Earvin "Magic" Johnson (The Greatest Point Guard Ever to Play The Game) NBA Legends

a television screen from here to Bangor Maine, the

greatest

point

guard

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ever

play

this sport is here, super legend, the

point

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who once

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y special assumption could be anyone, but this time it really is especially yes, so it is, sir. Magic Johnson was the best point guard of the 1980s Isiah. I'll have to save Magic Johnson, number one, Magic Johnson, Magic Johnson, a six-nine front that he's only seen. We'll look at a guy, we'll time the speed, we'll measure the distance from him, we'll look away. for about three seconds look at you and then hit that guy on the dime without everything, everyone wants to get mad, everyone wanted to go out, throw your pants at you and pass, and he wants to win so badly, but he always had fun, she's always smiling. he always drew the crowd, he always wanted to be there because he needed us with the teams to stand up seven feet intelligently in that aspect, if I could do that then I'll go my way if I can learn to give an assist. the

game

of it for the crowd and getting the crowd involved, so I think that's what it's all about.

I remember the day I used to watch this, a guy would love to play against him and he was retiring when I got into the NBA and when he came back I thought it was amazing, it was amazing that I was on the court at the same time he was playing the

game

. basketball. I mean, this is like a dream come true. I couldn't really talk to him. It was almost like he was talking to me and I was in my house like it opened wide, it was okay, yeah, and I don't even know if I heard what he said, but I was just watching the mouths come out, they're okay, They stopped them.

I got amazing, I mean, when you finally see someone for the first time that you really love, this is cherished your whole life, you meet them for the first time, I mean, it's like a total shock, let me feel great because there was my idol. I mean, he was the guy that I really wanted to be, like he was the guy that just set the tone for guys like me to come into the game and play point guard at over 65 years old. I just told him it was great to be out. on the court at the same time, we probably already guessed that we were going to put

magic

at number one, since he is the only point guard who appeared on our list of the 10

greatest

players of all time and it was a good reason to think about the 15 statistics related to the point guard. and the analyzes that we analyzed, as mentioned at the beginning, the

magic

is the top 20 and 13 of them and the top 10 and eight, on top of that, he wants five championships, he is three times MVP and two times MVP of the finals, it is number five of all time and overall. number one in assists per game for the regular season and playoffs number five and assist percentage number three offensive rating number one in offensive rating for the playoffs and has the fifth highest playoff winning percentage in Indy history those achievements are incredible alongside other Hall of Fame players like Kareem abdul-jabbar and James Worthy, the magic could have blended into the stage and let his teammates run the show, instead he had the greatness to stand out among those players and He established himself as the leader of a team of his size.

His mobility and ball-handling skills made him one of the most complete players of all time. Proof of this is the fact that he is second only to Oscar Robertson and has triple-doubles. This guy is a 6:9 freak of nature and he handles the ball like Magic Johnson handles it. He had tremendous basketball intelligence, as a great baserunner, knowing when he gets to first base why this might be a triple and not a double. He simply sees the whole series of possibilities in front of him. I could never get him to hit his head on purpose and in crisis. just to show me that I can get the ball if you wanted, open that eye on the side of his head, brought the playground back to basketball and jumped up and down and joined in all wanting to get people involved in the game.

It's just refreshing to have someone who comes in with that kind of enthusiasm and love for the game and you can't help but get caught up in the fact that he had to have fun, it had to be fun for him, he couldn't just be all working. hard work and being serious, I mean, he was the most serious and funniest person I've ever met in my life. Mervin, being the point guard, knew that he had to lead that team when they were down, he had to cheer them up when they were too high. I had to take him down he was really a coach on the court Magic Johnson was different and it was evident and clear when he had the ball that things were happening that people hadn't seen he can do anything on the basketball court he could be a powerful could Being the tallest point guard in the world could be the shortest center in the world, seven feet tall, if you go to the worst seat in the arena, there are only a few that reach that height.

Magic Johnson hits that high road, I think. he was the second best point guard on that mistake, but Magic Johnson was the best point guard in my opinion. Tapper plays, they're guys that come out of your head quickly that you compete against at point guard and you felt like they were so great that I just didn't get there, I would just say in the 80s for a short period of time Keeks. I thought Mark Price had a career in this league for about two years or so, he was as good as anyone, definitely not. cheeks Gus Williams Once, little Archibald was still, you know, you know, saying all that, saying all that had to be done, none of them was like magic, right?, none of us to you, none of us was like magic during his 13-year NBA career that racked up three MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team selections, five championships and twelve appearances in the Game. of stars.

