Magic Johnson

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He is widely regarded as the greatest point guard of all time and one of the greatest basketball players in history. Johnson spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After winning a national championship with the Michigan State Spartans in 1979, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers, then led the team to five NBA championships during their "Showtime" era. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. He retired again after fellow players protested his return, but returned in 1996, at age 36, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time.
Known for his extraordinary court vision, passing abilities, and leadership, Johnson was one of the most accomplished and influential players in basketball history. He received three NBA Most Valuable Player awards, three NBA Finals MVP awards, nine All-NBA First Team designations, and twelve All-Star Game selections. He led the league in regular-season assists four times. Johnson holds the NBA records for average assists per game in the regular season (11.19) and in the playoffs (12.35 assists per game). He also holds the NBA playoffs records for most career assists and triple-doubles. Johnson was the co-captain of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team ("The Dream Team"), which won the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona. Johnson is one of eight players to achieve the basketball Triple Crown. After leaving the NBA in 1991, he formed the Magic Johnson All-Stars, a barnstorming team that traveled around the world playing exhibition games.
Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021, and became a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame—being enshrined in 2002 for his individual career and as a member of the Dream Team in 2010. His friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series, are well-documented.
Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, broadcaster, and motivational speaker. Johnson is a former part-owner of the Lakers and was the team's president of basketball operations in the late 2010s. He is a founding member of Guggenheim Baseball Management, the managing entity of the Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB). He is part of ownership groups of the Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), Los Angeles FC (MLS), the Washington Commanders (NFL), and the Washington Spirit (NWSL). Johnson has won 16 championships during his career: one in college, five as an NBA player, and ten as an owner. In 2025, Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States. As of 2026, his net worth is estimated at US$1.6 billion by Forbes.

Born, in its opening lines

August 14, 1959

From the Wikipedia article “Magic Johnson” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Johnson), by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Copied November 13, 2026; not changed.

Described as

American basketball player and entrepreneur (born 1959)

Other names

Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Earvin Johnson Jr., Earvin Magic Johnson, Earvin Johnson

Born

August 14, 1959 · 8 references

Born in

Lansing · 3 references

Name at birth

Earvin Johnson Jr. · 2 references

Citizen of

United States · 1 reference

Occupation

basketball player · 1 reference; motivational speaker; basketball coach · 3 references; entrepreneur · 1 reference; financier; film producer; actor · 1 reference; television producer · 1 reference

Political party

Democratic Party · 1 reference

Education

Everett High School · 1 reference; Michigan State University (1977–1979)

Teams

Los Angeles Lakers (2 times) (1979–1996); Michigan State Spartans men's basketball (1977–1979) · 1 reference

Sport

basketball · 1 reference

Awards

NBA All-Rookie Team (1980); Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award (3 times) (1980, 1982, 1987); All-NBA Team (9 times) (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991); NBA Most Valuable Player Award (3 times) (1987, 1989, 1990); NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award (2 times) (1990, 1992); J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1992); Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording (1992) · 1 reference; BET Humanitarian Award (2003) · 1 reference; California Hall of Fame (2011) · 1 reference; star on Hollywood Walk of Fame · 1 reference; Phoenix Award (1992) · 1 reference; Presidential Medal of Freedom (2025) · 1 reference

Children

EJ Johnson

Religion

Christianity

Lived in

Beverly Hills (1990–2007) · 2 references; Dana Point (2007–) · 1 reference

Nickname

Magic; Tragic Johnson (1984); Buck; E.J. the Deejay

Height

2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)

Website

https://magicjohnson.com/

Wikipedias with a page

85

Wikidata item Q134183 (wikidata.org/wiki/Q134183), public domain (CC0). Copied November 14, 2026.