP awards have crowned the king of the blind pass, a lifelong Lakers fan who holds a special place in the hearts of basketball fans around the world. Not least because he overcame a disease that was thought to be fatal.
It was November 7, 1991: Magic Johnson announced that he had AIDS and decided to end his career immediately. Earvin vowed to fight the disease as hard as he had ever done on the basketball court.
Six years earlier, American actor Rock Hudson was one of the first Hollywood celebrities to succumb to the virus. And while research is progressing, it has not reached the level we know today. Hence the excitement caused by the news all over the world. The excitement is all the greater because we are not talking about a basketball starlet like the League produces a dozen or so every year. A pillar of the Lakers showtime version, Magic fascinated all sports lovers during the 80s.
The king of showtime
Earvin Johnson has always been a fighter, as evidenced by his five NBA titles (1980, 82, 85, 87, 88), his three League MVP titles and his nine All-NBA First Team citations. A prestigious record that began in 1979 with the Michigan State Spartans. During the NCAA Final against Indiana State, Magic had the man who would become his lifelong rival: Larry Bird. Throughout his playing life, however, Magic would feel like he was chasing “Larry Legend”. A few weeks before receiving his first regular season MVP award, he declared in the “Los Angeles Times”: “Larry Bird already has three, I have none. It's good now…”
It was 1987. The Lakers' point guard had to wait eight years to win the highest individual distinction. Two more would follow in 1989 and 1990, two seasons in which Magic would miss the NBA title with the Lakers. In 1989, Los Angeles was swept by the “Bad Boys” of Detroit (0-4). Magic ended the year injured. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ended his career. In 1990, the Lakers were soundly eliminated by Phoenix (4-1) in the Conference semifinals. A year later, Michael Jordan's reign began with a 4-1 victory over LA in the Finals. Magic also bowed out.
The boss of the Dream Team
Fortunately, the Olympic gold in Barcelona would put some balm on his heart, as would the MVP trophy of the All-Star Game in Orlando the same year (1992), charged with emotion for the reasons mentioned above (the second of its kind after that of 1990). The rest was a failed experience on the sidelines as a coach – 16 games in 1994 replacing Randy Pfund – and a comeback as a player during the 1995-96 season, after more than four years of interruption. We will never see the most famous smile in the NBA again. The magician of the ball, the king of showtime version Pat Riley, the wildly glamorous prince of Hollywood, the one who found in Larry Bird his perfect antithesis.
“You must constantly chase your dreams, Magic explained after his last return to the court. Mine is to be my own boss, a successful businessman. Until I achieve that, I will not live completely happily.”
Magic Johnson gave all basketball fans happiness for thirteen seasons by compiling more than 17,000 points, 6,500 rebounds and more than 10,000 passes, an art in which he had become a true expert. For Magic, no assist was impossible. He found his teammates with their eyes closed. On the counterattack, Johnson amused himself by turning his head in the opposite direction of the play to blindly serve a partner who was ideally placed (“no look pass”). On the other hand, Earvin was never really a scorer. His best points average: 23.9 in 1986-87. The nickname “Magic” was given to him by a newspaper reporter while he was still at Everett High School, in Lansing County near Detroit.
The only rookie in history to be voted Finals MVP
In the 1980s, Abdul-Jabbar, Worthy and McAdoo were literally stuffed with caviar. Showtime was truly born in Los Angeles when owner Jerry Buss brought in seven new players in 1979, including Magic Johnson. Jack McKinney, named coach at the same time, led the team for only 14 games. Victim of a bicycle accident at the end of the year, he narrowly escaped the worst. Paul Westhead took over on the bench and led the Lakers to the first of their five titles in the 1980s.
The overflowing enthusiasm of the rookie Johnson laid the foundations for this first coronation. A first personal title doubled with an MVP trophy during the Finals against Philadelphia. A slice of history. Magic takes the place of Abdul-Jabbar, injured in the ankle, at the pivot position during a crucial Game 6 and compiles 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 interceptions. Victory of LA 123-107. During this meeting, Johnson played in almost all the positions! His performance in this series remains one of the most “amazing” in the history of the League. Moreover, he is the only rookie to win the title of MVP of the Finals.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar always mentions this anecdote: “That season, we played our first game against the San Diego Clippers. We won thanks to a buzzer-beater shot from me. Throughout the game, Magic came to high-five with the players who were scoring. At the end, it was like we had won the NBA title… I took him aside in the locker room to explain to him that there were still 81 games left and that he had to calm down. He was young, he didn't know what an NBA season was yet.”
Abdul-Jabbar was unaware at the time that he was dealing with a born winner, a genius playmaker, a budding legend.
