Magic Johnson

Johnson was drafted first overall in 1979 by the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson said that what was "most amazing" about joining the Lakers was the chance to play alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,[45] the team's 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center who became the leading scorer in NBA history.[46] Despite Abdul-Jabbar's dominance, he had failed to win a championship with the Lakers, and Johnson was expected to help them achieve that goal.[47] Lakers coach Jack McKinney had the 6-foot-9-inch (2.06 m) rookie Johnson, who some analysts thought should play forward, be a point guard, even though incumbent Norm Nixon was already one of the best in the league.[48][49] Johnson averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game for the season, was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Team, and was named an NBA All-Star Game starter.[50]

The Lakers compiled a 60–22 record in the regular season and reached the 1980 NBA Finals,[51] where they faced the Philadelphia 76ers, who were led by forward Julius Erving. The Lakers took a 3–2 lead in the series, but Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 33 points a game in the series,[52] sprained his ankle in Game 5 and could not play in Game 6.[47] Coach Paul Westhead, who had replaced McKinney early in the season after he had a near-fatal bicycle accident,[48][53] decided to start Johnson at center in Game 6; Johnson recorded 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals in a 123–107 win, while playing guard, forward, and center at different times during the game.[47] Johnson became the only rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP award,[47] and his clutch performance is still regarded as one of the finest in NBA history.[3][54][55] He also became one of four players to win NCAA and NBA championships in consecutive years.[56]

Early in the 1980–81 season, Johnson was sidelined after he suffered torn cartilage in his left knee. He missed 45 games,[43] and said that his rehabilitation was the "most down" he had ever felt.[57] Johnson returned before the start of the 1981 playoffs, but the Lakers' then-assistant and future head coach Pat Riley later said Johnson's much-anticipated return made the Lakers a "divided team".[58] The 54-win Lakers faced the 40–42 Houston Rockets in the first round of playoffs,[59][60] where Houston upset the Lakers 2–1 after Johnson airballed a last-second shot in Game 3.[61]

In 1981, after the 1980–81 season, Johnson signed a 25-year, $25 million contract with the Lakers (equivalent to $80,000,000 in 2022), which was the highest-paying contract in sports history up to that point.[62][63] Early in the 1981–82 season, Johnson had a heated dispute with Westhead, who Johnson said made the Lakers "slow" and "predictable".[64] After Johnson demanded to be traded, Lakers owner Jerry Buss fired Westhead and replaced him with Riley. Although Johnson denied responsibility for Westhead's firing,[65] he was booed across the league, even by Laker fans.[26] Buss was also unhappy with the Lakers' offense and had intended on firing Westhead days before the Westhead–Johnson altercation, but assistant GM Jerry West and GM Bill Sharman had convinced Buss to delay his decision.[66] Despite his off-court troubles, Johnson averaged 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 9.5 assists, and a league-high 2.7 steals per game, and was voted a member of the All-NBA Second Team.[43] He also joined Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only NBA players to tally at least 700 points, 700 rebounds, and 700 assists in the same season.[31] The Lakers advanced through the 1982 playoffs and faced Philadelphia for the second time in three years in the 1982 NBA Finals. After a triple-double from Johnson in Game 6, the Lakers defeated the Sixers 4–2, as Johnson won his second NBA Finals MVP award.[67] During the championship series against the Sixers, Johnson averaged 16.2 points on .533 shooting, 10.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.[68] Johnson later said that his third season was when the Lakers first became a great team,[69] and he credited their success to Riley.[70]

During the 1982–83 NBA season, Johnson's first of nine consecutive double-double seasons, he averaged 16.8 points, 10.5 assists, and 8.6 rebounds per game, and earned his first All-NBA First Team nomination.[43] The Lakers again reached the Finals, and for a third time faced the Sixers, who featured center Moses Malone as well as Erving.[71] With Johnson's teammates Nixon, James Worthy, and Bob McAdoo all hobbled by injuries, the Lakers were swept by the Sixers, and Malone was crowned the Finals MVP.[71] In a losing effort against Philadelphia, Johnson averaged 19.0 points on .403 shooting, 12.5 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game.[72]