Magic Johnson is fifth all-time and the assist total is not bad for what most would define as a short career at 18th. all-time in steals and first in assists per game all-time Magic Johnson had incredible career and is perhaps the greatest point guard of all time depending on who you ask born in Lansing Michigan Christine and Urban Johnson in 1959 one of 10 children his legend grew up playing on the playgrounds because they saw this kid come out man , he complained and they told someone else and then it spread all over town and they started looking for him and asking about him, let's play, let's play in 1974.

Ervin took his game from the playground to Everett High School. I could see the greatness of Vernon Johnson. He was around 14 years old when he entered high school. Once we got into a game, he always included everyone he wanted to win and he wanted to say that if he had to score 50 he would do it, but if he had to score 20 and involve everyone else, that's the greatness that I appreciated in his First season. Johnson brought the Everett Vikings out of the crisis of losing basketball as they became state championship contenders for the first time in the process.

He became a press darling, a guy came in and said, "Oh, I have to give you a nickname like this," and I said, "I'm 15 now." I started laughing. Oh, boy, they laughed. Yeah, okay, so it says someone's name is Dr. Does anyone have the name Biggie? Can I call you magic idea? So the next day on the paper back home Earvin Magic Johnson, the senior magic averaged 29 points and left Everett where it had never gone for this Everett high school team that didn't really have a basketball history to win the state title, you know, it was like who, all of a sudden, here they are and they get beat, this can't be stopped, it's so good, there's no doubt about it, I actually thought he was probably the best guard on the team, We didn't get to play much, but it showed.

I think our first game inside Kentucky we got a lead of about 10 12 points and they put us at 2530, that's how quickly they took the lead away from us. go back, put us back there, that's Bird Johnson, the show starts again as a young Irvin showed his own strong work ethic on the asphalt. I was there the day before we left at the school bus exit at 7:00 7:30 hours I said 6:00 6:30 working on my game, my mother sometimes had to bring me food or I would ask one of my brothers and sister to go look for that child so that he could eat something from a very young age.

Irvin knew what he wanted to do, he had everything. I planned my dream for the MBA plan to become a businessman, but for the neighborhood basketball powerhouse, Sexton High, I knew the players, I knew the tradition, I wanted to be a part of it and it was on the west side of town , which at the time was predominantly black, but when Lansing, like many cities in the mid-1970s, began busing to the desegregated school system, Ervin's trip took an unexpected detour to a predominantly white school next Across town, my first day at Everett High School was the first time I really had to understand that there was a race. problem no one why would i talk to someone black and no one black was important to me by the way a lot of racial tension a lot of fights riots they didn't want minorities there he shrugged his shoulders and basically his attitude was ok well I would get over this every time there was a problem racial, the principal would take his button and go talk to these kids.

I can see him with his big hands, calm down, calm down, he would break up the fights, talk to his friends and tell them: you know, let him go. We know we can't fight about everything, let's just relax, play basketball and there was no dispute about Urban Johnson's ability to play ball. His talent was so great that shortly after his varsity debut, a local reporter dazzled by his exploits gave the budding star a nickname. At first I thought it was pretty silly you know I didn't know anything about a nickname so what? What happened was you started saying wait a minute it fits into my game hanging out with my boys on the corners we used to sing the temptation song They start saying "hey man that's cool" and then people on the streets say "hey magic " and I was like hmm, he accepted it and I think he felt he had to live up to that name and I must say he made it his senior year.

Johnson did with Everett what he had planned to do with Sexton, he won the state championship, he was recruited by over a hundred schools across the country, a local hero stayed at Michigan State, he wanted to be a guard from day one even though he had six and eight years old in this first game he played. seven points and had seven turnovers and there were people who said well, Judd is ruining Magic Johnson by playing him out of position, but Magic quickly adjusted to his new position and by midseason the Spartans were in the national spotlight, That's what I remember about Michigan.

Cue the fact that we had the opportunity to change the innocence of college basketball and we did it in style. We had incredible basketball intelligence. He was the leader. He was a take-charge guy from the day we walked off the ledge. Someone else when all of you. throw it up this is for the friends side everyone throw it up for my thirties in the Midwest yeah I know put it dirty trip down south yeah I know you two dollars sign stop playing games get your ball paper Danny means man it's a house long, gang stuff, whatever it takes, you fought for a long time, baby, brother, seconds, Tony, many days, you know you have great hair, as the magic of Michigan State's resident basketball genius had clearly found a new home, he also found Cookie, his future wife, we totally fell in love. at first glance I had a boyfriend at the time and when I decided to go to Michigan State, he said, "No, you can't go to Michigan State." mirror and that's the truth, it's a true story and I at the time he had the whole world, he approached different people when he was with me, he was urban, but the moment we walked out that door it became magical, I mean, magic was his stage name.

