NBA.com: Magic Johnson Bio Complete Bio | Summary | Complete Stats Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin "Magic" Johnson was one of them. Just how great a basketball player was Johnson? So great, perhaps, that future generations of hoop fans may wish they had entered the world years earlier -- just so they could have seen Magic play in person instead of watching him only on highlight reels. Magic's "junior, junior sky-hook" in Game 4 of the 1987 Finals is part of NBA lore. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images He was what Bob Cousy was to the 1950s, what Oscar Robertson was to the 1960s, what Julius Erving was to the 1970s. Still, Earvin Johnson was even more than a revolutionary player, who, at 6-9, was the tallest point guard in league history. His sublime talent elicited wonder and admiration from even the most casual basketball fan.

Whether it was a behind-the-back pass to a streaking James Worthy , a half-court swish at the buzzer or a smile that illuminated an arena, everyone who saw Johnson play took with them an indelible memory of what they had witnessed. From the moment he stepped onto the court, people pondered: How could a man so big do so many things with the ball and with his body? It was Magic. Johnson accomplished virtually everything a player could dream of during his 13-year NBA career, all of which was spent with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a member of five championship teams. He won the Most Valuable Player Award and the Finals MVP Award three times each. He was a 12-time All-Star and a nine-time member of the All-NBA First Team. He surpassed Robertson's career assists record, a mark he later relinquished to John Stockton . He won a gold medal with the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. His all-around play inspired the addition of the term "triple-double" to basketball's lexicon, although history demands that Robertson be recognized as the first man to regularly post double figures in three statistical categories in the same game.

Unfortunately for the Big O, nobody had thought of the term triple-double back in the 1960s. Johnson did all of this while maintaining a childlike enthusiasm born of a pure love of sport and competition. Beyond all the money, success and fame, Johnson was just happy to be playing basketball. If there was one aspect of Johnson's game that awed people the most, it was his brilliant passing skills. He dazzled fans and dumbfounded opponents with no-look passes off the fastbreak, pinpoint alley-oops from halfcourt, spinning feeds and overhand bullets under the basket through triple teams. When defenders expected him to pass, he shot. When they expected him to shoot, he passed. Said former Lakers swingman Michael Cooper: "There have been times when he has thrown passes and I wasn't sure where he was going. Then one of our guys catches the ball and scores, and I run back up the floor convinced that he must've thrown it through somebody." Born on August 14, 1959, Earvin Johnson Jr. grew up in Lansing, Mich., with nine brothers and sisters. His father worked in a General Motors plant; his mother was a school custodian.

Young Earvin passed the time by singing on street corners with his buddies and, of course, by playing basketball. "Junior," or "June Bug" as his neighbors called him, was on the court by 7:30 many mornings. "I practiced all day," Johnson told USA Weekend. "I dribbled to the store with my right hand and back with my left. Then I slept with my basketball." From the moment he stepped onto the court, people pondered: How could a man so big do so many things with the ball and with his body? It was Magic. Johnson was first called "Magic" when he was a star at Everett High School. He was given the nickname by a sports writer who had just seen the 15-year-old prepster notch 36 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists. (Johnson's mother, a devout Christian, thought the nickname was blasphemous.) As a senior, Johnson led Everett to a 27-1 record and the state title while averaging 28.8 points and 16.8 rebounds. Johnson wanted to attend college close to home, so he enrolled at Michigan State in East Lansing.

He put up impressive numbers as a freshman (17.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 7.4 apg), leading the Spartans to a 25-5 record and the Big Ten Conference title. As an All-America sophomore Johnson directed his team to the national title in 1979, beating Larry Bird 's Indiana State squad in perhaps the most anticipated (and most watched) NCAA Championship Game ever played. Having accomplished all he wanted to on the college level, Johnson passed up his final two seasons and entered the 1979 NBA Draft. The Utah Jazz were supposed to draft in the first position, but the Jazz had conveyed their 1979 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers three years earlier as compensation for the free-agent signing of Gail Goodrich . Thus the Lakers took Johnson with the first overall pick. The team had just undergone big changes: a new coach in Jack McKinney, a new owner in Dr. Jerry Buss, and seven new faces on the court. With the country's most exciting college player in a Lakers uniform, Buss hoped the normally reserved Forum crowds would get up off their hands and onto their feet. "Showtime" was born.

Fans attending Johnson's first game witnessed the sort of exuberance he would display throughout his entire career. After a buzzer-beating shot by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to defeat the San Diego Clippers on opening night, Johnson went berserk, distributing bone-jarring high-fives and bear hugs. At this rate, most observers thought, the kid would burn out in no time. Even Abdul-Jabbar had to tell the rookie to cool it, because there were 81 more games yet to play -- and that didn't count playoffs. That season's NBA Rookie of the Year Award went to Bird of the Boston Celtics. But the NBA champion was Los Angeles. The Lakers rolled to the Western Division title with a 60-22 record, the league's second best. (Paul Westhead took over as coach after McKinney was seriously hurt in a bicycle crash 14 games into the season.) In 77 games Johnson's numbers mirrored those of his days at Michigan State (18.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 7.3 apg). He became the first rookie to start in an NBA All-Star Game since Elvin Hayes 11 years earlier.

