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Magic Johnson
Earvin Johnson was born in Lansing, Michigan, the sixth of ten children. Johnson attended
Michigan State University and led his team to the N.C.A.A. Championship game victory.
He was named Most Valuable Player in the N.C.A.A. Final Four series. In 1979, after his
sophomore championship year, Johnson made himself available for the professional draft
and was the first player picked. He went to the Los Angeles Lakers, a mediocre team at
the time. Magic's exuberance and tremendous skill helped transform the Lakers into
contenders. He was an All-Star as a rookie and helped guide the Lakers to their first
championship since 1972. During the '80s, Johnson orchestrated the now-famous Lakers
offense known as "Showtime," and the Lakers were regularly the top teams in the game.
Over the course of his 12 N.B.A. seasons, Johnson left a trail of records that marked him
as one of the best players in N.B.A. history. His quick smile and affable personality made
him a favorite among fans and advertisers. On November 7, 1991, ohnson shocked the
world with the announcement that he had tested positive for H.I.V. during a routine
physical exam. He also announced that, though he was still in perfect condition physically,
he was retiring from the N.B.A. on the advice of his physician. Although Johnson left the
rigors of the N.B.A., he did not stray far from basketball. He was elected to the 1992-93
All-Star team and was a member of the victorious 1992 U.S. Olympic Basketball "Dream
Team." He became a part-owner of his beloved Lakers team and even stepped in as head
coach for the last 16 games of the 1993-94 season. He became very active in causes
outside of basketball, including the United States National AIDS Committee, the United
Negro College Fund, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the American Heart
Association, and the Urban League. In his quest to improve the quality of life in inner-city
neighborhoods, he built a chain of state-of-the-art multiplex movie theatres called Magic
Johnson Theatres, which opened in Los Angeles and tlanta to enthusiastic community
response. In 1996, still in perfect health, Johnson stunned the world again, by returning to
the N.B.A. On January 29, 1996, he played his first N.B.A. game in five years. His return
lit a fire under the slumping Lakers, and they won 29 of their last 40 games, earning the
fourth seed in Western Conference playoffs along the way. Following a disappointing first-
round defeat at the hands of the Houston Rockets, Johnson decided once again to retire,
stating that he was leaving the game "on [his] own terms." The following year, Johnson
signed a deal with Twentieth TV, a Fox- owned syndicator, to develop, produce, and host
his own late-night talk show, The Magic Hour.
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