Even he would laugh at that, well he always says there are two people whose urban Johnson from East Lansing and Magic Johnson from Hollywood is another guy, you know it's Magic, a fun loving guy I never met, aren't you going to distress? don't stress, stretching is for showing off, my ball plan doesn't speak for me, so you know, when I was in college, one time I was watching the game on TV, they had this box office thingy at home and I turned this on game. playing against Russia and I just saw the magical game from him.

My God, that's the best player I've ever seen play because he didn't follow basketball. He was a sophomore at the time. I remember telling Fran Demise that they are going to win the NCAA Championship this year, well, we went all the way undefeated and there is magic there, it's like it happened on the night of March 26, 1979, it was the NCAA Championship. NCAA Indiana State vs Michigan State, a game that still ranks as the highest. college final ever seen on television, a game now remembered as the prologue to a rivalry that transformed a sport and intertwined two legacies, but that nightkid with this enormous amount of energy, I think it rejuvenated his interesting game, it was a wonderful combination, he probably needed the load off of him every night, he was alone, he came at the perfect time for my career because I had lost a lot of enthusiasm.

His skill and experience is what the team is, we improved a lot and it made it easier for me to smile. There was something magnetic about it, not only was it played, but that smile, personality, did everything right, the magic carried the once two-spirited Lakers to the championship. 1980 Finals against the 76ers, but when an injury kept Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out of Game 5, it looked like the Lakers' 3-2 lead was over, that's what it is, as far as I'm concerned, no It wasn't his skill nor his size. It was his attitude it was his leadership it was his mind I mean, I don't have to talk about the sixth game in Philadelphia Jake Johnson Well, I'm sure in his rookie season the magic had helped take the Lakers to the NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers I think the Sixers win without cream to be able to play magic in the center, you compete, winning was the last thing on our minds, so when we go out to center court, the magic comes in the center and I think it surprised Philadelphia in the sixth game with an injured abdul-jabbar at home in LA Magic played all five positions scored 42 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out 7 assists Magic played brilliantly dishing out 7 assists, grabbing 15 rebounds and scoring a season-high 42 points, The Lakers won their first NBA title in eight years, finally one of the greatest of all time, 42 points, hooked shot, jump shot, drove through the basket, dropped a couple of shots.

I've never liked Magic Johnson, here's a guy who should have stayed in college at Javanese university, the great one at least certainly made a believer. For my part, I haven't seen you play much. You are absolutely fantastic. I don't think Kareem. Playing was the worst thing that could have happened to the 76ers in that series in just four years, I had won titles in high school, college and the pros, you know, I just did what I did and I did it to win. I'm very happy. that at every stage of my career I want high school championships, a college MBA and then the main thing is to make my teammates better, you know, going down, man, it was nothing like going down on that fast break, looking towards the left, go to the right, you know, and hear a crowd screaming.

The Los Angeles Times headline the next day said FUBU, whatever it takes for the team and if that means getting rebounds, points, getting assists, if you do it, you will reach the professionals that Larry has in this incredible year, but there He is watching. a club while Magic Johnson wins a championship and he thinks okay, I'm behind the tuna, nothing now I saw that game and couldn't believe it. I always wanted to play at that level, but what the bird couldn't have known was that. had inspired a magical performance when he was named Rookie of the Year that same day, the Lakers' PR person says, hey, Irvin, the Rookie of the Year voting is out, the magic says, okay, well, who won, He said, well, Larry Bird won and magic.

He says well it was close and he said oh no, he came out that day yes to try to win the NBA championship but also to prove it 2-1 Larry Bird you know what I should have been Rookie of the Year even though I won the championship I still want to win wicker , you too he won that championship. I got angry. He wanted one, but even after he won one the following year, his obsession only grew deeper. He would wake me up in the morning and see what he was doing because his games would come. late, then you look at the box score.

I had to have him there for some reason, he's like a crutch and I compared myself to I hate how it was said that Larry was better than me and that I'm just a guy who can control. The game of my first four or five years bothered me a lot. I didn't tell anyone that it bothered me, but that's how it was. He was a star when he first came here from North Carolina for a game and quickly during that first season he became one. of these stars in the city, but that game put him on another level that made him the star of the city.

