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May 1
Nixon
Marqus 14, 12
Erin Sells
Magic on the Court and Off
Many people who play basketball or know about the sport of basketball know
that the chances of a player going to the National Basketball Association or NBA are
slim. In fact there is less than a one percent chance that one will go into the NBA. Also,
once there, unless you are one of the high profile, top salary players in the NBA, you will
not be making millions of dollars at the start of your career. A career that is not
guaranteed, because of injuries, inability to adapt to the NBA style of play, the average
career length of an NBA player as of 2010 is about six years. Very few players find
success in the NBA. But one player who found success in the NBA is a former Laker
point guard by the name of Earvin Magic Johnson. Magic was not only able to find
success in the NBA; he was even able to find success off the court in his business
ventures. Using statistics and data from his career in the NBA and his business career I
will prove how Magic was able to find success on and off the basketball court or
hardwood.
Earvin Johnson or Magic as NBA fans and people around the world better know
him was a 6 foot 9 inch point guard for the Los Angelos Lakers from the years of 19791991. One of the things that made Magic such a unique player is that he was a 6 foot 9
inch point guard. Back in those days you did not have many guys that were his height
who could dribble let alone play the point guard position, which is a position that requires
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the most ball handling. Also, the point guard position is the guy on the floor who is the
coach on the floor. This player has to be able to dictate the flow of the offense, make sure
his teammates are involved in the play, distribute the ball to his scorers in their favorite
spots on the floor, and know when he is needed to score and not to score. Guys who
were Earvins height usually played forward or center depending on the height of
everyone else on the team (Bird 10).
But Magic was different he displayed all of the qualities needed to be a good
point guard from a young age. In fact he gained his nickname Magic while he was in
high school from a local reporter named Fred Stabley Jr. He said that, watching Earvin
play and dominate the game of basketball even at a high school level was like watching
magic(Levin 12-13). The fact that he was 6 foot 9 inches was an added benefit
because he would be able to see over all of the other guards on the floor (Bird).
Before going to the NBA, Magic attended College at Michigan State where he
led the Spartans to a National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA title. He defeated
someone who would later on become his rival in the NBA, Larry Bird. Magic was
drafted by the Lakers in 1979. His rookie year was a very productive year. He averaged
18 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists for his rookie season. He also led the Lakers to a
60-22 regular season record (Deveney).
The Lakers made it to the NBA Finals where they would face off against Julius
Dr. J Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers had a 3-2 advantage going into the
sixth game of the seven game series when their center Kareem Abdul Jabaar was injured.
This was a crucial blow to the Lakers because Kareem who is known as the player to
have scored the most points in NBA history was a crucial part of the team. The Lakers
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went into game six of that Finals series and did something unique, they started Magic
Johnson at the center position (Bird 40). Magic being 6 foot 9 inches was not too far
away from the actual height of an NBA center. But no one could have predicted how
great of an impact this would have on the game. Magic, a rookie playing in his first
ever NBA Finals, having to change positions for the better of the team, not only led his
team to victory but he also dominated this game. Magic finished this game with a
double double. A double double is when a player finishes with two stats for example
points and assists in double figures. Magic finished the game with 42 points, 15
rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals as the Lakers won the gem 123-107. Not only did
Magic start and play at the center position for this game, he also played forward and his
true position, which is point guard. The Lakers won the NBA finals giving Magic his
first NBA title. But not only had Magic won his first NBA title, he also won his first
NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award or NBA Finals MVP Award. This made
Magic the first and only rookie to win this prestigious honor. Also, Magic became
one of four players to ever win an NCAA title and NBA title in consecutive years (Bird
12). Even though Magic was just a rookie, he was able to not only adapt to the NBA
style of play, he was also able to provide a huge impact for his team. Before he arrived in
his rookie season, Kareem Abdul Jabaar was the leader of that team and for Magic to
step up and play the way he did in the Finals after the Lakers had lost their leader was a
sign of many other great things to come from him.