Johnson with the Lakers, c. 1987

Prior to Johnson's fifth season, West—who had become the Lakers general manager—traded Nixon to free Johnson from sharing the ball-handling responsibilities.[73] Johnson averaged another double-double season, with 17.6 points, 13.1 assists, and 7.3 rebounds per game.[43] The Lakers reached the Finals for the third year in a row, where Johnson's Lakers and Bird's Celtics met for the first time in the postseason.[74] The Lakers won the first game, and led by two points in Game 2 with 18 seconds to go, but after a layup by Gerald Henderson, Johnson failed to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded, and the Lakers lost 124–121 in overtime.[74] In Game 3, Johnson responded with 21 assists in a 137–104 win, but he made several crucial errors late in the contest during Game 4. In the final minute of the game, Johnson had the ball stolen by Celtics center Robert Parish, and then missed two free throws that could have won the game. The Celtics won Game 4 in overtime, and the teams split the next two games. In the decisive Game 7 in Boston, as the Lakers trailed by three points in the final minute, opposing point guard Dennis Johnson stole the ball from Johnson, a play that effectively ended the series.[74] Friends Isiah Thomas and Mark Aguirre consoled him that night, talking until the morning in his Boston hotel room amidst fan celebrations on the street.[75][76] During the Finals, Johnson averaged 18.0 points on .560 shooting, 13.6 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game.[77] Johnson later described the series as "the one championship we should have had but didn't get".[78]

In the 1984–85 regular season, Johnson averaged 18.3 points, 12.6 assists, and 6.2 rebounds per game, and led the Lakers into the 1985 NBA Finals, where they faced the Celtics again. The series started poorly for the Lakers when they allowed an NBA Finals record 148 points to the Celtics in a 34-point loss in Game 1.[79] However, Abdul-Jabbar, who was now 38 years old, scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in Game 2, and his 36 points in a Game 5 win were instrumental in establishing a 3–2 lead for Los Angeles.[79] After the Lakers defeated the Celtics in six games, Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson, who averaged 18.3 points on .494 shooting, 14.0 assists, and 6.8 rebounds per game in the championship series,[80][81] said the Finals win was the highlight of their careers.[82]

Johnson again averaged a double-double in the 1985–86 NBA season, with 18.8 points, 12.6 assists, and 5.9 rebounds per game.[43] The Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals, but were unable to defeat the Houston Rockets, who advanced to the Finals in five games.[83] In the next season, Johnson averaged a career-high of 23.9 points, as well as 12.2 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game,[43] and earned his first regular season MVP award.[84][85] The Lakers met the Celtics for the third time in the NBA Finals, and in Game 4 Johnson hit a last-second hook shot over Celtics big men Parish and Kevin McHale to win the game 107–106.[86] The game-winning shot, which Johnson dubbed his "junior, junior, junior sky-hook",[86] helped Los Angeles defeat Boston in six games. Johnson was awarded his third Finals MVP title after averaging 26.2 points on .541 shooting, 13.0 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.33 steals per game.[86][87]

Johnson with Lakers' head coach Pat Riley (left)

Before the 1987–88 NBA season, Lakers coach Pat Riley publicly promised that they would defend the NBA title, even though no team had won consecutive titles since the Celtics did so in the 1969 NBA Finals.[88] Johnson had another productive season with averages of 19.6 points, 11.9 assists, and 6.2 rebounds per game despite missing 10 games with a groin injury.[43] In the 1988 playoffs, the Lakers swept the San Antonio Spurs in 3 games, then survived two 4–3 series against the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks to reach the Finals and face Thomas and the Detroit Pistons,[89] who with players such as Bill Laimbeer, John Salley, Vinnie Johnson, and Dennis Rodman were known as the "Bad Boys" for their physical style of play.[90] Johnson and Thomas greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek before the opening tip of Game 1, which they called a display of brotherly love.[76][91][92] After the teams split the first six games, Lakers forward and Finals MVP James Worthy had his first career triple-double of 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists, and led his team to a 108–105 win.[93] Despite not being named MVP, Johnson had a strong championship series, averaging 21.1 points on .550 shooting, 13 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game.[94] It was the fifth and final NBA championship of his career.[95]

