Retired American basketball player and entrepreneur Earvin Magic Johnson Jr. has a fortune of $620 million. Having won high school and collegiate basketball titles, Los Angeles Lakers drafted him first overall in the NBA Draft in 1979. For 13 years, he was the Lakers’ starting point guard. In his debut season, he earned the NBA Championship and the NBA Finals MVP award. Johnson formerly served as the Lakers’ executive vice president of basketball operations.
Early Life of Magic Johnson
On August 14th, 1959, Magic Johnson was born in Lansing, Michigan. His mother, Christine, was a school janitor and his father, Earvin Sr., worked on the GM assembly line. Magic developed a liking for basketball at a young age, inspired by the likes of Earl Monroe, who he idolized. As soon as he could, Johnson made the basketball team at Everett High School. When he recorded a triple-double with 36 points, 18 rebounds. And 16 assists at the age of 15, a local columnist dubbed him “Magic”. After leading his team to the state title in his senior year. His name became synonymous with excellence in the field of athletics.
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Johnson had offers from every high-profile institution, but he chose to attend Michigan State University since it was the most convenient option for him and his family. Against Indiana State and its top player Larry Bird, Magic guided his club to the NCAA championships in 1979. Their showdown became the most watched collegiate basketball game ever aired and started one of the biggest rivalries in sports history. They faced off against one other. Johnson was selected the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player after Michigan State beat Indiana.
N.B.A. Career of Magic Johnson
Lakers general manager Phil Jackson selected Magic Johnson as the No. 1 overall choice in the 1979 NBA draught. After leading the Lakers to the NBA Finals in his first season, Magic was awarded MVP of the NBA Finals and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the title with him. For the Lakers, Magic won five NBA championships between 1980 and 1988. In 1980, 1982, and 1987, he was named the NBA Finals MVP three times in a row. In 1987, 1989, and 1990, he won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award three times in a row. As a member of the All-Star team 12 times, he was awarded MVP honors twice. He’s widely regarded as the best point guard in NBA history. After contracting HIV in 1991, Magic’s career came to an abrupt halt.
Late in the 1993-94 NBA season, Magic was hired as the Lakers’ head coach. After Jerry Buss asked him to replace Randy Pfund and Bill Bertka, he accepted Before Johnson’s resignation announcement, the Lakers won five of their first six games under his guidance, but after losing the next five, Johnson announced that he would be retiring as coach. Lakers coach Magic Johnson‘s tenure as head coach ended with a 5-11 record after the team’s 10-game losing streak. Since it wasn’t in his plans to become the club’s full-time coach, he obtained a 5% stake in the squad in June 1994.
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A comeback as a player was attempted by Magic Johnson in the 1995-96 season when he rejoined the Lakers at the age of 36. His final comeback was deemed a success by the Lakers, who went 22–10 in Johnson’s appearances. Johnson announced his retirement from the NBA after the Lakers’ first-round playoff loss to the Houston Rockets.
In 905 NBA games, Johnson averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game, becoming him the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, rebounder, and assister. A single-game playoff record of 24 assists is shared by Johnson, who also owns the Finals mark most assists in a game (21). (2,346). Only he has averaged 12 assists in an NBA Finals series, a feat he has accomplished six times in his career. He has the most assists ever in an All-Star Game, both in a single game and across his whole career (127).
Retirement of Magic Johnson
The Magic Johnson Foundation was established by Johnson after he revealed that he had HIV in November 1991. Johnson has worked as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and broadcaster in addition to advocating for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex. Because of his 1991 public disclosure that he was HIV positive, he broke the misconception that HIV was a “gay sickness” for which heterosexuals should not fear.
The Entrepreneurial Magician
Magic hasn’t had a peaceful retirement. It was only after his retirement that Magic Johnson founded the $1 billion company that has brought him a personal fortune of $600 million. A film studio and a promotional marketing firm are owned by Magic Johnson Enterprises. It was in 1994 when Magic spent $10 million to acquire 5% of the Los Angeles Lakers, which he sold for $50-60 million in 2010. Johnson’s Starbucks franchise was sold for $75 million in 2010 as well.
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Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt sold the team to Magic Johnson and a group of investors for $2 billion on March 27, 2012.
Personal Life of Magic Johnson
A modest wedding was held in Lansing, Michigan, in 1991 for Johnson and Earlitha “Cookie” Kelly. Earvin III (EJ), born in 1992, is the couple’s kid who is openly homosexual. On the reality program Rich Kids of Beverly Hills, EJ appeared. Their adoptive daughter Elisa was born in 1995 to Magic and Cookie. Dana Point, California, is where Johnson and his wife now call home, along with Beverly Hills, California.
From a previous relationship, Johnson has a kid of his own. Melissa Mitchell gave birth to Andre Johnson in 1981. When he was younger, Andre was reared by his mother, but he spent every summer with Magic Johnson and subsequently worked as a marketing director for Magic Johnson Enterprises.
Highlights of the Salary Scale
While he was a professional basketball player, Magic earned more than $18 million in salary and endorsements.
Purchasing and Selling of Real Estate
The Johnsons live in Beverly Park, a private community in Beverly Hills. Dana Point in Orange County, California, is where the couple owns a Tuscan-style beach villa. To make it easier for the couple’s children to go to their former home in Napili, Hawaii, they traded it for a beach property approximately 75 miles south of Beverly Hills.