Magic had many other iconic moments in his career that not only made it
entertaining for Lakers fans to watch but also historic and memorable for millions of
basketball fans everywhere. After his first season, Magic missed most of his
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sophomore season due to torn cartilage in his knee and the Lakers who lost in the first
round of the playoffs to the Houston Rockets. The next year in his third season with the
Lakers, Magic felt that the teams current coach Paul Westhead was not leading the
team in the direction that they needed to be led in. So after the third game of the season,
Magic told the media that he was demanding to be traded. This was a move that no one
expected. One reason for this was that Magic had just signed a 25year contract that
meant the Lakers could retain his services on and off the court (Levin 30). This meant
that theoretically Johnson should be a Laker for life. This contract was worth 25 million
dollars, which the most in sports history at the time. To appease the rising superstar,
current owner Dr. Jerry Buss fired Paul Westhead and made Pat Riley the head coach of
the Lakers. Because of the Westhead firing, Magic was viewed as a villain and fans
booed him throughout the rest of that season. But despite all of this off court trouble
Johnson and newly hired coach Pat Riley were able to back to the finals where they faced
off again with the Philadelphia 76ers. They defeated the 76ers in six games and Johnson
recorded a triple double in game six. Johnson was also named Finals MVP for the second
time in his career. Finals MVP was not the only award that Magic received during this
season he was also named to the NBA All Second Team (Levin 45). This is an honor
bestowed on players who stand out in the league. The highest All NBA Team is the NBA
All First Team. Despite the off court issues of dealing with the firing of his coach,
Magic was able to push pass that and lead his team to another championship. This
smoothed over everything with his fan base, who had felt that Magic possibly betrayed
them and the Laker franchise when he got Paul Westhead fired.
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Johnson and the Laker would lose their next two finals appearances. The first was
once again against the 76ers. This time they would be swept by the 76ers, which meant
they lost four straight games out of the seven game series. The next series they would
lose would be to the Boston Celtics. But this loss meant more than the 76ers loss. Of
course all teams want to win a championship every time they go to the finals (Bird 50).
But the Boston Celtics and the Los Angelos Lakers have one of the fiercest rivalries in all
of sports. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angelos Lakers combine for the most
championships in NBA history and they are first and second respectively in that category.
Not only were the Lakers facing off against hated their rivals, but Johnson was also
facing off against a rival in Larry Bird. Johnson and Bird met back in the NCAA title
game in which Magic won the title. They also, started their NBA careers in the same
year and were constantly compared to one another (Bird 60). So for Johnson to lose his
first NBA title series against Larry was huge. In fact after this failure to acquire a title,
garnered him the nickname tragic. Magic may have lost the first championship series
against the Celtics, but he would win the next two battles that they would have against
one another. The second time these two teams played against each other in the Finals,
Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabaar both said that, Winning this playoff series was the
highlight of our careers. This was definitely a highlight in their careers, especially
Magic who with this win would have defeated Larry for the second time in a
championship series.
But the third and final time these two would meet in the finals would prove to be
the most iconic moment of Johnsons career. Not only, would Johnson win his fourth
championship ring, he would be named Finals MVP, and also Johnson won his first
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regular season MVP award. But the most historical moment of this season in Johnsons
career would come in game four of this series. With the clock winding down and the
Celtics were up one Johnson drives through the land and uses a move he nicknamed the
junior, junior skyhook or running hook shot as it is more commonly known. This
single play was the play that changed the momentum of the series said Larry Bird.
The Celtics felt that they had the series in hand and that they were going to win the game
(Bird 80). But Johnson disproved his nickname of tragic and showed why he was
elected as the league regular season MVP. Magic was also averaging a career high
23.9 points per game in the regular season. But he upped his point average in the finals
to 29.3 points per game. Magic won his third Finals MVP trophy after this series.
In the 1988-89 season, Pat Riley told the world that the Lakers would defend their
title and repeat as NBA champions. This had not happened since the Celtics in 1969. But
the Lakers took on the Detroit Pistons, who were known as the Bad Boys of the NBA
because of their style of play. But the Lakers won the championship and this earned
Magic his fifth and final NBA Finals trophy. The 1990 season was Magics last great
and full season played because the next year he would announce his Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive status and retire from the NBA. But in his last
full season played, Magic averaged 22.3 points per game, 11.5 assists, and 6.6
rebounds. He also won his third and final regular season MVP award of his career. He
lost in his final NBA Finals appearance to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls (Bird
90). This was Jordans first NBA Championship and a passing of the torch because
Magic and Bird had dominated the league for almost a decade and now Jordan and the
Bulls were coming in to their own as the dominate team in the NBA.
