Monday Milestone: Believing in Magic
“This is another challenge in my life. It’s like your back is against the wall. And you have to come out swinging. And I’m swinging”
– Magic Johnson during his 1991 press conference
This Week in History:
1991, November 7
Los Angeles Laker Magic Johnson announces he has tested positive for HIV and will retire immediately from the NBA
Around the time Magic Johnson announced he’d contracted HIV, I’d become fascinated with the sweeping influx of NBA culture, complete with the basketball cards, and Nintendo games that highlighted the peak of basketball’s popularity in Australia. Whilst the Milestone remains staunchly Chicago Bulls territory, the storied history of the Lakers and Celtics rivalry was too prominent to ignore, and there was no question, Magic had been at the heart of it.
Earvin Johnson Jr picked up the nickname “Magic” when his prodigious talent was revealed in high school. He would go on to two years at Michigan State University before being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers as the Number 1 pick. A decade later, complete with five NBA championships, three MVPs, and a dozen all star appearances, Johnson had provided an extraordinary return on investment. He’d anchored the “Showtime” Lakers, returning the franchise to the halcyon days of the early 1950s against some of the all time great names in the NBA, most notably becoming part of the most classic rivalry in modern basketball, against good friend and Boston Celtic Larry Bird.
Until just prior to the 1991-92 NBA season, it changed forever. A routine physical revealed Johnson was HIV positive and a book-end was abruptly placed on a wonderful career with an immediate retirement that sent shockwaves echoing across the globe. The 1980s had sent the message that there were no three more feared letters than HIV, and this seemed a certain, and imminent death sentence. Fans were incredulous. This was a virus confined to the gay community. Magic wasn’t gay. This didn’t happen to sporting stars.
Hindsight however tells us, this was a turning point. Due to Johnson’s profile, many believe it was with this single announcement that the global perception on the disease began to change.
Much of fear regarding Magic’s announcement simply underlined the lack of education around the Human Immunodeficiency Virus at the time. We know today that with the right medicine the virus is treatable. It’s now twenty years since this announcement, and Magic Johnson is fortunately still with us. Whilst mops still scurry out on the playing surface after a scuffle on the floor, we forever work towards a greater understanding. Granted, there is still no cure for HIV, but Johnson proved the disease can be controlled.
And through all of this, Earvin “Magic” Johnson is remembered for many things: For a 905 game career that included over 17,000 points, some 6,500 boards and over 10,000 assists, (his 11.2 assists per game still an NBA record); for his rivalry with Larry Bird, now etched in NBA legend; for his No.32 singlet that today hangs in the Staples Center. But most of all, Magic Johnson is remembered for that announcement in 1991. And his fight that continues today.
The Milestone Five – Favourite Magic Johnson moments
5. The tradition of Magic Johnson kissing Detroit Piston Isiah Thomas taking the court especially ahead of the 1988 NBA Finals, where Johnson would steer the Lakers to back-to-back titles, the first franchise to do this since Bill Russell’s Celtics in the late 1960s.
4. Post-retirement Magic Johnson returns to the 1992 All Star Game, after being voted by fans as a starter. Johnson would win the MVP, recording 25 points, nine assists and five rebounds, including a three-pointer in the final minute. He would go on to win gold in the Barcelona Olympics with the Dream Team
3. Magic Johnson begins a decade long rivalry with Larry Bird as his MSU Spartans play Bird’s undefeated Indiana State University Sycamores. Johnson would be named MVP as a sophomore as Michigan State University would win the Championship Game of the NCAA in 1979.
2. Magic Johnson hits a hook shot or his “junior, junior Sky-hook” from the top of the key over the outstretched hands of Kevin McHale and Robert Parish with two seconds left to give the Lakers a 107-106 win and a 3-1 series lead in the 1987 Finals.
1. Magic Johnson lines up as center for the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals. He would play all five positions, pour in 42 points, grab 15 rebounds, dish seven assists, make three steals and block one shot to clinch the championship in one of the all time great rookie performances.
With thanks to Nick Laham/Getty Images North America for the photo