In the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, Johnson's performance in the series-clinching sixth game was the stuff of legend. Abdul-Jabbar was sidelined with a badly sprained ankle sustained during his 40-point effort in Game 5. Up 3-2, the Lakers could wrap things up on the 76ers' home court. Enter Johnson, the 20-year-old rookie. Assuming Abdul-Jabbar's position at center, Johnson sky-hooked and rebounded the Lakers to victory with 42 points, 15 boards, seven assists and three steals. He even jumped for the opening tap. Johnson became the first rookie ever to win the Finals MVP Award. The stunning effort exemplified his uncanny ability to do whatever the Lakers needed in order to win. Magic Johnson was always driving ahead of the competition. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images In the Los Angeles Times, Westhead said of his amazing rookie: "We all thought he was a movie-star player, but we found out he wears a hard hat.

It's like finding a great orthopedic surgeon who can also operate a bulldozer." The next year was not nearly as kind to Johnson or to the Lakers. In the first month, 7-2 Tom Burleson of the Atlanta Hawks fell on Johnson's left knee, forcing him to miss 45 games with torn cartilage. He came back in time for the Lakers' best-of-3 playoff series against the Houston Rockets. Johnson had made only 2 of his 13 field-goal attempts when he tossed up an airball as time ran out in Game 3. The Lakers lost the game, 89-86, and the series. Johnson and the Lakers rebounded in 1981-82, winning their division and defeating the 76ers in another six-game NBA Finals in which Johnson repeated as MVP. The season also had its share of ugliness. Early on, Westhead wanted to restructure the offense in a way that Johnson believed would have reduced his role. In a widely reported incident, Johnson exploded in the lockerroom after a game in Utah. "I can't play here anymore. I want to leave. I want to be traded," he was quoted as saying.

Reporters waited for the signal that Johnson was joking. It didn't come. Westhead was fired the next day and replaced with assistant coach Pat Riley. At Riley's first home game, fans at the Forum booed Johnson during introductions. In Seattle he was jeered whenever he touched the ball. He paid the price in the All-Star balloting and was not selected as a starter for the only time in his career other than his injury season. It took Johnson's stellar playoff performance to silence the hecklers. On the court, Johnson's play was as splendid as it was consistent. He won his second consecutive steals title that season and for the remainder of his career would never dip below averages of 17.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 10.5 assists. The two years following the Westhead flap were great for Johnson individually but tough for Los Angeles. Johnson won the first two of his four league assists titles and continued to improve upon his already brilliant all-around play. In the 1982-83 NBA Finals against rival Philadelphia, however, Lakers Norm Nixon, Worthy and Bob McAdoo were all hampered by injury. The 76ers swept the series.

By the 1984 NBA Finals, Nixon was gone, Abdul-Jabbar was pushing 40 and Johnson had signed a then record 25-year, $25 million contract. The grueling seven-game series against Boston marked a low point in Johnson's career. His playmaking gaffes at the end of Games 2, 4 and 7 contributed to the Lakers' defeat. With Johnson improving his outside shot and setting assists records, the Lakers won three NBA titles in the next four years. The first of this string came in the 1985 Finals win over their nemesis the Celtics. After being destoyed in Game 1 of the series ,148-114, dubbed the "Memorial Day Massacre" as the game was played on that holiday, the Lakers would rebound to take the series in six games. The decisive victory came on the Garden parquet floor 111-100 and marked the first time the Lakers defeated the Celtics in a Finals after eight previous failures strecthing back to when the Lakers played in Minneapolis.

During the 1986-87 season, with Abdul-Jabbar sidelined briefly with an eye infection, Johnson did something most pro scouts had said he couldn't do: score. He pumped in 38 points against Houston and then a career-high 46 points in the next game against the Sacramento Kings. His 23.9 season average was the highest of his career. That season, Johnson was named NBA Most Valuable Player. It had taken him eight years, in which time Bird had landed three MVP Awards. Johnson had wanted it badly. Before the winner was announced, Johnson told the Los Angeles Times, "Right now, he's 3 and I'm 0. That bugs me a little." (He would eventually tie Bird in the MVP count, claiming the award again in 1989 and 1990.) Johnson won his third Finals MVP Award in 1987, following a six-game victory over Boston. It was also the year that Johnson took Abdul-Jabbar's place as leader of the team. In games of H-O-R-S-E during practice, the 40-year-old center taught his protï¿½gï¿½ how to shoot a sky-hook.

Johnson quickly mastered his own version of the shot, which he used to make the game-winning basket in the Game 4 victory at the Garden, 107-106. That win propelled the Lakers to a second Finals' win over the Celtics in three years. In 1988, the Lakers edged the Detroit Pistons in a bitter seven-game series to become the first team since the 1968-69 Celtics to repeat as champs. The following two seasons Johnson averaged more than 20 points and led the Lakers to two more division titles. In 1988-89, Abdul-Jabbar's final season, Johnson suffered a hamstring injury in the NBA Finals and the Lakers were swept by a well-rounded Pistons team. The next year Los Angeles suffered its earliest departure from the playoffs in nine years, losing to the Phoenix Suns in the Conference Semifinals. Johnson in the 1990-91 campaign helped the Lakers to a 58-24 record. After upsetting a Clyde Drexler -led Portland TrailBlazers team that won the Pacific Division in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers made another trip to the NBA Finals.

