BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) NBA LEGEND
Close to 18,000 points, over 6500 boards, over 10,000 assists, and one of the most illustrious and successful careers in basketball later it’s safe to say “Magic” Johnson is one of those guys that will always be considered one of the all time greats. He still holds some pretty big records. He is the record holder for most assists in a Finals game, most career assists in the playoffs, the All Star game assist record, and shares the record for assists in a playoff game. I’m sure I could find more, but you get the point.
(THREE) VS. BIRD
Being a lifelong wrestling fan I really respect a good rivalry. In wrestling we’ve seen people like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart feud from tag teams to mid carders to main eventers to icons. Same can be said for Triple H and The Rock. It’s when two forces come together and bounce back and forth off each other all the way to the top. Magic Johnson did this with Larry Bird. Magic went to Michigan State and Bird went to Indiana State. They played in the 1979 NCAA finals and played one helluva game against each other. This rivalry would spill over into the NBA, the media, and some entertaining commercials. From 84 to 87, it was Lakers vs. Celtics three out of the four years in the Finals. There wasn’t a hate thing going on, but a desire to one-up the competition. There’s a lot of respect between these two.
(TWO) OUTSIDE OF B-BALL
In 1998 he hosted his own talk show on Fox called “The Magic Hour”. The only thing magical about it was how fast it disappeared from the schedule. He has other, actual successful, business dealings going on. He also has a national chain of movie theatres called, creatively, “Magic Johnson Theaters”. His parent company, Magic Johnson Enterprises has a net worth of over $700 million. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t need a loan.
(ONE) DID HE CURE HIV?
I remember the big deal it was in 1991 when Magic Johnson announced he had HIV. Using the means that millions don’t have, he has somehow lived a long and healthy life despite of it. It’s said he takes a daily combination of drugs, but I’m pretty sure it’s just a little sip here and a little sip there of Larry Bird’s tears. I thought HIV and AIDS killed people. I know it’s possible to live on it, but for over twenty years like that? He looks healthy whenever I see him on TV. Something always felt weird about that.
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