In the 1988–89 NBA season, Johnson's 22.5 points, 12.8 assists, and 7.9 rebounds per game[43] earned him his second MVP award,[96] and the Lakers reached the 1989 NBA Finals, in which they again faced the Pistons. However, after Johnson went down with a hamstring injury in Game 2, the Lakers were no match for the Pistons, who swept them 4–0.[97]

Playing without Abdul-Jabbar for the first time, Johnson won his third MVP award[98] after a strong 1989–90 NBA season in which he averaged 22.3 points, 11.5 assists, and 6.6 rebounds per game.[43] However, the Lakers bowed out to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals, which was the Lakers' earliest playoffs elimination in nine years.[99] Mike Dunleavy became the Lakers' head coach in 1990–91, when Johnson had grown to be the league's third-oldest point guard. He had become more powerful and stronger than in his earlier years, but was also slower and less nimble.[100] Under Dunleavy, the offense used more half-court sets, and the team had a renewed emphasis on defense.[101] Johnson performed well during the season, with averages of 19.4 points, 12.5 assists, and 7 rebounds per game, and the Lakers reached the 1991 NBA Finals. There they faced the Chicago Bulls, led by shooting guard Michael Jordan, a five-time scoring champion regarded as the finest player of his era.[102][103] Although the series was portrayed as a matchup between Johnson and Jordan,[104] Bulls forward Scottie Pippen defended effectively against Johnson. Despite two triple-doubles from Johnson during the series, Finals MVP Jordan led his team to a 4–1 win.[26] In the last championship series of his career, Johnson averaged 18.6 points on .431 shooting, 12.4 assists, and 8 rebounds per game.[105]

After a physical before the 1991–92 NBA season, Johnson discovered that he had tested positive for HIV. In a press conference held on November 7, 1991, Johnson made a public announcement that he would retire immediately.[106] He stated that his wife, Cookie, and their unborn child did not have HIV, and that he would dedicate his life to "battle this deadly disease".[106]

Johnson initially said that he did not know how he contracted the disease,[106] but later acknowledged that it was through having numerous sexual partners during his playing career.[107] He admitted to having "harems of women" and talked openly about his sexual activities because "he was convinced that heterosexuals needed to know that they, too, were at risk".[107] At the time, only a small percentage of HIV-positive American men had contracted it from heterosexual sex,[91][108] and it was initially rumored that Johnson was gay or bisexual, although he denied both.[91] Johnson later accused Isiah Thomas of spreading the rumors, a claim Thomas denied.[76][109]

Johnson's HIV announcement became a major news story in the United States,[108] and in 2004 was named as ESPN's seventh-most memorable moment of the previous 25 years.[106] Many articles praised Johnson as a hero, and the then-U.S. President George H. W. Bush said, "For me, Magic is a hero, a hero for anyone who loves sports."[108]

Despite his retirement, Johnson was voted by fans as a starter for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game at Orlando Arena, although his former teammates Byron Scott and A. C. Green said that Johnson should not play,[110] and several NBA players, including Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone, argued that they would be at risk of contamination if Johnson sustained an open wound while on court.[111] Johnson led the West to a 153–113 win and was crowned All-Star MVP after recording 25 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds.[112] The game ended after he made a last-minute three-pointer, and players from both teams ran onto the court to congratulate Johnson.[113]

Johnson was chosen to compete in the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics for the U.S. national team, dubbed the "Dream Team" because of the NBA stars on the roster.[114] The Dream Team, which along with Johnson included fellow Hall of Famers such as Bird, Michael Jordan, and Charles Barkley, was considered unbeatable.[115] After qualifying for the Olympics with a gold medal at the 1992 Tournament of the Americas,[116] the Dream Team dominated in Olympic competition, winning the gold medal with an 8–0 record, beating their opponents by an average of 43.8 points per game. Johnson averaged 8.0 points per game during the Olympics, and his 5.5 assists per game was second on the team.[115][117] Johnson played infrequently because of knee problems,[118] but he received standing ovations from the crowd, and used the opportunity to inspire HIV-positive people.[39]