The Lakers lost to the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan in five games, but it was the ninth time Johnson had reached the Finals in his 12 seasons. Before the 1991-92 campaign Johnson stunned the world with the announcement that he had tested positive for the HIV virus and was retiring from the NBA. He made a triumphant appearance at the All-Star Game that season, however, earning the game's MVP Award and leading the West to a 153-113 victory. He also began a campaign to promote AIDS awareness, an effort for which he received the league's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. Johnson went on to play for the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team, write a book about safe sex, run several businesses he had started as a player, work for NBC as a television commentator and explore the possibility of purchasing an NBA franchise. With 16 games left to play in the 1993-94 season, he replaced Randy Pfund as the head coach of the Lakers. The team was fighting for a playoff berth when Johnson assumed the reins, and Los Angeles immediately won five straight.

But after the club lost five of its next six outings, Johnson announced that he would not return as coach the following season. "I want to go home," he told theAssociated Press. "It's never been my dream to coach. I want to own, to be a businessman. You've got to chase your dreams." Johnson got his wish in June 1994, when he purchased a share of the Lakers and became a part-owner. In 1995 Johnson got involved in another business venture, opening a chain of movie theaters in minority neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area, an enterprise he later took to other cities.. He also continued to entertain fans around the world when he took his barnstorming basketball team (made up of former college and NBA players) to Asia and Australia. But he wasn't through with the NBA. After sitting out 4 1/2 seasons he made a comeback late in the 1995-96 campaign, playing the final 32 games of the regular season for the Lakers. By then he had bulked up to 255 pounds and did as much of his playing at power forward as he did at guard.

After the Lakers were ousted by Houston in the First Round of the 1996 playoffs, Johnson retired once again. In his 13 NBA seasons Johnson compiled 17,707 points (19.5 ppg), 6,559 rebounds (7.2 rpg) and 10,141 assists (11.2 apg) in addition to 1,724 steals, good for ninth place on the all-time list. He also holds the top marks for most All-Star Game assists (127) and three-point baskets (10). In 1996-97, Johnson was selected to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 2002, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Was he the best player of his day? Another all-time great thinks so. "Magic is head-and-shoulders above everybody else," Larry Bird once observed in the Chicago Sun-Times.

"I've never seen [anybody] as good as him." Magic Johnson - Famous Basketball Players - Biography.com Famous Basketball Players For 12 years, Earvin "Magic" Johnson dominated the court as one of America's best basketball players. In 1991, he announced that he had tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. IN THESE GROUPS Famous People Named Magic Magic Johnson - Mini Biography (TV-14; 3:34) A short biography of Magic Johnson who dominated basketball for 13 years as a player for the L.A. Lakers. In 1991, he announced that he was HIV positive and used his name to raise awareness for the disease. Synopsis Born Earvin Johnson Jr. on August 14, 1959, in Lansing, Michigan, Magic Johnson dominated the court as one of America's best basketball players for 12 years. He retired from the LA Lakers in 1991 after revealing that he had tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. He has since then built up a business empire, which includes real estate holdings, several Starbucks franchises, and movie theaters. He is also an author.

Early Life Basketball icon Magic Johnson was born Earvin Johnson Jr. on August 14, 1959, in Lansing, Michigan. For 12 years, Johnson dominated the court as one of America's best basketball players. He has since then built up a business empire, which includes real estate holdings, several Starbucks franchises, and movie theaters. From a large family, Johnson grew up with nine brothers and sisters. Both of his parents worked—his father for the General Motors plant in town and his mother for as a school custodian. He had a passion for basketball, and would start practicing as early as 7:30 a.m. At Everett High School, Johnson earned his famous nickname, "Magic," after a sportswriter witnessed him score 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 16 assists in a single game. Passion for Basketball Magic Johnson continued to play in college for Michigan State University. Standing at 6 feet 9 inches tall, he made for an impressive point guard. Johnson excelled during his freshman year, helping his team, the Spartans, clinch the Big Ten Conference title. The following year, he played an important role in taking the Spartans all the way to the NCAA Finals.

There they faced off against the Indiana State Sycamores. In one of the most famous match-ups in college basketball history, Johnson went head-to-head with Indiana's star forward, Larry Bird. The Spartans proved victorious, and the Johnson-Bird rivalry would follow the players to their days with the NBA. Leaving college after two years, Johnson was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979. He did well in his first season (1979-80) with the team, averaging 18 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game. Johnson won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award for his efforts in leading the Lakers to a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, winning four of six games in the championship series. The team also included such strong players as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes and Norm Nixon. NBA Star During Magic Johnson's third season (1981-82) with the team, the Lakers made the NBA Finals again. For the second time in his pro career, the Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers for the championship title.

Additionally, Johnson, who scored 13 points, and made 13 rebounds and 13 assists in Game 6 of the 1982 Finals, earned his second series MVP award. The following season (1982-83) saw the third Finals match-up between the Lakers and the 76ers in four years. This time, however, L.A. was defeated by Philadelphia, losing four consecutive games to the 76ers and winning none during the series. In the 1984 NBA Finals, Johnson again encountered rival Larry Bird, who had signed with the Boston Celtics. This was the first of several match-ups between the two teams. The Celtics beat the Lakers in a tight competition—four games to three—for the 1984 championship. The Lakers, however, took down the Celtics the following year in the finals. Johnson and his team continued to be one of the NBA's top competitors throughout the rest of the 1980s. In the 1987 NBA Finals, they again defeated the Boston Celtics, and Johnson received the NBA Finals MVP Award for the third and final time in his career.