It's funny how he wanted to meet celebrities but they wanted to meet me. I was surprised that he was a famous young man and after Lakers owner Jerry Buss signed. he to a 25 year, twenty five million dollar contract very rich the boy from Lansing was ready to try a different kind of fruit his playboy boss knew all the ripe ones his trees I say oh I'm with him when they were entering the box and he he had 10 20 of them and see which one you want oh okay it's like this and then he said I'm taking you to the Playboy Mansion what not boy so I went there and the first time I'm backing away like I can't believe it but I'm going back, you know, it's like I'm scared to death, probably ten men for every hundred women, you know, everyone thinks it's driven by sex, but it's not really you, you have dinner and then you watch the latest. movie and then of course I don't ever want to say that sex wasn't involved if you meet someone and that's what you know you wanted to do, you did it, but it's a really great experience to be there so yeah, I had fun. there, but part of the sports and in connection with the culture of celebrities and magic was perfect for that, he was a born star with that wonderful smile and he knows how to make the magic of the house work, he knows how to make the magic of the audience, magic is a showman, so it's a very elegant thing to do: all the best agents, the best stars, all the best producers.

You looked around the court and it was a real scene, among the famous faces in the crowd were Bruce Willis and Don Johnson. Bruce was starring and moonlighting while Don had one of the biggest hits of the decade Miami Vice, until now the scene was John Travolta, he came from the 70s disco hit Saturday Night Fever and starred in the 80s sequel, Stayin Alive, Charlie Sheen He had a place in the celebrity fight, he was in the quintessential 80's movie, Wall Street, where it was said that reading is good and, despite everything, there was Jack Nicholson after he went crazy and One Flew Over the Nest of the cuckoo Jack was sitting calmly on the pitch after the brilliant Matt Johnson was the key. that turned the engine that made that force work that went up and down the hills of Hollywood some commotion dazzled a Showtime crew the magic was perfect for it he was born for it playing in the form I guess like a Holi audition, I mean , before I became a legend competing against your son when you went out on the court was instant entertainment, you had to pass between rows of limousines and parking was like the Academy Awards every night every celebrity in Hollywood wants to be a famous athlete I could only happen in Los Angeles where all the big stars came out all the time the whole deal with Los Angeles you just knew you just knew you were in the presence of greatness that's my that's my came to Los Angeles like the Pied Piper you know people were giving this and giving him that, but you know, he stayed pretty entrenched in the game, everyone was getting high there, but you can't even smoke his joint around Matt.

He had an old-school work ethic in the trenches and that was honed in him by his father, senior Earvin Johnson. Magic was always this guy, you know, he never did any of that, so I did everything for him. Magic Johnson was living on a natural level, he was starring as a lifelong point guard for a Hollywood team with an offense called Showtime Showtime, but Johnson has a manager and a Showtime star, the Lakers captured five NBA titles. NBA for 1980s competition. Competition drives me. Competition makes me, you know, play this game. The competition makes me go out and practice for five or six hours trying to be the best I can, so time was up. going down on the counterattack looking to the left so it was time, you know, going down, you know, kicking someone, then they said, now I don't have a chance to kick, there's someone up there, no, I don't have to keep someone up and finally someone cooked, but if anyone could dim the glare of the schedules it was Larry Load Company three times in four years the two top stars of the NBA faced off in the finals and the heat generated by their rivalry was felt throughout the country their competitive aversion It emerged from a greater truth, but on the court they were team-oriented double stars who cared about winning above all else.

Basketball experts rejected the essence of the '60s with the style of the '70s to create a new and exciting way. but uninterested in playing the game in the 1980s, yes, I will pass, but I will pass in a way that makes you look like an idiot, even though we are very similar in the way we compete. I mean, if there were two halves of the same brain, the same madness to excel that I saw in the early days. was with him basketball i.q to love scenic a little different most players plan a game the right way was everything a lot of guys can just score a lot of guys can just rebound a lot of guys can just make plays we can do it all Larry and magic control the game with 12 shots was incredible maybe 7 out of 12 would have 20 points 15 rebounds and 12 assists and that's it I think I shot the ball 12 times he was the best player on the court by far I think it was Difficult at first I don't think any of the two would like to recognize if they had someone like them in some part of what they did, but they certainly didn't want to admit if they were equal.

It turned out to be that other guy, that's why we also hated each other because we knew we were mirrors of each other. I didn't do it for a while. The two had to accept that they had begun to change the game. We were able to change not only basketball but also ourselves. able to change the NBA as well when the NBA and CBS signed a new television deal before the 8283 season, the rescue plan was simple, sell more load magic and sell them not only as players but as their archrival characters in their own dramatic saga .