Before the 1992–93 NBA season, Johnson announced his intention to stage an NBA comeback. After practicing and playing in several pre-season games, he retired again before the start of the regular season, citing controversy over his return sparked by opposition from several active players.[31] In an August 2011 interview, Johnson said that in retrospect he wished that he had never retired after being diagnosed with HIV, saying, "If I knew what I know now, I wouldn't have retired."[119] Johnson said that despite the physical, highly competitive practices and scrimmages leading up to the 1992 Olympics, some of those same teammates still expressed concerns about his return to the NBA. He said that he retired because he "didn't want to hurt the game."[119]

During his retirement, Johnson has written a book on safe sex, run several businesses, worked for NBC as a commentator, and toured Asia, Australia, and New Zealand with a basketball team of former college and NBA players.[26] In 1985, Johnson created "A Midsummer Night's Magic", a yearly charity event which included a celebrity basketball game and a black tie dinner. The proceeds went to the United Negro College Fund, and Johnson held this event for twenty years, ending in 2005. "A Midsummer Night's Magic" eventually came under the umbrella of the Magic Johnson Foundation, which he founded in 1991.[120] The 1992 event, which was the first one held after Johnson's appearance in the 1992 Olympics, raised over $1.3 million for UNCF. Johnson joined Shaquille O'Neal and celebrity coach Spike Lee to lead the blue team to a 147–132 victory over the white team, which was coached by Arsenio Hall.[121][122]

Johnson returned to the NBA as coach for the Lakers near the end of the 1993–94 NBA season, replacing Randy Pfund, and Bill Bertka, who served as an interim coach for two games.[123][124] Johnson, who took the job at the urging of owner Jerry Buss, admitted "I've always had the desire (to coach) in the back of my mind." He insisted that his health was not an issue, while downplaying questions about returning as a player, saying, "I'm retired. Let's leave it at that."[125] Amid speculation from general manager Jerry West that he may only coach until the end of the season,[125] Johnson took over a team that had a 28–38 record, and won his first game as head coach, a 110–101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.[126] He was coaching a team that had five of his former teammates on the roster: Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell, Tony Smith, Kurt Rambis, James Worthy, and Michael Cooper, who was brought in as an assistant coach.[125][127] Johnson, who still had a guaranteed player contract that would pay him $14.6 million during the 1994–95 NBA season, signed a separate contract to coach the team that had no compensation.[125] The Lakers played well initially, winning five of their first six games under Johnson, but after losing the next five games, Johnson announced that he was resigning as coach after the season. The Lakers finished the season on a ten-game losing streak, and Johnson's final record as a head coach was 5–11.[124] Stating that it was never his dream to coach, he chose instead to purchase a 5% share of the team in June 1994.[26]

At the age of 36, Johnson attempted another comeback as a player when he rejoined the Lakers during the 1995–96 NBA season. During his retirement, Johnson began intense workouts to help his fight against HIV, raising his bench press from 135 to 300 pounds, and increasing his weight to 255 pounds.[34] He officially returned to the team on January 29, 1996,[128] and played his first game the following day against the Golden State Warriors. Coming off the bench, Johnson had 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists to help the Lakers to a 128–118 victory.[129] On February 14, Johnson recorded the final triple-double of his career, when he scored 15 points, along with 10 rebounds and 13 assists in a victory against the Atlanta Hawks.[129] Playing power forward, he averaged 14.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game in 32 games, and finished tied for 12th place with Charles Barkley in voting for the MVP Award.[43][130] The Lakers had a record of 22–10 in the games Johnson played, and he considered his final comeback "a success."[128] While Johnson played well in 1996, there were struggles both on and off the court. Cedric Ceballos, upset over a reduction in his playing time after Johnson's arrival, left the team for several days.[131][132] He missed two games and was stripped of his title as team captain.[133] Nick Van Exel received a seven-game suspension for bumping referee Ron Garretson during a game on April 9. Johnson was publicly critical of Van Exel, saying his actions were "inexcusable."[134] Johnson was himself suspended five days later, when he bumped referee Scott Foster, missing three games. He also missed several games due to a calf injury.[128] Despite these difficulties, the Lakers finished with a record of 53–29 and fourth seed in the NBA Playoffs. Although they were facing the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets, the Lakers had home court advantage in the five-game series. The Lakers played poorly in a Game 1 loss, prompting Johnson to express frustration with his role in coach Del Harris' offense.[135] Johnson led the way to a Game 2 victory with 26 points, but averaged only 7.5 points per game for the remainder of the series, which the Rockets won three games to one.[129]

