Top facts about Magic Johnson, the Buck
What do you know about NBA best point guard of all time who has been fighting with HIV for 31 years? In this article, we are going to read about the top facts about Magic Johnson. Stay with us.
Magic Johnson, who is often regarded as the best point guard of all time, was selected as one of the 50 top players in NBA history in 1996. He has worked in Los Angeles Lakers as a player and a coach. Magic has become an NBA champion 10 times, 5 times as a player and 5 times as a coach or an executive.
Johnson found an interest in basketball when he was young. His favorite basketball player was Bill Russell, although he idolized players like Earl Monroe and Marques Haynes too. Magic started to play basketball in the Everett high school basketball team and they made it to become the Michigan high school state champions.
Going over the
top facts about Magic Johnson
, it is seen that after playing for the college team, this former basketball player was picked up by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1979 NBA draft. In this way, Magic Johnson’s NBA journey began. He has become the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player 3 times, the NBA champion 5 times, NBA assists leader 4 times, NBA steals leader 2 times and so much more during his professional career.
Top facts about Magic Johnson You might want to Know
In this article, we are going to take a look at top facts about Magic Johnson. Let’s start with some general facts.
Full Name: Earvin Johnson Jr
Date & Place of Birth: August 14, 1959 / Lansing, Michigan
Marital Status: Married
Spouse: Cookie Johnson
Children: EJ Johnson, Andre Johnson and Elisa Johnson
Siblings: Quincy Johnson, Pearl Johnson, Evelyn Johnson, Larry Johnson, Lois Johnson, Yvonne Johnson, Michael Johnson, Kim Johnson and Mary Johnson
Jersey Number: 32
Magic Johnson Birthday & Nationality
This part of the top facts about Magic Johnson is about his birthday and nationality. He was born on August 14, 1959, in Lansing, Michigan, USA. He shares his birthday with Mila Kunis, Daniele Steel and John Galsworthy, a British deceased novelist. Magic’s nationality is American as he is from Michigan.
Magic Johnson Childhood & Family
Magic’s father, Earvin Sr. used to work as an assembly worker in General Motors Company and as a janitor at a school. He had 6 siblings and 3 half-siblings from his father’s previous marriage.
Little Magic was impressed by his parents’ strong work ethic. His mother spent many hours cleaning and preparing the next day’s meals while his father was doing janitorial work at a used car lot and collected garbage. Magic used to help his father on the garbage route and the neighborhood children used to make fun of him and called him “Garbage Man”.
Johnson was born in an athletic family, his father used to play basketball in high school in his home state of Mississippi and his mother, who is originally from North Carolina, played this sport when she was a child and watched her brothers play the game.
Going over the
Magic Johnson childhood
, it is understood that Magic started to think about basketball as his future career when he was in 8th grade. He looked forward to playing at Sexton High School, which had a successful basketball team, but his plans changed greatly as he went to the Everett High School.
Magic had a difficult time at high school as there were incidents of racism. Rocks were thrown at buses with black students and white parents refused to send their children to Everett High School. Magic joined the basketball team, but his teammates used to ignore him.
Despite his hard times during high school, Johnson states how it had a positive influence on him in his autobiography:
“As I look back on it today, I see the whole picture very differently. It’s true that I hated missing out on Sexton. And the first few months, I was miserable at Everett. But being bused to Everett turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. It got me out of my own little world and taught me how to understand white people, how to communicate and deal with them.”
The
Magic Johnson wife
is Cookie Johnson, who is a businesswoman. They have 2 children, EJ Johnson and Elisa Johnson. Another child from the Magic Johnson children is Andre Johnson, whose mother is Melissa Mitchell, Magic’s ex-partner.
Magic Johnson Career in College
Although Johnson was recruited by several top-ranked colleges such as Indiana and UCLA, he chose to play near home at Michigan State University.
During his freshman season, this retired basketball player averaged 17.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game, leading the Spartans to win the Big Ten Conference title and a berth in the 1978 NCAA Tournament. They reached the Elite Eight, however lost to Kentucky.
During the 1978-79 season, Michigan State qualified for the NCAA Tournament again and advanced to the championship game. They played against Indiana State, which was the most-watched college basketball game ever. In that match, Michigan State beat Indiana State 75-64.
During that season, Magic Johnson became the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four and was selected to the 1978-79 All-American team. After 2 years of playing for the college team, he entered the 1979 NBA draft. Then he was chosen by Los Angeles Lakers.
Magic Johnson Professional Career
Having a look at the
top facts about Magic Johnson
, it is seen that in his rookie season, he was excited that he would play alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the top scorer in NBA history. Kareem had failed to win a championship with the Lakers and Johnson was expected to help them reach this goal.
During that season, this retired basketball player averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Team. He also became the only rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP award.
After a medical examination before the 1991-92 season, it was discovered that Magic Johnson was infected by HIV and on November 7, 1991, he announced that he would retire immediately in a press conference.
Johnson said he didn’t know how he was infected, however, this former basketball player acknowledged that it was through having numerous sexual partners during his career.