Magic Johnson demands his coach's head
A legend that would grow with the knife duels against Larry Bird's Boston in the 80s. The saga of the decade. The one that would allow the NBA to establish itself as a major sports league and increase its popularity all over the world. Magic-Bird, Los Angeles-Boston, it's a modern Greek tragedy. A never-ending rivalry. Magic would experience the delights of whistles even in his own arena, the Inglewood Forum… After a 1980-81 season disrupted by an injury and a premature elimination in the first round of the playoffs (1-2 against Houston and Moses Malone), Magic returned with a steely mind. Pumped up. Probably too much. He no longer accepted the offensive systems of Paul Westhead, whose head he demanded – no pun intended – one evening of defeat in Utah. He even threatened to leave the franchise if he didn't get his way. “A star whim” for some. But his whim was granted. A few days later, assistant coach Pat Riley took over the team. Magic was booed at the Forum during the players' presentation against Seattle. He would pay a high price for his outburst: he was not even selected for the All-Star Game as a starter…
“There was Michael and then the rest, that is, us.”
Johnson had known it all, very quickly. Success. Glory. Money, with a $25 million contract in 1984. The whistles would not last long because in this stormy year, he would offer a new title to Los Angeles (4-2 against the 76ers). Magic's game is as brilliant as it is disconcerting. Very tall for a leader (2.05 m), Johnson compensates for his lack of speed with perfect fundamentals. Above all, he achieves what others are incapable of. Blind passes are as many stabs. Disarmed by so much nerve, the defenses remain powerless.
Of course, Magic Johnson made mistakes, especially during the 1984 Finals against Boston (in Games 2, 4 and 7), but his aura remained intact. Especially since the following season, he took his revenge on these same Celtics. 1987 was a great year for the native of Lansing, Michigan (League MVP, NBA title, Finals MVP), who had never been such a scorer. It was the Kings who would pay the price for his wrath, one crazy night when he scored 46 points, his career record. Magic would win a final NBA title in 1988 in a famous back-to-back against Detroit. But the Pistons were ready to reign in their turn. Like Chicago where a certain Michael Jordan, lurking in the shadows, was biding his time. The transfer of power would therefore take place in 1991, in five games. Earvin Johnson's 9th Finals in twelve seasons! In front of the prodigy Jordan, Magic will always be very humble. “There was Michael and then the rest, which was us.”
For a long time, however, a majority of NBA players and millions of fans around the world placed Magic above the elite. A 12-time All-Star who had magic in his hands, and whose Western Conference Finals MVP trophy bears his name.
Champion NBA : 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988.
MVP: 1987, 1989, 1990
Finals MVP : 1980, 1982 and 1987.
All-Star : 11 times, in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992.
First All-NBA Team : 9 times, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991
The Dream Team 1992
| Magic Johnson | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 1979-80 | LAL | 77 | 36 | 53.0 | 22.6 | 81.0 | 2.2 | 5.6 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 18.0 |
| 1980-81 | LAL | 37 | 37 | 53.2 | 17.6 | 76.0 | 2.7 | 5.9 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 0.7 | 21.6 |
| 1981-82 | LAL | 78 | 38 | 53.7 | 20.7 | 76.0 | 3.2 | 6.4 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 0.4 | 18.6 |
| 1982-83 | LAL | 79 | 37 | 54.8 | 0.0 | 80.0 | 2.7 | 5.9 | 8.7 | 10.5 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 16.8 |
| 1983-84 | LAL | 67 | 38 | 56.5 | 20.7 | 81.0 | 1.5 | 5.9 | 7.3 | 13.1 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 4.6 | 0.7 | 17.6 |
| 1984-85 | LAL | 77 | 36 | 56.1 | 18.9 | 84.3 | 1.2 | 5.0 | 6.2 | 12.6 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 0.3 | 18.3 |
| 1985-86 | LAL | 72 | 36 | 52.6 | 23.8 | 87.1 | 1.2 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 12.5 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 0.2 | 18.8 |
| 1986-87 ★ | LAL | 80 | 36 | 52.3 | 20.5 | 84.8 | 1.5 | 4.8 | 6.3 | 12.2 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 23.9 |
| 1987-88 | LAL | 72 | 37 | 49.2 | 19.6 | 85.3 | 1.2 | 5.0 | 6.2 | 11.9 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 0.2 | 19.6 |
| 1988-89 ★ | LAL | 77 | 38 | 50.9 | 31.4 | 91.1 | 1.4 | 6.4 | 7.9 | 12.8 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 0.3 | 22.5 |
| 1989-90 ★ | LAL | 79 | 37 | 48.0 | 38.4 | 89.0 | 1.6 | 5.0 | 6.6 | 11.5 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 0.4 | 22.3 |
| 1990-91 | LAL | 79 | 37 | 47.7 | 32.0 | 90.6 | 1.3 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 12.5 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 0.2 | 19.4 |
| 1995-96 | LAL | 32 | 30 | 46.6 | 37.9 | 85.6 | 1.3 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 14.6 |
| Total | 906 | 37 | 52.0 | 30.3 | 84.8 | 1.8 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 11.2 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 19.5 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