After the Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs,[136] Johnson initially expressed a desire to return to the team for the 1996–97 NBA season, but he also talked about joining another team as a free agent, hoping to see more playing time at point guard instead of power forward.[128] A few days later, Johnson changed his mind and retired permanently, saying, "I am going out on my terms, something I couldn't say when I aborted a comeback in 1992."[31][128]

Johnson greeting a local player during his tour with the All-Stars to Argentina in January 1994

Determined to play competitive basketball despite being out of the NBA, Johnson formed the Magic Johnson All-Stars, a barnstorming team composed of former NBA and college players. In 1994, Johnson joined with former pros Mark Aguirre, Reggie Theus, John Long, Earl Cureton, Jim Farmer, and Lester Conner, as his team played games in Australia, Israel, South America, Europe, New Zealand, and Japan. They also toured the United States, playing five games against teams from the CBA. In the final game of the CBA series, Johnson had 30 points, 17 rebounds, and 13 assists, leading the All-Stars to a 126–121 victory over the Oklahoma City Cavalry.[137] By the time he returned to the Lakers in 1996, the Magic Johnson All-Stars had amassed a record of 55–0, and Johnson was earning as much as $365,000 per game.[34] Johnson played with the team frequently over the next several years, with possibly the most memorable game occurring in November 2001. At the age of 42, Johnson played with the All-Stars against his alma mater, Michigan State. Although he played in a celebrity game to honor coach Jud Heathcoate in 1995,[44] this was Johnson's first meaningful game played in his hometown of Lansing in 22 years. Playing in front of a sold-out arena, Johnson had a triple-double and played the entire game, but his all-star team lost to the Spartans by two points. Johnson's half-court shot at the buzzer would have won the game, but it fell short.[138][139] On November 1, 2002, Johnson returned to play a second exhibition game against Michigan State. Playing with the Canberra Cannons of Australia's National Basketball League instead of his usual group of players, Johnson's team defeated the Spartans 104–85, as he scored 12 points and had 10 assists and 10 rebounds.[140]

In 1999, Johnson joined the Swedish squad M7 Borås (now known as 'Borås Basket'), and was undefeated in five games with the team.[141][142] Johnson also became a co-owner of the club;[143] however, the project failed after one season and the club was forced into reconstruction.[143] He later joined the Danish team The Great Danes.[143]

Johnson with his wife, Cookie, in 2014

Johnson first fathered a son in 1981 when Andre Johnson was born to Melissa Mitchell. Although Andre was raised by his mother, he visited Johnson each summer, and later worked for Magic Johnson Enterprises as a marketing director.[13]

In 1991, Johnson married Earlitha "Cookie" Kelly in a small wedding in Lansing which included guests Thomas, Aguirre, and Herb Williams.[169] Johnson and Cookie have one son, Earvin III ("EJ"), who is openly gay and a star on the reality show Rich Kids of Beverly Hills.[13][170] The couple adopted a daughter, Elisa, in 1995.[171] Johnson resides in Beverly Hills and has a vacation home in Dana Point, California.[172][173]

Johnson is a Christian[174] and has said his faith is "the most important thing" in his life.[175]

In 2010, Johnson and then-current and former NBA players such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Bill Russell, as well as Maya Moore from the WNBA, played a basketball game with President Barack Obama as an exhibition for a group of military troops who had been injured in action. The game was played at a gym inside Fort McNair, and reporters covering the president were not allowed to enter. The basketball game was a part of other festivities organized to celebrate Obama's 49th birthday.[176]

Johnson had an extremely close relationship with Lakers owner Jerry Buss, whom he saw as a mentor and father figure.[177] Calling Buss his "second father" and "one of [his] best friends", Johnson spent five hours visiting Buss at the hospital just a few months before his 2013 death from cancer. Speaking to media just hours after Buss had died, Johnson was emotional, saying, "Without Dr. Jerry Buss, there is no Magic."[178] Buss acquired the team from Jack Kent Cooke in 1979, shortly before he drafted Johnson with the #1 pick in the 1979 NBA draft. Buss took a special interest in Johnson, introducing him to important Los Angeles business contacts and showing him how the Lakers organization was run, before eventually selling Johnson a stake in the team in 1994.[178] Johnson credits Buss with giving him the business knowledge that enabled him to become part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.[178][179]