You have this. a fancy African-American guy from Showtime in the west and you have the lunch bucket, a straight-haired white guy with bruises all over his body and a center cast, it's perfect, I mean, this was like it was made in heaven in 1979 , this idea of ​​magic and bird was created and so it was a no-brainer, we had a doubleheader, it would be the Celtics plane first and the Lakers plane second and that's how we did it and when the Celtics and the Lakers came to the final just a year after the new television agreement. in 1984 it looked like the investment in the superstar was about to pay off, it was huge, it was probably the biggest moment the NBA had had up to that point, you had Boston in LA East against West, it had all the elements of a showdown classic, including what was becoming the The most inescapable element of all is that we knew that whites and blacks were aligning whites with the South as blacks were, of course, we knew that even in one's own backyard of the Celtics landed at Logan Airport in the 84 Finals.

He is being harassed by several people. who told him that Larry will defeat him, but this is an older African American gentleman because after he turns magical, I want to wish you good luck, I want you to crush the cells because he said oh, where are you from?, he said well, I'm from Boston , said that you are from Boston and that you support the Lakers. I thought everyone here was crazy about the Celtics and he looked right at me and said why would I root for those white kids? Boston, after all, was a city. still scarred by the ugly busing crisis of the mid-'70s, a violent period of urban unrest during which whites clashed with blacks, the resulting stain on the city nationally, along with a full Boston roster of white players, too many black Americans than the Celtics.

They weren't the team for them, not even back in the day when people played the Celtics team. You know I hated you at that moment. You know I wanted magic to win. I didn't want that damn Larry Bird to win. We had all these black players, but them. We watched it because we had Larry Bird leading us as a team, that was the reason the Lakers and the Celtics kept the fans engaged, it kept the fans enthralled and the fact that every time they were asked to perform a bird of Chicken really just enhanced it. the east coast versus the west coast celtic pride versus laker lore your bird versus magic the most infernal competitors attack each other they will kill each other whatever it takes to win magic it was always necessary that we needed each other we became better each other and Better we made each other go to practice in the summer because I knew Larry Bird was shooting three hundred jumpers so that made me do it.

This guy is going to be another annoyance to me for a long time. There was something that made Larry Bird and Magic Johnson kindred spirits in their respect for the game, their respectbecause of the way it should be played. The rivalry between Larry and Magic raised the profile of fans across the country. One of them was the urban black kid from Michigan. and the other was you know when you're sending out a country boy from Indiana, I mean, that was perfect, that's central to picking your guy, you're up against all the guys and all the players have a chance to play in The Lakers themselves then understand what basketball really is, they were perfect archetypes for what was becoming the biggest story in sports, but for the real-life players the narrative was much more simple, it will finally happen, we will be able to face each other face to face again. it's just a matter of getting that ball rolling and putting it in the NBA World Championship Series.

I'm Brent Musburger in each of the last four NBA World Championship Series, whether it's magic or bird, but this is the first time that the two of us went head to head at that time and we jumped in that first game and won in Boston and with less than a minute left in the second game, the Lakers were closing in on a commanding lead in the series from that point on, things began. breaking down trying to work on cheesy Maxwell Johnson drilling the timeout the Lakers regained their stride in game three only to be knocked down roughly again in game four Kurt Rambis was taken out we started fighting instead of playing and that made us realize that we were not mentally stronger than the Celtics Magic just doesn't remember in places where you know Earvin didn't do what people expected Johnson to do this is a way something wants a timeout Magic Johnson goes to the bench Game 5 went to the Celtics game six for the Lakers was like 1979 all over again until one game for Bird and Magic said this would be a seven game series, sweep them in four, that's the only time I felt like they can't possibly come out here with the victory no way the bond I pride myself on being the guy that's going to win it for us and deliver under pressure and that didn't happen.

The seventh game of the '84 series was one of CBS's highest-rated telecasts of the year and the highest-rated game the NBA has ever produced. Suddenly, whether on CBS or Madison Avenue, sportswriters all over the country became phenomena. What is happening here. The absolute foundation of this resurgence was the Celtics and the Lakers. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. but magic was not in the mood to enjoy the achievement i took a tragic media victory magic that's why we say Larry Bird is better it's probably the first time in my life that I was depressed and didn't want people to see me It was something with which that I have never faced in my life.

I hope it hurt because I killed him. He made some bad plays down the stretch. No one there was happier than me. You know, not only when the game makes you feel good, but also knowing the suffering of others. You know I was. I remember after the game that both E and I were in the showers crying and we stayed there for about 35 40 minutes. It was tough because not only had we lost to the Boston Celtics, but they had also lost to their nemesis Larry Bird. I think it just made me like him, you know, because he was so good and I think you'd be a little jealous.