This remarkable season marked Johnson's personal best in terms of average points per game, with an incredible 23.9. Additionally, in 1987, he received his first NBA MVP award for his performance on the court—an honor he would receive again in 1989 and 1990. HIV Diagnosis In November 1991, Magic Johnson retired from the Lakers after revealing that he had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. He believed he contracted the disease through unprotected sexual activity. The diagnosis was especially hard for Johnson. At the time he learned he had the disease, his wife Cookie was pregnant with their first child. Both his wife and son, Earvin III, turned out to not have HIV. At the time, many people thought the virus mostly affected homosexuals or intravenous drug users. There was also a lot of fear and confusion regarding how the disease could be transmitted. Johnson's decision to go public with his medical condition helped raise awareness about the disease. He established the Magic Johnson Foundation to support HIV/AIDS research efforts and awareness programs that same year. In 1992, he wrote the educational guide What You Can Do to Avoid AIDS.

Undeterred, Johnson played in the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. Along with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird, he was part of the American "Dream Team" that won the gold medal. He hoped to return to professional basketball for the next season, but he dropped that plan amidst fear from other players who were concerned about playing with an HIV-positive competitor. Retirement and Legacy Magic Johnson explored other options after leaving basketball. In 1992, he had his latest book, My Life, published. Johnson had previously written two books about himself and the game, 1983's Magic and 1989's Magic's Touch. He also appeared on television as a sports commentator. During the 1993-1994 basketball season, Johnson tried his hand at coaching with the Lakers. He then bought a small share of the team. In 1996, staging a brief comeback, Johnson returned for a few months to the Lakers as a player. He finally retired for good that same year, leaving behind an impressive legacy.

Over his long career, Johnson scored 17,707 points and made 10,141 assists, 6,559 rebounds and 1,824 steals. He also became the all-time leader in NBA assists per game, with an average of 11.2—a title that he continues to hold today. Johnson was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. Just as he had dominated the courts, Johnson became a powerful force in business. He created Magic Johnson Enterprises, which has a variety of holdings. Much of his efforts have focused on developing urban areas, bringing Starbucks coffee franchises and movie theaters into underserved communities. In 2008, he shared his secrets for success with the book 32 Ways to be a Champion in Business. Recently, Johnson reteamed with Larry Bird to write the 2009 book When the Game Was Ours, which explores their rivalry, their experiences on the court, and the sport they love. That same year, he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

In addition to son Earvin, Johnson and his wife, Cookie, have a daughter named Elisa, whom they adopted in 1995. He also has a son, Andre, from a previous relationship. Videos Top 10 players in NBA history | FOX Sports Top 10 players in NBA history Oct 05, 2011 1:14a ET Best of the best Of the thousands of men who have played in the NBA over the past six decades, most have been forgettable. Many have been excellent at one or two skills. Some have been champions. Only a small group have become legends. It's tough to rank those all-time greats based on their talent, their intangibles and their accomplishments. But here goes. Let the debate continue. Tim Duncan (1997-present) His restrained personality and no-frills game have made his career the epitome of quiet, sustained excellence. His accomplishments speak for themselves: two MVPs, four titles, 13 straight seasons on both an All-NBA and All-Defensive team. At 37, he's not done yet, having led the Spurs to yet another Finals.

But he's already achieved enough to get a slight nod over Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving and Jerry West for the No. 10 spot. Shaquille O'Neal (1992-2011) Quiet, consistent excellence? That doesn't describe Shaq's career, which was much louder and more turbulent than Duncan's, but also more fun and more dominant. In his prime, he was an irresistible force around the basket, leading the Lakers to three titles. He got his fourth ring as Dwyane Wade's giant sidekick in Miami and stuck around long enough to make 15 All-Star teams and rank sixth on the league's career scoring list. Kobe Bryant (1996-present) Shaq and Kobe will be forever linked, thanks to their great success together in the early 2000s and their great animosity ever since. Legacies are important to both men, especially relative to each other, and we rank Kobe's career just ahead of Shaq's. Not just because Bryant earned his fourth and fifth titles, putting him one ahead of O'Neal.

The difference is Kobe's conditioning and professionalism have allowed him to play at an elite level for longer than Shaq did. Oscar Robertson (1960-74) With just one MVP award and one championship, he has less hardware than the other players on this list. But you'd have a hard time finding a better all-around basketball player than "The Big O." In his second NBA season, he averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists, the only time in league history someone has averaged a triple-double for a season. He nearly did it many more times while making nine All-NBA first teams. His 186 triple-doubles are a record that may never be broken. Wilt Chamberlain (1959-73) The numbers say Wilt was the most dominant player in NBA history, and it's hard to argue with seven scoring titles, 11 rebounding titles, four MVPs and a 100-point game. But there are reasons Chamberlain's colossal talent produced just two championships, and not just because Bill Russell had better teammates.