Buss supported Johnson as he revealed his diagnosis of HIV in 1991, and he never hesitated to keep Johnson close to the organization, bringing him in as part-owner, and even as a coach. Johnson had never seriously considered coaching, but he agreed to take the head coaching position with the Lakers in 1994 at Buss' request. In 1992, Buss had given Johnson a contract that paid him $14 million a year, as payback for all the years he was not the league's highest-paid player. Although Johnson's retirement prior to the 1992–93 NBA season voided this contract, Buss insisted that he still be paid.[178] It was this arrangement that allowed Johnson to coach the team without receiving any additional salary.[125][177] After Johnson ended his coaching stint, Buss sold him a 4% stake in the Lakers for $10 million, and Johnson served as a team executive.[178]

Johnson giving a speech at the George R. Brown Convention Center in 2013

In 1997, his production company Magic Johnson Entertainment signed a deal with Fox.[180] In 1998, Johnson hosted a late night talk show on the Fox network called The Magic Hour, but the show was canceled after two months because of low ratings.[181] Shortly after the cancellation of his talk show, Johnson started a record label. The label, initially called Magic 32 Records, was renamed Magic Johnson Music when Johnson signed a joint venture with MCA in 2000. Magic Johnson Music signed R&B artist Avant as its first act.[182][183] Johnson also co-promoted Janet Jackson's Velvet Rope Tour through his company Magicworks.[184] He has also worked as a motivational speaker,[15] and was an NBA commentator for Turner Network Television for seven years,[185] before becoming a studio analyst for ESPN's NBA Countdown in 2008.[186]

Johnson runs Magic Johnson Enterprises, a conglomerate company that has a net worth of $700 million;[13] its subsidiaries include Magic Johnson Productions, a promotional company; Magic Johnson Theaters, a nationwide chain of movie theaters; and Magic Johnson Entertainment, a film studio.[187] In addition to these business ventures, Johnson has also created the Magic Card, a pre-paid MasterCard aimed at helping low-income people save money and participate in electronic commerce.[188] In 2006, Johnson created a contract food service with Sodexo USA called Sodexo-Magic.[189][190] In 2004, Johnson and his partner Ken Lombard sold Magic Johnson Theaters to Loews Cineplex Entertainment. The first Magic Johnson Theater located in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, closed in 2010 and re-opened in 2011 as Rave Cinema 15.[191] In 2012, Johnson launched a cable TV network called Aspire, featuring programming targeted at black audiences, similar to networks such as Black Entertainment Television (BET) and TV One.[192]

Johnson began thinking of life after basketball while still playing for the Lakers. He wondered why so many athletes had failed at business, and sought advice. During his seventh season in the NBA, he had a meeting with Michael Ovitz, CEO of Creative Artists Agency. Ovitz encouraged him to start reading business magazines and to use every connection available to him. Johnson learned everything he could about business, often meeting with corporate executives during road trips.[193] Johnson's first foray into business, a high-end sporting goods store named Magic 32,[193] failed after only one year, costing him $200,000.[194] The experience taught him to listen to his customers and find out what products they wanted. Johnson has become a leading voice on how to invest in urban communities, creating redevelopment opportunities in underserved areas, most notably through his movie theaters and his partnership with Starbucks. He went to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz with the idea that he could successfully open the coffee shops in urban areas. After showing Schultz the tremendous buying power of minorities, Johnson was able to purchase 125 Starbucks stores, which reported higher than average per capita sales.[194] The partnership, called Urban Coffee Opportunities, placed Starbucks in locations such as Detroit, Washington, D.C., Harlem, and the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles. Johnson sold his remaining interest in the stores back to the company in 2010, ending a successful twelve-year partnership.[195][196] He has also made investments in urban real estate through the Canyon-Johnson and Yucaipa-Johnson funds.[197] Another major project is with insurance services company Aon Corp.[198] In 2005–2007, Johnson was a part of a syndicate that bought the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, then the tallest building in Brooklyn, for $71 million and converted the 512-foot high landmark structure from an office building into luxury condominiums.[199][200]