Well, it was a big deal. I remember asking Quinn Buckner about it after they had a celebration in downtown Boston after winning the championship and you know it was unusual for Larry to have these little outbursts as Quinn would call them, but you know about the 11:30 of the night finally appeared when it was gone I got it I finally got it and he was talking about magic in 1984 the Celtics claimed the Lakers' first blood championship in the war between magic and the bird, while the Boston stars with an average of 27 points lifted his team to a seven-game victory Johnson made reckless decisions in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and losses in overtime and games to report and listen freely hell was the idea that we don't have Boston this year, I think it became even more so in '84 we had them on the ropes and it turned out to our dismay and we had it but you know what a funny thing about this rivalry in this game that there's always next year are you crazy I said you're crazy I'm not going to film a commercial with Larry, so I said, "Okay, we're going to film it in Los Angeles." I had never been to Los Angeles to film it.

Oh, we have to film. My plan was those shoes, but last year's MVP, yes, even after Converse convinced Magic and Bird to film a sneaker. together in the summer of '85, one question remained: how would the two hated rivals get along on the court? But I don't know how he will react. I don't know how I will react. We even shake hands. How are we going to make a commercial together? The ad was going to be filmed in the house the bird had built for his mother. It featured a full-length basketball court. First placement of the day, so they were like, “Okay, you're playing one-on-one and I'm playing.” I'm looking at Larry, he's looking at me like this is real, are we playing the plan?

Because you know, this, this is, this is magic and Bert, I could hear Larry, you know, starting, well, you bring it to the basket. I almost finished 30 rows. Then the boy said: No, no, it's not like that, a fun game, we both, oh, okay, we see this relief on our faces. That brief tease of the day led to the next scenario. Dialogue, we sit next to each other. It was going well, great, he said. Man, that's a good variety. You have these, ask Mr. Square, you play, yes they play here just because there is no wind, if it's raining or windy I go to the gym, but this is where I do all my work, I see the tractors, you work on it, attractive, said man, I work on this tractor every day. works on the tractor, he, yeah, it's just the two of them walking and talking and they all say why did they stop and I would say something and then they would start laughing and then they would say, okay, break, it's time for lunch.

I was going to my trailer, he said. no my mother has prepared lunch for us I will stop by the house we went up to the house and we sat and talked and my mother my brothers thought a lot about him his mother was very kind making sure he had enough to eat I I just saw my mother, It was crazy being Charmander, he said, but that's magical, it makes everyone feel cozy and warm, and he's a con man, and while he magically charmed Georgia Byrd, it was someone else who intrigued her son. She met Ervin at lunch.

Ervin was a good guy. I liked magic much more. She was so happy to finally be perving with him because magic it was. I don't know if I want to meet this guy, but Ervin had a chance to talk about family. I grew up, just, just. keep chilling guys we're just talking about that day it was great it was a great day beautiful day still for bird always the competitor that's all it was just one day the magic think next year okay we're great friends now so you'll know later . the game let's go out let's have a beer and Larry says no, you're right, I know you better, you're a good guy, but I still don't want anything to do with you, he's happy. -lucky guy, if a mini him had to be really good friends to go out on the court, he could still play the same game.

I couldn't, yeah, that's how it was the one great white hope that emerged as the polarizing one. racial figure to impart to the IRA's increasingly conservative political climate the institutional retreat of similar achievements: the civil rights movement we are advancing at a pace from about 1975 onwards, but the triumph of the movement that retreated took place in the 1980s and I think there were people who were very aware of the black community and I think there was a lot of sublimated frustration and I think one of the ways it was sublimated was in basketball and I think Larry, through no fault of his own, was the vessel within which He found lingering resentments somehow floating around and after Byrd led the Celtics to the championship in 1986, his third in the pros, winning his third consecutive MVP award in the process, the resentment grew.

I always felt that the press was biased in favor of Larry Bird. They were going to make Larry the hero. You know you'd see someone score and Larry would be in a cast and in a suit on the bench. They would say Larry Bird made that possible a couple of weeks ago when he told that guy he could do it. and he just did it, they would go get the assistant, he wasn't in the game so as not to be racist, but now we have a white guy who is the best in the world predominantly in a black sport and he has a guy like Larry Bird who can.