Wilt, by many accounts, lacked the work ethic, leadership skills and ferocious will to win that characterize the top five players on this list. He had all of the tangibles but not enough of the intangibles to be the greatest of the great. Larry Bird (1979-92) Compared to Chamberlain, Larry Joe Bird had few athletic gifts, but has there ever been a more skilled and competitive player? Arguably the best pure shooter in league history, he once averaged 29.9 points for a season while shooting 52.7 percent from the field, 41.4 on threes and 91.6 from the line. And that was after his three straight MVP seasons and three championships. Dirk Nowitzki is the closest thing there's been to Larry Bird, and he's no Larry Bird. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1969-89) He played in the NBA for two full decades, and each one represented a distinct chapter of his career. In the 1970s, he was the best player in the league, winning five of his six MVP awards as a dominant center on the Milwaukee Bucks.

In the '80s, he was a critical cog in the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty spearheaded by Magic Johnson, winning five of his six titles. Through it all, he unleashed the most devastating shot the NBA has ever seen, using the sky hook to score many of his league-record 38,387 points. Bill Russell (1956-69) It's true that Russell (6) played with a lot of great players, including Bob Cousy (14), Bill Sharman (21) and Tommy Heinsohn (15). But the Boston Celtics were mediocre before he arrived, and lousy after he left. That's why Russell, while far from the most talented or dominant player in NBA history, was its greatest winner. He defended. He rebounded. And, more than anything, he led. The result? Eleven championships in 13 seasons, a feat unmatched in major American sport. Magic Johnson (1979-96) If he didn't share an era with Larry Bird, Johnson surely would have won more than five championships and three MVPs. He would have owned the '80s by himself. But what fun would that have been?

Together, the two superstars created an indelible rivalry and revitalized the league from its 1970s stupor. Nothing in NBA history has been more exciting than Magic leading the fast break. At least until the No. 1 player on this list came along... Michael Jordan (1984-2003) It's hard to overstate the impact Michael Jeffrey Jordan had on the NBA, the sport of basketball and popular culture. He entertained with his aerial exploits, awed with his competitive fire and charmed with his extraordinary charisma. After six titles, five MVPs and 10 scoring titles, this is his basketball (and marketing) legacy: Everyone wants to be like Mike, but there's never been anyone like him. Legends profile: Magic Johnson | NBA.com Magic Johnson changed the game, both as a tall and flashy point guard and as an outgoing personality. Andrew D. Bernstein/ NBAE/ Getty Images Legends profile: Magic Johnson Posted Mar 4 2013 4:09PM Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin "Magic" Johnson was one of them.

EARVIN JOHNSON Full Name: Earvin Johnson, Jr. Born: 8/14/59 in Lansing, Mich. High School: Everett (Lansing) Drafted by: L.A. Lakers (1979) Height: 6-9 Weight: 255 lbs. Nickname: Magic Honors: Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2002); NBA champion (1980, '82, '85, '87, '88); NBA Finals MVP (1980, '82, '87); NBA MVP (1987, '89, '90); Nine-time All-NBA First Team (1983-91); All-NBA Second Team (1982); 12-time All-Star; All-Star MVP (1990, '92); Olympic gold medalist (1992); One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996). Just how great a basketball player was Johnson?

So great, perhaps, that future generations of hoop fans may wish they had entered the world years earlier -- just so they could have seen Magic play in person instead of watching him only on highlight reels. He was what Bob Cousy was to the 1950s, what Oscar Robertson was to the 1960s, what Julius Erving was to the 1970s. Still, Earvin Johnson was even more than a revolutionary player, who, at 6-foot-9, was the tallest point guard in league history. His sublime talent elicited wonder and admiration from even the most casual basketball fan. Whether it was a behind-the-back pass to a streaking James Worthy, a half-court swish at the buzzer or a smile that illuminated an arena, everyone who saw Johnson play took with them an indelible memory of what they had witnessed. From the moment he stepped onto the court, people pondered: How could a man so big do so many things with the ball and with his body? It was Magic.

<p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> Johnson accomplished virtually everything a player could dream of during his 13-year NBA career, all of which was spent with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a member of five championship teams. He won the Most Valuable Player Award and the Finals MVP Award three times each. He was a 12-time All-Star and a nine-time member of the All-NBA First Team. He surpassed Robertson's career assists record, a mark he later relinquished to John Stockton. He won a gold medal with the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. His all-around play inspired the addition of the term "triple-double" to basketball's lexicon, although history demands that Robertson be recognized as the first man to regularly post double figures in three statistical categories in the same game. Unfortunately for the Big O, nobody had thought of the term triple-double back in the 1960s. Johnson did all of this while maintaining a childlike enthusiasm born of a pure love of sport and competition. Beyond all the money, success and fame, Johnson was just happy to be playing basketball.

If there was one aspect of Johnson's game that awed people the most, it was his brilliant passing skills. He dazzled fans and dumbfounded opponents with no-look passes off the fastbreak, pinpoint alley-oops from halfcourt, spinning feeds and overhand bullets under the basket through triple teams. When defenders expected him to pass, he shot. When they expected him to shoot, he passed. Said former Lakers swingman Michael Cooper: "There have been times when he has thrown passes and I wasn't sure where he was going. Then one of our guys catches the ball and scores, and I run back up the floor convinced that he must've thrown it through somebody." His rivalries with Larry Bird helped revitalize the NBA in the 1980s. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images Born on August 14, 1959, Earvin Johnson Jr. grew up in Lansing, Mich., with nine brothers and sisters. His father worked in a General Motors plant; his mother was a school custodian. Young Earvin passed the time by singing on street corners with his buddies and, of course, by playing basketball.

