Legendary point guard of basketball: Who is Magic Johnson?
Forbes magazine announced that Magic Johnson was included in the list of billionaire athletes. What makes 64-year-old Johnson, whose current fortune is $1.2 billion, different is that he has been able to increase the $40 million he earned while playing in the NBA to this level.
What took Johnson soaring in business life were the investments he made in his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, and Starbucks. He is currently the CEO of the company he founded, Magic Johnson Enterprises.
Johnson played for the Lakers from 1979 to 1991. He retired after being diagnosed with HIV. However, he appeared on the court again for one season in 1995. Meanwhile, he bought 4.5 percent shares of the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 million in 1994 and sold them in 2010. He earned $29 million from this sale. But the current value of that 4.5 percent share is over 265 million dollars. He also founded a chain of movie theaters under the name Magic Johnson Theaters in collaboration with Sony Pictures.
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American billionaire businessman and former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time. Johnson played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
In 1998, it established a 50/50 joint venture with Starbucks and opened more than 100 stores, especially in neighborhoods where the black population lived. According to Forbes, Johnson sold these Starbucks stores back to the company in 2010 for $75 million. He also made mistakes. In 1979, he turned down a copyright and company stock deal offered by Nike. Choosing guaranteed money instead, Johnson signed a $100,000-a-year deal with Converse. However, in 2012, he bought shares in the baseball club called Los Angeles Dodgers. Acquired 60 percent shares of EquiTrust Life Insurance company. The company's total assets increased from $16 billion to $26 billion. They also have investments in clubs such as the NFL's Washington Commanders and WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks.
Life story
Johnson, who made a name for himself with his successes in world basketball and the NBA in the 1980s, is one of the unforgettable names of basketball. Johnson, who wore the Los Angeles Lakers jersey throughout his NBA career that started in 1979, dribbled on the court at the same time as living legends of basketball such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen.
Magic Johnson, whose real name is Earvin Johnson Jr, was born on August 14, 1959 in Michigan. We can say that his mother and father were on basketball teams during his high school years and his family's interest in basketball enabled Johnson to step into the world of basketball.
Johnson, who has been involved with basketball since his childhood, decided that he wanted to continue his life on the court when he entered high school. He started to be called "Magic Johnson" during this period. By making a "triple-double" in a match he played in his high school team at the age of 15, he signaled that he would be one of the unforgettable players in basketball history, like his idol Bill Russell.
Although he received offers from many successful university teams after his success in high school, he chose Michigan State because he did not want to leave his home. Between 1977-79, he played as a playmaker in this team and achieved many successes.
How Did Magic Johnson Start His Lakers Career?
Johnson's legendary NBA career began when he entered the NBA Draft in 1979. We can consider his first success in his NBA career as being selected first overall to the Los Angeles Lakers. When Magic Johnson started playing for the Lakers, another legendary name in basketball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, was also on the team.
Johnson's rise to attention began in the 1980 NBA Finals when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was injured in the fifth game. In the absence of Kareem, who could not play in the sixth game, Johnson showed one of the best performances of his career. He led the Lakers to the championship with 42 points and 15 rebounds. We'd like to point out that you're just a rookie when you do this!
Los Angeles Lakers' Wizard: Magic Johnson
It's not for nothing that Magic Johnson's career is full of many successes and championships. Magic left his mark on the 1980s with the championships he brought to the Lakers. After the first championship in 1980, he managed to wear the championship ring as a point guard five times in 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988.
Johnson's achievements in NBA history:
He was selected as the "Most Valuable Player" of the NBA Finals 3 times, in 1980, 1982, and 1987.
He became the "Most Valuable Player" of the NBA in 1987, 1989 and 1990.
He was selected as an NBA All-Star 12 times; So he has been eligible to be on this team every year for almost his entire NBA career.
He became the NBA Assist King 4 times, making 12.2 assists per game in the 1986-87 season.
Magic Johnson and the “Dream Team”
Johnson's NBA career took a tumultuous turn when he announced in November 1991 that he was HIV positive. Even though he announced that he was leaving the Lakers, he did not say goodbye to the court and once again proved why his name is among the basketball legends. He played for the USA's basketball team, known as the "dream team", for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Some of the other stars of the Dream Team are Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, and Karl Malone. Magic Johnson also fit an Olympic Championship in between his successes in basketball with the national team.
We would like to make a note here about the relationship between Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Even though these two, who played together in the dream team, were each other's arch-rivals on the court, they were nothing more than two close friends when the match was over.
Magic Johnson and the Last Years of His Basketball Career
We said that Johnson left the Lakers after announcing that he was HIV positive. Although he wanted to return in the 1992-93 season, he could only do so in the 1995-96 season and played for the Lakers for one last season. Johnson, who managed to achieve a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists in his last season in the NBA, voluntarily ended his basketball career in the NBA in 1996. Although it is not talked about much, Magic Johnson's teams include two Scandinavian teams with which he played for a short time in 1999 and 2000.
Yes, in fact, we just gave a small hint that Magic Johnson's story in the NBA did not end in 1996. He served as president of the Los Angeles Lakers from February 2017 to April 2019. However, this was not the end of his story in the NBA. Johnson is still one of the owners of the Los Angeles Sparks, one of the successful teams in the WNBA.
November 2023
Forbes magazine announced that Magic Johnson was included in the list of billionaire athletes. What makes 64-year-old Johnson, whose current fortune is $1.2 billion, different is that he has been able to increase the $40 million he earned while playing in the NBA to this level. However, Lebron James earned $480 million from his acting career.
What took Johnson soaring in business life were the investments he made in his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, and Starbucks. He is currently the CEO of the company he founded, Magic Johnson Enterprises.