He can't run, he can't jump, but he can do everything there. Bird may have tried to avoid the conversation entirely, but the more he won, the less he could escape it in 1987, after Boston beat the Detroit Pistons to advance to the Finals for the fourth consecutive time. year, Pistons rookie Dennis Rodman called Byrd overrated because he was white, his teammate Isaiah Thomas then chimed in with some thoughts of his own that I can remember in the locker room. I think it was Jack McMullen, he came up to me and said Isaiah just said little boom boom. boom come on, so he didn't care, he didn't care, everyone around him cared a lot in the days and weeks that happened, the media made it like it was something, but I didn't care what it was Isaiah or Dennis.

Rodman said, and I still don't, it has nothing to do with what I do in my life and in 1987, while the bird was competing with magic to be the best, the uproar over Isaiah Thomas has racist comments that forced Byrd to address your least favorite topic in the worst way possible. The time I had to go to a press conference I was in Los Angeles trying to prepare to play against the Lakers and tell people that I don't care, this doesn't bother me, the main thing is if the statements or whatever said don't bother. I don't think it should bother any of us to play all year trying to get back to the finals and play against magic.

This was a distraction. Magic had the mission of proving himself to the world with the ball in his hands. he was still in control and after his Lakers finished the '85 season, he quickly got what he wanted, another chance to carry the Celtics, they won one of these in the West, so it's like everyone got ready, sit back and let's enjoy. But that smile contradicted the intensity of the shock that awaited him. Bird was facing magic for the third time in four years and if their relationship had softened, the determination to defeat each other, right? Yeah, I had a glass of water and any of those. the boys had been on fire, how would you drink the water and watch them?

They called us, you know, chokers and sissies, you know, we didn't like that and thought less of a Sun, they knew they made it 85, we played him four times in the exhibition season during For some reason, I don't know why they scheduled that for the fourth game there would be an all-out brawl, they call it one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports, the Celtics and the Lakers, and if that's true, it's the most one-sided. rivalry in all sports eight times these two have met for the NBA championship and eight times the Celtics have won, but in the Finals 85 the magic changed the script in six grueling games, masterfully controlled the pace with total brilliance behind Their point guard, the Lakers finally knocked out the Celtics, won the decisive game at the Boston Garden and tied the score with a bird on the NBA court, but the importance of their rivalry and their relationship was still taking hold.

Their poor play showed that the level of competition between them was higher. More than ever, Bird played incredible down the stretch of that game, trailing 2-1 in the series, the Celtics were down by one point in the final minute of the game, but Larry Bird would not be easily beaten with seven seconds left, although The Lakers still had life three years earlier in the '84 finals, the magic had failed in a similar situation, but this was a different magic with a whole new bag of tricks, my man switched to Kareem and Kevin McHale jumped at me As soon as I saw Kevin, I was like oh yeah.

I'm taking, you know, the magic puts him on the ground, a couple of head and shoulders feints and he got up in the air and there was no one there who was going to get that shot. I remember after they called a timeout thinking there was still a chance here, the Celtics can. I still win this game, well they set up a great play, Bird Walk worthy to the end, forced the denial to the end, we've done it before, clear everyone, go to the ball, break the corner, he caught it here and while He caught her. all he had to do was twist and just twist and he just let this thing swing wide open.

Love couldn't believe it and I'm standing there, it's straight as an arrow, we're lucky because it's right in line. He looked at me like, how could you leave that change so open to me? The entire series, the Lakers won the series and six after a year in which the Magic had won its first MVP, the rivalry suddenly took on a new tone, man, he was. just a great basketball player. Istreet I grew up in New York I live on the west side of Madison Square Garden, south of here, so in the epicenter of New York City on Broadway, the NBA is on the marquee, so it's a big night for me. a little different than what I'm used to, but being with Irving we don't hang out much, I think the last time I saw us was seven weeks ago, but we like to hang out and watch this at 9:00.

It's going to be exciting for us, how amazing do you think it is to see an NBA program debut on the Great White Way. Why don't you want to do another buyback ball? I'm sick of it. I saw them the first time. Why do you think the audience will just come? Get out there and get a good look at the story of your life, if you're a sports fan and you've been around long enough. I think they know our history and I think it's a great opportunity for ladies to bring their husbands down and take a look.

The most painful thing when the Lakers lose or the Dodgers lose well right now has to be the Lakers because you know at least the Dodgers got off to a good start for an hour. The Lakers. I think the pain is because we have never seen the Lakers lose. Like they're losing this season and I think fans are still wondering what the plan is to get back to being a championship team, well I just don't know what that plan is and every time I look at you, maybe I'm as frustrated as anyone. more, but what do you think is that big plan here that brings the Lakers back?