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As alluded to earlier, on November 9, 1991 came The Announcement. This was
the day that Magic announced that he was HIV positive and would be retiring from the
NBA effective immediately (The Announcement). This announcement came as a shock
because Magic told the media he was hurt and that was why he hadnt played yet that
season. Also, at the time people thought that HIV was a disease that only affected
homosexual people. But Magic was not only disproving a belief but he would also
disprove the fact that a person with HIV could play professional sports. After his
announcement, Magic was voted by the fans into the All Star Game. This was unheard
of because usually only players have to play a majority of the season in order to be voted
into the All Star game. David Stern who was and still is the commissioner of the NBA,
was concerned that if Magic played, would it be safe for the other players (Casabona
12). After conferring with doctors, they found that it would be safe for Magic to play
because one cannot contract the virus from the sweat of someone else. Magic played
and won the All Star Game MVP Award. Also, the summer after the 91-92 season
Magic was selected to play on the United States Olympic basketball team (Bird 120).
This team was nicknamed the Dream Team and they earned their nickname because of
the players on the team but they also, beat every team that they played by 30 or more
points per game. The other members of this team included Hall of fame players, Larry
Bird, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton. This team
brought back the gold medal and set off a race between all of the other nations to get the
best professional players to compete in the Olympics. This showed that even after
Johnson retired, he still had what it took to compete with actual professional players but
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because of the hindrance of his HIV positive status, he would not ever be able to play in
the league again.
During his retirement, Magic decided that he would make the best of his HIV
positive status. He decided to become the face of the HIV virus and lead the fight to find
support and a cure for those who were suffering from the disease. He garnered a vast
amount of support because of his celebrity status as an NBA player. Magic not only
became a successful philanthropist, but he was also a successful businessman (MJ
Enterprises). He became a partial owner of the Lakers after retirement. He even opened
up a few businesses in under developed areas that were populated by African Americans.
One of these businesses is well known and is called the Magic Johnson Theatre (MJ
Enterprises). These theatres are another example of Magic Johnsons businesses. But
the most successful example of his off the court work are called MJ Enterprises and the
MJ Foundation. Both of these companies represent Magics business work and charity
work. The most recent accomplishment that Magic has made is that he is a partial
owner of the Los Angelos Dodgers. This kept the Dodgers from being moved out of LA
(MJ Foundation).
Magic showed that his career was not only successful on the basketball court
but also, off of the basketball court. Not many players have ever been able to not only
succeed as a basketball player but also, as a businessman. Usually one would hear stories
of how athletes blow their professional sports money on a variety of parties and different
women. But Magic was smart enough to invest his money and start his own business.
Magic currently works as an analyst for the NBA with ESPN and TNT. He is still a
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great example of what an NBA player should do with their money and how they should
be an example to up and coming basketball players.
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Work Cited
Bird, Larry, Earvin Johnson, and Jackie MacMullan. When the Game Was Ours. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Print.
Casabona, et al. "Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Sexually Transmitted Infections, And
Risk Behaviors Among Clients Of Sex Workers In Guatemala: Are They A Bridge In
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission?." Sexually Transmitted Diseases 38.8
(2011): 735-742. CINAHL with Full Text. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Deveney, Sean. "LARRY BIRD And MAGIC JOHNSON, THE GAME-SAVERS."
Sporting News 235.11 (2011): 29. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
Ehde, Dawn M., and Jeffrey E. Holm. "The Impact Of Magic Johnson's HIV
Serostatus Disclosure On Unmarried College Students' HIV.." Journal Of
American College Health 44.2 (1995): 55. SPORTDiscus. Web.
Levin, Richard. Magic. New York: The Viking Press 1983. Print.
MJFoundation. Earvin Magic Johnson. 2001. Web. 7 March 2012
MJEnterprises, Earvin Magic Johnson. 2001. Web. 12 April 2012
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The Announcement Dir. George Nelson. Narr. Earvin Magic Johnson. Espn films. 11
March 2012.