Lakers legend Magic Johnson doesn’t spend too much time in the public eye nowadays. Resigned to tweeting and observing the game from the sidelines, it can be easy to forget he once played a prominent front-office role for one of basketball’s most prestigious franchises.
Years ago, he was in charge of the Lakers, serving as President of Basketball Operations. He stepped down suddenly, which led to reports about a dysfunctional relationship with GM Rob Pelinka.
And while it has been years since his departure, he did recently look back on his time there and revealed some regrets he had about the way he left.
“The only thing I probably would’ve did was probably talked to LeBron before I stepped down, because I felt that I owed him that, so that’s probably the only mistake I made was not talking to Jeanie and talking to LeBron before I actually did it,” Johnson said, via the New York Times. “So, yes, I would do that different.”
At the time, his resignation was a major news story, mostly due to how unprecedented it was.
Despite the fact that he had good relationships with Jeanie Buss and LeBron James, he didn’t talk to either of them before walking away publicly. It was quite a messy situation, but it’s fair to say it all worked out in the end.
Magic is living his best life while the Lakers are back at the top of the basketball world. With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, they aren’t just surviving the post-Magic era, they’re thriving.
As for what comes next, that much remains to be seen. After losing their season opener against Golden State, there is some concern about what the team is capable of.
But we’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out in the end.