In 1990, Johnson and Earl Graves Sr. obtained a large interest in the Washington, D.C. PepsiCo bottling operation, making it the company's largest minority-owned facility in the U.S.[201] Johnson became a minority owner of the Lakers in 1994, having reportedly paid more than $10 million for part ownership. He also held the title of team vice president.[202] Johnson sold his ownership stake in the Lakers in October 2010 to Patrick Soon-Shiong, a Los Angeles surgeon and professor at UCLA,[203] but continued as an unpaid vice president of the team.[204] In February 2017, Johnson returned to the Lakers as an advisor to Jeanie Buss.[205]

In the wake of the Donald Sterling controversy, limited media reports indicated that Johnson had expressed an interest in purchasing the Los Angeles Clippers franchise.[206]

In 2015, Johnson completed his planned acquisition for a "majority, controlling interest" in EquiTrust Life Insurance Company, which manages $14.5 billion in annuities, life insurance and other financial products.[207]

He is an investor for aXiomatic eSports, the ownership company of Team Liquid.[208]

In January 2012, Johnson joined with Guggenheim Partners and Stan Kasten in a bid for ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.[209] In March 2012, Johnson's ownership group was announced as the winner of the proceedings to buy the Dodgers.[210] The Johnson-led group, which also includes movie executive Peter Guber, paid $2 billion for the Dodgers. Johnson is considered the face of the ownership group while the controlling owner is Mark Walter.[211] The Dodgers won the 2020 World Series.[212]

Johnson and Guber were also partners in the Dayton Dragons,[211] a Class-A minor league baseball team based in Dayton, Ohio, that sold out more than 1,000 consecutive games, a record for professional sports.[213] Johnson and Guber sold their stake in the Dragons in 2014.[214] Together with Guggenheim, Johnson was also involved in buying the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA in 2014.[215] As such, in 2014, Johnson was named one of ESPNW's Impact 25.[216] He won the WNBA championship as the owner in 2016.[217] Johnson announced co-ownership of a Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchise, Los Angeles FC, which began play in 2018 and won the MLS Cup in 2022.[218][219][220][221]

In 2023, Johnson invested $240 million in a group led by Josh Harris that purchased the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL) for $6.05 billion, the highest price ever paid for a sports team.[222][223] A lifelong fan of the NFL, he considered it the greatest achievement of his business career and his agent said it was Johnson's "dream for years".[222][224] Johnson had previously held talks with groups pursuing the Miami Dolphins and Las Vegas Raiders before joining Harris on an unsuccessful bid to buy the Denver Broncos.[222]

In 2003, Johnson met with Nancy Pelosi to discuss federal assistance for those with AIDS.

Johnson is a supporter of the Democratic Party. In 2006, he publicly endorsed Phil Angelides for Governor of California.[225] He supported Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign,[226] and in 2010, he endorsed Barbara Boxer in her race for re-election to the U.S. Senate.[227] In 2012, he endorsed Barack Obama for president.[228] He endorsed and appeared in campaign ads for unsuccessful Los Angeles mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel in 2013.[229] In 2015, he once again endorsed Hillary Clinton in her second presidential campaign.[230] He hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign on August 22, 2016.[231]

I think sometimes we think, "Well, only gay people can get it; it's not going to happen to me", and here I am saying that it can happen to anybody.

— Magic Johnson (November 7, 1991)[232]

Johnson was one of the first sports stars to go public about having HIV.[233] AIDS activist Elizabeth Glaser, to whom Johnson had been introduced by a friend,[234] convinced Johnson to go public about his diagnosis.[234][235] "She made me promise before she died that I would become the face of the disease and really go out and help people and educate people about it", Johnson recalled in a 2011 interview with Frontline.[234]

After announcing his infection in November 1991, Johnson created the Magic Johnson Foundation to help combat HIV,[236] although he later diversified the foundation to include other charitable goals.[237] In 1992, he joined the National Commission on AIDS, a committee appointed by members of Congress and the Bush Administration. Johnson left after eight months, saying that the White House had "utterly ignored" the work of the panel, and had opposed the commission's recommendations, which included universal healthcare and the expansion of Medicaid to cover all low-income people with AIDS.[236][238] He was also the main speaker for the United Nations (UN) World AIDS Day Conference in 1999,[237] and has served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.[239]

