{"id":52535,"date":"2023-08-15T11:00:18","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T15:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=52535"},"modified":"2023-08-15T08:56:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T12:56:27","slug":"magic-johnson-a-celebration-of-a-sports-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/08\/15\/magic-johnson-a-celebration-of-a-sports-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic Johnson: A Celebration Of A Sports Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Enough can&#8217;t be said for what <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnsma02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Magic Johnson<\/a><\/strong> as done for sports. To this day, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2017\/11\/16\/only-next-magic-johnson\/\" target=\"_self\">Johnson continues to make an imprint<\/a> for all things related to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>It is with great pleasure to wish Johnson a happy birthday. On Monday, Johnson turned 64 years old.<\/p>\n<p>A long and fulfilling life in sports already occurred, but Johnson&#8217;s new career has only just begun.<\/p>\n<h2>A Celebration Of A Sports Life For Magic Johnson<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Join us in wishing a Happy 64th Birthday to 12x <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBAAllStar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBAAllStar<\/a>, 5x NBA Champion, 3x NBA MVP, 3x NBA Finals MVP and 75th Anniversary Team member&#8230; Magic Johnson! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBABDAY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBABDAY<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MSG7nDyG3X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/MSG7nDyG3X<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA History (@NBAHistory) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBAHistory\/status\/1691072181814652930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>A Luxurious Past Ready For A Bright Future<\/h3>\n<p>Since the day the word &#8220;Magic&#8221; came to be the world knew the sky was the limit for Johnson. Magic helped <a href=\"https:\/\/msuspartans.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michigan State<\/a> win its first National Championship in 1979.<\/p>\n<p>The win turned into one of the most famous games to date as Johnson had his first real competition against <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/birdla01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Larry Bird<\/a><\/strong>. The historic rivalry became a catalyst in which many believed saved the NBA.<\/p>\n<p>Selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1979 draft, the Los Angeles Lakers had no idea what they were getting. No one except the late great owner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoophall.com\/hall-of-famers\/jerry-buss\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dr. Jerry Buss<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 1981, after Johnson helped the Lakers hoist their first NBA championship in eight years, Buss signed Johnson to a 25-year $25 million contract. The next 10 years of his career went on to be one of the most spectacular the league has ever seen.<\/p>\n<p>When Johnson retired, he racked up five NBA championships, three finals MVP trophies, three regular season MVP trophies and became a member of the NBA 75th anniversary team. However, he also grew a lifelong friendship with his on court rival Bird.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/statmuse\/status\/1691091697240014848<\/p>\n<h3>Present Day Magic Johnson Has Not Stopped Working<\/h3>\n<p>Although his basketball career is over, a new sports life has been in the works. Johnson has ownership stake in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/teams\/LAD\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/wnba\/teams\/LAS\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Sparks<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/squads\/81d817a3\/Los-Angeles-FC-Stats\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Football Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>During his time as owner, he won a ring with all three of his teams. Now, Johnson owns a part ownership stake in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/teams\/was\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Washington Commanders<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If history were to repeat itself, the Commanders can win their first Super Bowl since 1992. A lot of work needs to be done, but it seems anything Johnson gets his hands on turns into Magic.<\/p>\n<p>The resum\u00e9 continues to build for Johnson. Perhaps one day fans will see Johnson have a hand in a hockey team.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I want to thank all of the staff and crew for their effort, an send a special thank you to Chef Hannah Rose for this beautiful birthday cake. You can see my cake had the Commanders and Lakers front and center which I love! She is the best pastry chef that Cookie and I have ever\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vYoGI0FU8a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/vYoGI0FU8a<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MagicJohnson\/status\/1690916139931713537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word On Magic Johnson<\/h3>\n<p>What more can be said of his greatness? Johnson&#8217;s life is one fans all around the world will remember for centuries to come.<\/p>\n<p>The world doesn&#8217;t stop and Magic gets to celebrate another year of life with those that love him. A smile that beams all across the world and a legacy that echoes through LA.<\/p>\n<p>Time will only tell where his next adventure will take him, but it&#8217;s easy to say his heart will always remain in LA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Enough can&#8217;t be said for what Magic Johnson as done for sports. To this day, Johnson continues to make an imprint for all things related to Los Angeles. It is with great pleasure to wish Johnson a happy birthday. On Monday, Johnson turned 64 years old. A long and fulfilling life in sports already occurred, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4777,"featured_media":52543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,62],"tags":[455,755],"class_list":["post-52535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-larry-bird","tag-magic-johnson"],"modified_by":"Mike Schretter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4777"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}