How would you like the magic to return? At what capacity? I would like him to have full control of the basketball operons and here's why, because I know this if you're 2 or 15 he's going to do something and I promise you Magic Johnson would do this, he'd have a press conference just to tell the guys. Laker fans, don't worry, this is a temporary lapse, this won't last, oh, we won't have this Laker. nation, I have a message for you, happy days, they are here again, a new day, a new era of Laker basketball, we welcome Governor and President, Jeanie Buss, Chief of Basketball Operations, Earvin Magic Johnson , thanks for being here, what can you share with us that guided you?

To this point, first of all, I think going back to the organization I love the Lakers and then I met this woman who was put in charge by her father Jeanie Buss and when we sat down to dinner and she asked me to come back, I think it was The timing was right, it reinvigorated everyone who works for the Laker organization and made sure our fans understand that you know we're here. Jeanny has always dedicated her life to winning and making sure the Laker fans are happy with the product that is on the court. Ella, how difficult this was for you on a personal level because it involves your brother Jim and Mitch, who you've known for almost your entire life.

It was a very difficult decision. It was probably very difficult. to do that I probably waited too long and for that I apologize to the Laker fans, but now with clarity and direction and after speaking with Ervin really knowing that a change was needed and that is why we are here today, you mentioned that sometimes I expected that. because you wanted to give Jim almost his entire three- to four-year timeline. I wanted you to know that the current front office had a chance to show us what Lakers basketball was going to be like and it just wasn't going in a direction that was satisfactory for what this organization represents in magic over the last two weeks.

What did you learn about where the organization was going? Where did you know you wanted to get in there and start making things happen? It really wasn't about The last few weeks have been the right years and I think I wanted to work closely with Jeannie in the first place and I think if it was probably any other situation, I probably wouldn't have put my business aside, left my "The business focuses me completely 150 percent on the Laker business, but because of her leadership and I know she wants to win so much that I decided, hey, I want to work side by side with her, this is an exciting time" , I told my wife Cookie.

I said I can't believe it, it's 1979. The Lakers picked me. I jumped and screamed. I said I can't. So I get off the plane and here's dr. Buns, Jeannie's father sitting there waiting for me and we hit it off and thank God he took me in like I was his son and we were raised together like brothers and sisters and then he said, "Okay, if you can write a check, I'll let you have it." . you will be the owner so I said okay here is the check dr. buss and he allowed me to be the owner when I didn't have to and then I was there.

Ginny called me and said, you know, my dad wants to see you and she thought it was that time and we stayed in that room for hours and she laughed while he was in his last days and then she said Ervin I want to trust you and what I believe in. I'm going to put this franchise in your hands to make basketball decisions. It's been incredible, so I thank you and I thank you. you guys because this is like if you could design your dream job, what would it be? That's all. Oh, the magic started with a big hug and a big kiss, so happy for you and I can't tell you.

Do you know? how many times I thought about you, you know how much you really love the Lakers and I remember you know, seeing you cry on the court, you know, after losing in Boston, and you know, winning in the Finals and everything else, and you know it's hard. to really describe to people how much you care and love the Los Angeles Lakers and I'm really happy for you in September 2002, Johnson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame after a unanimous vote that shared the day he was the player he was against. measured for college he stays ahead together they invested the ceremony with a special life he was going to write a great speech I wanted to speak from my heart I said damn, he broke my heart so many times I have something left I have always said that if you name Michael Jordan on a head, Magic Johnson's name on a hat and you chose one of them, you wouldn't be disappointed at all.

I had to thank God because 11 years ago I didn't know if I would be here to accept your support, Larry, the most important reason I am here is because you made me go to that gym every summer, I don't just stay four hours, but I think I'd better stay six because I knew you'd be there between five and six too, Larry, you know a basketball player should be the main reason I'm going. I'm here because of you, it was tremendous playing against you and I'm happy and I think God that I met you now, that's just Larry Bird, the basketball player, but Larry Bird, the man, and I appreciate that you came here doing Larry again we are going to find ourselves again ready to start, so now we are going to do it, now we can play checkers.

What characterized his game was a Greek word called enthusiastic, plus the gift and giving his best with enthusiasm, that's what he did in every game. I thank him for extending the cable and making you go. Dresses? I thank you for making a team bigger than me. It is not like this. Now he taught me how to use my VCR because you never want to miss a magic game. God bless you all, all nicknames, probably as good as it is, Magic Johnson's magic is exactly what he reserves. All we can hope for as we move into that new millennium is that there will be a magical Johnson's forest, nothing but net.