HIV had been associated with intravenous drug users and homosexuals,[236] but Johnson's campaigns sought to show that the risk of infection was not limited to those groups. Johnson stated that his aim was to "help educate all people about what [HIV] is about" and teach others not to "discriminate against people who have HIV and AIDS".[237] Johnson was later criticized by the AIDS community for his decreased involvement in publicizing the spread of the disease.[236][237]

A number of research papers have been written on the "Magic Johnson effect", the effect Johnson's HIV announcement had on various populations, particularly those outside the stereotypes of who got infected with HIV – that is, heterosexuals.[240] Johnson's announcement was a "public-health catalyst", according to a West Virginia University paper,[241] "rapidly correcting the public's understanding of who was at risk of infection".[242] The paper argues there was a "large but temporary increase in the number of AIDS diagnoses for heterosexual men following the announcement" and suggests that, for some of those people, Johnson's announcement "prolonged patients' lifespans as a result of earlier access to medical care".[242] A paper published in AIDS Education and Prevention, based on interviews with clients of a Philadelphia sexually-transmitted-disease clinic, found that "the announcement by Magic Johnson that he had been infected with HIV was associated with increased concern about HIV and with attitude and behavior changes that would lead to reduced risk".[243]

To prevent his HIV infection from progressing to AIDS, Johnson takes a daily combination of drugs, also called a drug cocktail.[244] He has advertised GlaxoSmithKline's drugs,[245] and partnered with Abbott Laboratories to publicize the fight against AIDS in African American communities.[244]

Johnson's autobiography is Johnson, Earvin (1992). Magic Johnson: My Life. Random House. ISBN 0-449-22254-3. Other biographies include:

• Haskins, James (1981). Magic: A Biography of Earvin Johnson. Hillside, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers. ISBN 0-89490-044-7.
• Gutman, Bill (1991). Magic: More Than a Legend. New York: Harper Paperbacks. ISBN 0-06-100542-8.
• Morgan, Bill (1991). The Magic: Earvin Johnson. Scholastic. ISBN 0-606-01895-6.
• Gutman, Bill (1992). Magic Johnson: Hero On and Off the Court. Brookfield, Connecticut: Millbrook Press. ISBN 1-56294-287-5.
• Johnson, Rick L. (1992). Magic Johnson: Basketball's Smiling Superstar. New York: Dillon Press. ISBN 0-87518-553-3.
• Rozakis, Laurie (1993). Magic Johnson: Basketball Immortal. Vero Beach, Florida: Rourke Enterprises. ISBN 0-86592-025-7.
• Schwabacher, Martin (1993). Magic Johnson (Junior World Biographies). New York: Chelsea Juniors. ISBN 0-7910-2038-X.
• Bork, Günter (1994). Die großen Basketball Stars. Copress-Verl. ISBN 3-7679-0369-5. (German)
• Frank, Steven (1994). Magic Johnson (Basketball Legends). New York: Chelsea House Publishers. ISBN 0-7910-2430-X.
• Bork, Günter (1995). Basketball: Sternstunden. Copress-Verl. ISBN 3-7679-0456-X. (German)
• Blatt, Howard (1996). Magic! Against The Odds. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-00301-1.
• Rosner, Mark (1999). Michael MacCambridge (ed.). Earvin "Magic" Johnson: The Star of Showtime. New York: Hyperion ESPN Books. pp. 251–52. (In ESPN SportsCentury)
• Gottfried, Ted (2001). Earvin Magic Johnson: Champion and Crusader. New York: F. Watts. ISBN 0-531-11675-1.

• Johnson, Earvin "Magic" (1992). Magic's Touch: From Fundamentals to Fast Break With One of Basketball's All-Time Greats. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. ISBN 0-201-63222-5.
• Johnson, Earvin "Magic" (1996). What You Can Do to Avoid AIDS. New York: Times Books. ISBN 0-8129-2844-X.
  • Updated version of Johnson, Earvin "Magic" (1992). Unsafe Sex in the Age of AIDS. New York: Times Books. ISBN 0-8129-2063-5.