"Junior," or "June Bug" as his neighbors called him, was on the court by 7:30 many mornings. "I practiced all day," Johnson told USA Weekend. "I dribbled to the store with my right hand and back with my left. Then I slept with my basketball." Johnson was first called "Magic" when he was a star at Everett High School. He was given the nickname by a sports writer who had just seen the 15-year-old prepster notch 36 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists. (Johnson's mother, a devout Christian, thought the nickname was blasphemous.) As a senior, Johnson led Everett to a 27-1 record and the state title while averaging 28.8 points and 16.8 rebounds. Johnson wanted to attend college close to home, so he enrolled at Michigan State in East Lansing. He put up impressive numbers as a freshman (17.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 7.4 apg), leading the Spartans to a 25-5 record and the Big Ten Conference title.

As an All-America sophomore Johnson directed his team to the national title in 1979, beating Larry Bird's Indiana State squad in perhaps the most anticipated (and most watched) NCAA championship game ever played. Having accomplished all he wanted to on the college level, Johnson passed up his final two seasons and entered the 1979 NBA Draft. The Utah Jazz were supposed to draft in the first position, but the Jazz had conveyed their 1979 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers three years earlier as compensation for the free-agent signing of Gail Goodrich. Thus the Lakers took Johnson with the first overall pick. The team had just undergone big changes: a new coach in Jack McKinney, a new owner in Dr. Jerry Buss, and seven new faces on the court. With the country's most exciting college player in a Lakers uniform, Buss hoped the normally reserved Forum crowds would get up off their hands and onto their feet. "Showtime" was born. <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> Fans attending Johnson's first game witnessed the sort of exuberance he would display throughout his entire career.

After a buzzer-beating shot by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to defeat the San Diego Clippers on opening night, Johnson went berserk, distributing bone-jarring high-fives and bear hugs. At this rate, most observers thought, the kid would burn out in no time. Even Abdul-Jabbar had to tell the rookie to cool it, because there were 81 more games yet to play -- and that didn't count playoffs. That season's NBA Rookie of the Year Award went to Bird of the Boston Celtics. But the NBA champion was Los Angeles. The Lakers rolled to the Western Division title with a 60-22 record, the league's second best. (Paul Westhead took over as coach after McKinney was seriously hurt in a bicycle crash 14 games into the season.) In 77 games Johnson's numbers mirrored those of his days at Michigan State (18.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 7.3 apg). He became the first rookie to start in an NBA All-Star Game since Elvin Hayes 11 years earlier.

In the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, Johnson's performance in the series-clinching sixth game was the stuff of legend. Abdul-Jabbar was sidelined with a badly sprained ankle sustained during his 40-point effort in Game 5. Up 3-2, the Lakers could wrap things up on the 76ers' home court. Enter Johnson, the 20-year-old rookie. Assuming Abdul-Jabbar's position at center, Johnson sky-hooked and rebounded the Lakers to victory with 42 points, 15 boards, seven assists and three steals. He even jumped for the opening tip. Johnson became the first rookie ever to win the Finals MVP Award. The stunning effort exemplified his uncanny ability to do whatever the Lakers needed in order to win. In the Los Angeles Times, Westhead said of his amazing rookie: "We all thought he was a movie-star player, but we found out he wears a hard hat. It's like finding a great orthopedic surgeon who can also operate a bulldozer." The next year was not nearly as kind to Johnson or to the Lakers.

In the first month, 7-2 Tom Burleson of the Atlanta Hawks fell on Johnson's left knee, forcing him to miss 45 games with torn cartilage. He came back in time for the Lakers' best-of-3 playoff series against the Houston Rockets. Johnson had made only 2 of his 13 field-goal attempts when he tossed up an airball as time ran out in Game 3. The Lakers lost the game 89-86 and the series. Johnson and the Lakers rebounded in 1981-82, winning their division and defeating the 76ers in another six-game NBA Finals in which Johnson repeated as MVP. The season also had its share of ugliness. Early on, Westhead wanted to restructure the offense in a way that Johnson believed would have reduced his role. In a widely reported incident, Johnson exploded in the lockerroom after a game in Utah. "I can't play here anymore. I want to leave. I want to be traded," he was quoted as saying. Reporters waited for the signal that Johnson was joking. It didn't come.

<p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> Westhead was fired the next day and replaced with assistant coach Pat Riley. At Riley's first home game, fans at the Forum booed Johnson during introductions. In Seattle he was jeered whenever he touched the ball. He paid the price in the All-Star balloting and was not selected as a starter for the only time in his career other than his injury season. It took Johnson's stellar playoff performance to silence the hecklers. On the court, Johnson's play was as splendid as it was consistent. He won his second consecutive steals title that season and for the remainder of his career would never dip below averages of 17.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 10.5 assists. The two years following the Westhead flap were great for Johnson individually but tough for Los Angeles. Johnson won the first two of his four league assists titles and continued to improve upon his already brilliant all-around play. In the 1982-83 NBA Finals against rival Philadelphia, however, Lakers Norm Nixon, Worthy and Bob McAdoo were all hampered by injury. The 76ers swept the series.

