Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr.is an American retired professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Associationfor 13 seasons. After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, and won four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth14 August 1959
CityLansing, MI
CountryUnited States of America
I'll hear people say every so often that having HIV must not be so bad - 'Just look at Magic and how well he's doing.'
People see me high-fivin' and smiling on the court, and they don't think that's me. But it is. I just want to go out and be myself.
I often tell people when you make a mistake, you not only hurt yourself, but you hurt the ones that love you.
I try to hire people I don't have to motivate. But I do motivate the people working with and for me.
No one plans to get sick or hurt - I certainly didn't - but most people will need medical care at some point in their lives.
I love putting people to work of color.
People will live here, work here and shop here,
I tell people to look at me and understand that everybody first told me that I couldn't be a 6-foot, 9-inch point guard, and I proved them wrong. Then they told me I couldn't be a businessman and make money in urban America, and I proved them wrong. And they thought I couldn't win all these championships, and I proved them wrong there as well.
Some people are going to have to grow some tough skin they hadn't had to grow before. Pat is a direct guy. That's going to really be different than everyone is used to. And he's going to say it in a way they're not used to a coach saying it and right in their face. ... He just wants you to play the game the right way.
I come from a small town in Lansing, Michigan, and there were very few people I could point to and say 'I want to be like him or that person,' ... So basically I had to watch TV and say 'I want to be like that person.
When you are honest and open with young people, they let you in.
Young people want you to be real with them.
Research your idea. See if there's a demand. A lot of people have great ideas, but they don't know if there's a need for it. You also have to research your competition.
You know I was a shy guy and people didn't know that and still don't know it today. I'm sure basketball brought my shyness out because of the fact that you have to do interviews, and that people are always talking to you in terms of the fans and everything.