Going over the top facts about Magic Johnson, it is seen that before the 1992-93 season, he showed his desire to an NBA come-back and played in some of the pre-season games, however, he retired again before the start of the season, due to the opposition from several players. He said that he didn’t want to hurt the game.
Johnson became the coach of the Lakers near the end of the 1993-94 season. He has become the NBA Champion as a coach or an owner 5 times.
Magic Johnson career
stats show that he returned as a player when he was 36, despite his announcements about not coming back as a player. Magic joined the Lakers in the 1995-96 NBA season and played 1 year for the team. At the end of the season, he retired permanently, saying, “I am going out on my terms, something I couldn’t say when I aborted a comeback in 1992.”
In this part of the top facts about Magic Johnson, we will tell you the NBA honors of this former NBA player. He has become the NBA champion 10 times as a player and a coach or owner, NBA Finals MVP for 3 times, NBA Most Valuable Player for 3 times, NBA assists leader for 4 times, NBA steals leader for 2 times, NBA All-Star Game MVP for 2 times and so on.
Magic Johnson Net Worth
In this part of the
top facts about Magic Johnson
, we are going over his net worth. This entrepreneur and retired basketball player has made a lot of money through his endorsement agreements and salaries over his 13-year NBA career. His highest yearly pay from NBA was $2.5 million with Los Angeles Lakers in 1991-1992.
Today, Magic Johnson earns from his business firms as well as media ventures. It is estimated that his salary is up to $22 million. Magic is the 5th highest-paid athlete due to the Forbes List.
Magic Johnson net worth
is over $600 million, as a result of his brilliant basketball career and successful business.
Short top facts about Magic Johnson
In this part of the article, we have prepared some short facts about Magic Johnson. Stay with us.
Magic Johnson Instagram
account has 2.6 million followers and he is active on social media.
The Magic Johnson wife is Cookie. They got married on September 14, 1991.
In 2004, Johnson’s HIV announcement became ESPN’s 7th most memorable moment of the previous 25 years.
Magic Johnson Instagram account is @magicjohnson
“For me, Magic is a hero, a hero for anyone who loves sports.” Said President George Bush about this retired NBA player.
Magic has 2 gold medals with the Team USA, 1 at the 1992 Olympic Games and 1 at the FIBA Americas Championship.
Johnson takes a daily combination of drugs to prevent the HIV infection from progressing to AIDS
His son, EJ Johnson is gay.
From the
Magic Johnson children
, Andre is the oldest with the age of 40 and Elisa is the youngest one with the age of 24. EJ, who is the 2nd child of this former NBA player, is 29.
Magic Johnson Quotes
Now it is time to take a look at the most interesting quotes of a retired NBA player and businessman, Magic Johnson.
Life doesn’t stop because something happens to you.
Just celebrate the life you had, not the life you could’ve had.
If somebody says no to you, or if you get cut, Michael Jordan was cut his first year, but he came back and he was the best ever. That is what you have to have. The attitude that I’m going to show everybody, I’m going to work hard to get better and better.
Magic is crazy. He is that crazy wild guy on the basketball court that is very intense and very serious. He is the guy who lives and eats and breathes basketball.
The best doctors and medicine in the world can’t save you if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do.
I tell people to look at me and understand that everybody first told me that I couldn’t be a 6-foot, 9-inch point guard, and I proved them wrong. Then they told me I couldn’t be a businessman and make money in urban America, and I proved them wrong. And they thought I couldn’t win all these championships, and I proved them wrong there as well.
When you face a crisis, you know who your true friends are.
Magic is who I am on the basketball court. Earvin is who I am.
Here are some of Magic’s quotes that are about HIV.
I’ll hear people say every so often that having HIV must not be so bad – Just look at Magic and how well he’s doing.
I tell you, it’s funny because the only time I think about HIV is when I have to take my medicine twice a day.
You can’t get AIDS from a hug or a handshake or a meal with a friend.
Everyone thought I was going to die like a year later, they didn’t know. So I helped educate sports, and then the world, that a man living with HIV can play basketball. He’s not going to give it to anybody by playing basketball.
I’m not cured, but HIV is asleep deep in my body.
I enjoy being the messenger for God in terms of letting people know about HIV and AIDS.
The real story is that I had unprotected sex. That’s that. That’s easy.
Here we go through Johnson’s quotes about food and diet.
My diet is mostly chicken and fish. I make sure I get a lot of vegetables, a lot of fruit. I am a big fruit man, I am a vegetable man anyway. And I also get a lot of rest. That’s the key I may be up early, but I’m in bed early too.
I make sure I get a lot of vegetables, a lot of fruit. I am a big fruit man; I am a vegetable man, anyway.
People don’t stop eating, and they don’t stop drinking coffee.
The following quotes are about his parents.
My dad was my hero. And I got my personality from my mother.
My father was a great example of a strong and good man and Christian man, and my mother taught all my 6 sisters how to be young ladies and mothers and how to take care of their family. And so I think they were - they still are - great examples for all of us to their kids and to the world, too.
My father is my idol, so I always did everything like him. He used to work two jobs and still come home happy every night.
This was our article on the top facts about Magic Johnson. Thank YOU for reading. Any other facts you want to add? Let us know in the comments section.
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