By the 1984 NBA Finals, Nixon was gone, Abdul-Jabbar was pushing 40 and Johnson had signed a then record 25-year, $25 million contract. The grueling seven-game series against Boston marked a low point in Johnson's career. His playmaking gaffes at the end of Games 2, 4 and 7 contributed to the Lakers' defeat. With Johnson improving his outside shot and setting assists records, the Lakers won three NBA titles in the next four years. The first of this string came in the 1985 Finals win over their nemesis the Celtics. After being destoyed in Game 1 of the series ,148-114, dubbed the "Memorial Day Massacre" as the game was played on that holiday, the Lakers would rebound to take the series in six games. The decisive victory came on the Garden parquet floor 111-100 and marked the first time the Lakers defeated the Celtics in a Finals after eight previous failures strecthing back to when the Lakers played in Minneapolis.

During the 1986-87 season, with Abdul-Jabbar sidelined briefly with an eye infection, Johnson did something most pro scouts had said he couldn't do: score. He pumped in 38 points against Houston and then a career-high 46 points in the next game against the Sacramento Kings. His 23.9 season average was the highest of his career. That season, Johnson was named NBA Most Valuable Player. It had taken him eight years, in which time Bird had landed three MVP Awards. Johnson had wanted it badly. Before the winner was announced, Johnson told the Los Angeles Times, "Right now, he's 3 and I'm 0. That bugs me a little." (He would eventually tie Bird in the MVP count, claiming the award again in 1989 and 1990.) Magic Johnson's knack for no-look passes and an uptempo game shaped the 'Showtime' era. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images Johnson won his third Finals MVP Award in 1987, following a six-game victory over Boston. It was also the year that Johnson took Abdul-Jabbar's place as leader of the team.

In games of H-O-R-S-E during practice, the 40-year-old center taught his protégé how to shoot a sky-hook. Johnson quickly mastered his own version of the shot, which he used to make the game-winning basket in the Game 4 victory at the Garden, 107-106. That win propelled the Lakers to a second Finals' win over the Celtics in three years. In 1988, the Lakers edged the Detroit Pistons in a bitter seven-game series to become the first team since the 1968-69 Celtics to repeat as champs. The following two seasons Johnson averaged more than 20 points and led the Lakers to two more division titles. In 1988-89, Abdul-Jabbar's final season, Johnson suffered a hamstring injury in the NBA Finals and the Lakers were swept by a well-rounded Pistons team. The next year Los Angeles suffered its earliest departure from the playoffs in nine years, losing to the Phoenix Suns in the Conference Semifinals. Johnson in the 1990-91 campaign helped the Lakers to a 58-24 record.

After upsetting a Clyde Drexler-led Portland TrailBlazers team that won the Pacific Division in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers made another trip to the NBA Finals. The Lakers lost to the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan in five games, but it was the ninth time Johnson had reached the Finals in his 12 seasons. Before the 1991-92 campaign Johnson stunned the world with the announcement that he had tested positive for the HIV virus and was retiring from the NBA. He made a triumphant appearance at the All-Star Game that season, however, earning the game's MVP Award and leading the West to a 153-113 victory. He also began a campaign to promote AIDS awareness, an effort for which he received the league's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. Johnson went on to play for the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team, write a book about safe sex, run several businesses he had started as a player, work for NBC as a television commentator and explore the possibility of purchasing an NBA franchise. With 16 games left to play in the 1993-94 season, he replaced Randy Pfund as the head coach of the Lakers.

The team was fighting for a playoff berth when Johnson assumed the reins, and Los Angeles immediately won five straight. But after the club lost five of its next six outings, Johnson announced that he would not return as coach the following season. <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> "I want to go home," he told theAssociated Press. "It's never been my dream to coach. I want to own, to be a businessman. You've got to chase your dreams." Johnson got his wish in June 1994, when he purchased a share of the Lakers and became a part-owner. In 1995 Johnson got involved in another business venture, opening a chain of movie theaters in minority neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area, an enterprise he later took to other cities.. He also continued to entertain fans around the world when he took his barnstorming basketball team (made up of former college and NBA players) to Asia and Australia. But he wasn't through with the NBA. After sitting out 4 1/2 seasons he made a comeback late in the 1995-96 campaign, playing the final 32 games of the regular season for the Lakers.

By then he had bulked up to 255 pounds and did as much of his playing at power forward as he did at guard. After the Lakers were ousted by Houston in the First Round of the 1996 playoffs, Johnson retired once again. In his 13 NBA seasons Johnson compiled 17,707 points (19.5 ppg), 6,559 rebounds (7.2 rpg) and 10,141 assists (11.2 apg) in addition to 1,724 steals, good for ninth place on the all-time list. He also holds the top marks for most All-Star Game assists (127) and three-point baskets (10). In 1996-97, Johnson was selected to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 2002, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Was he the best player of his day? Another all-time great thinks so. "Magic is head-and-shoulders above everybody else," Larry Bird once observed in the Chicago Sun-Times.

"I've never seen [anybody] as good as him." SEARCH NEWS Magic Johnson - NBA player profile page from WhatifSports Magic Johnson Click to Try SimLeague Basketball for Free! The entire playing career for Magic Johnson is displayed below. Clicking on a tab heading will display the specified set of statistics. All columns may be sorted by clicking the column name. Clicking on an indivdiual season will display the team's roster for that season. All totals adjusted to 82 game season STAT KEY FGM = Total Field Goals Made FGA = Total Field Goals Attempted 3PM = Total 3 Point Field Goals Made 3PA = Total 3 Point Field Goals Attempted FTM = Total Free Throws Made FTA = Total Free Throws Attempted OReb = Total Offensive Rebounds PF = Total Fouls For profiles of all teams and players available in NBA SimMatchup and SimLeague Basketball , please view the Historical Team List . Then start building your ultimate NBA Dream Team ! [Terms of Use] [Customer Support] [Privacy Statement] ï¿½ 1999-2017 WhatIfSports.com, Inc. All rights reserved. WhatIfSports is a trademark of WhatIfSports.com, Inc.

SimLeague, SimMatchup and iSimNow are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts, Inc. Used under license. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Exit strategy for NBA, Donald Sterling: Sell Clippers to Magic Johnson Exit strategy for NBA, Donald Sterling: Sell Clippers to Magic Johnson Adrian Wojnarowski Share View photos For all these despicable revelations tumbling out of the hateful heart of Donald Sterling , there promises construction of a roadmap to redemption for the Los Angeles Clippers and the NBA. There's a way out for the most hated man in Los Angeles now, a way out for the commissioner's office and the owners responsible for long legitimizing and harboring a bigot and slumlord. Magic Johnson and his billionaire backers, the Guggenheim Partners, want a chance to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources told Yahoo Sports. "Magic's absolutely interested," one source closely connected to Johnson's business interests told Yahoo Sports on Sunday night.

To bail themselves out of the NBA's worst crisis of credibility since the Tim Donaghy officiating scandal, the easy part for the NBA will be enlisting the eagerness and financial muscle of Magic Johnson and Mark Walter of the Guggenheim Partners – owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers . For commissioner Adam Silver, the chance to turn the Clippers over to Magic Johnson and his partners is the best possible of solutions. Exit Sterling, enter Magic. It would be the greatest trade in sports ownership history since, well, Magic for the McCourts, with the Dodgers. Magic Johnson is the ultimate cleanser in sports, and steering a Clippers sale to him could be transformative for the franchise. Truth be told, it could change the balance of basketball power in Los Angeles forever. To keep Doc Rivers as president and coach, to hold together the core of a championship contender and keep building it, Magic can make it happen. View photos Make no mistake: Magic's Dodgers group is angling for a Southern California sports empire. Magic Johnson and Guggenheim had been aggressive in pursuing a purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers – only to have the Buss family make clear to them the franchise isn't for sale, sources told Yahoo Sports.

Nevertheless, this is business and Magic's willing to change colors and make himself a Clipper. Between the Dodgers and Clippers, Magic Johnson could be the face of two championship contenders. Magic could have it all. "This is 100 percent Magic's plan," a league official intimately involved in the buying and selling of franchises told Yahoo Sports. As an exit strategy, Sterling could walk away with a $1 billion-plus sales price for his franchise, and a final act of goodwill to soften his exile into the sports netherworld. Sterling will be reviled forever, but he has to understand clearing the way for Magic Johnson and the $200 billion-plus group backing him could be a decent farewell punctuating a most indecent ownership tenure. Sterling made Magic Johnson a part of those hideous audio tapes that have started to crumble his Clippers ownership, and here's the old man's way to make it right. After all, he has little choice left. Sterling will never be able to sit courtside for a Clippers game again, never be able to march through his locker room glad-handing players. All the reasons Sterling has loved owning an NBA team, well, they're all gone. Across the league now, owners want Sterling out.

They should've done so years ago, but understand every franchise will now pay a price for failing to remove Sterling. Finally, they're pushing Silver to find a way. These owners are on the clock, and they know it. Read More View photos "If the owners can't force [Sterling] to sell, they need to be held accountable to change the bylaws so they can," one member of the NBA's Board of Governors told Yahoo Sports on Sunday. "A fine and suspension is meaningless, and that'll be seen as a lack of acceptance that the league and owners are responsible for this ass----." The Dodgers group is serious about owning an NBA team, and the league knows it. Together, they arranged for Johnson and the Guggenheim Partners to purchase the WNBA's cash-strapped Los Angeles Sparks in February. The league office needed someone to spare it the embarrassment of the WNBA's flagship franchise folding, and Magic and Guggenheim bailed it out. This hadn't been born out of a sense of benevolence, but rather a pragmatic move to deeper ingratiate themselves with the NBA. So Sunday, Johnson goes on national television and tells everyone: Donald Sterling should lose the Clippers. He's right.

The NBA will move to suspend Sterling in the short-term and turn its army of lawyers onto a way to force Sterling into a sale. Magic Johnson could always see the court, the next play, and it's unfolding now. It won't be easy. It won't be tidy. For now, it's the ultimate escape plan for the NBA, the ultimate exit for Donald Sterling. Magic Johnson wants the Clippers, and it could change Los Angeles basketball – change the NBA – forever. Reblog

Question: """Magic"" Johnson was a leading player in which sport?"
Answer: Basketball