After the 1970s, the NBA, including the Los Angeles Lakers, was going through a financial crunch. But the league’s fortunes changed in the 1979 NBA Draft when Earvin Magic Johnson was drafted number one by the Lakers.
Even at a young age, Magic had a certain swagger to his game and led the Purple and Gold to an NBA Championship in his rookie season. Furthermore, he also won the NBA Finals MVP for his epic performance in Game 6 in the finals.
He stood up when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was injured and most lost hope that the Lakers would win the title. Following that, Magic never looked back and led the Lakers to five NBA Championships over the next decade.
But in 1991, he had to abruptly retire from the league due to contracting the HIV virus. It was a sad moment for the entire NBA community to see one of the best players in the league take an early retirement.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Was Cringed When He Heard Magic Was Returning As A Coach
After being sidelined for a while, Johnson was requested by Jerry Buss to coach the Lakers for the 1993-94 NBA season. Magic might be a great player, but he could never translate similar success during his coaching stint.
Kareem saw Magic grow into the legend he is today and recently revealed his honest thoughts on what he thought when he heard the news about the Lakers hiring Magic as their head coach.
Via Substack:
That made me cringe at the time. Not that Magic couldn’t have done an amazing job—he certainly had the brains and personality to excel—it was just that he had so much going on in his life that I didn’t think he could devote the time necessary to be successful. He had many business interests to attend to as well as the constant requirements of dealing with HIV. Magic could do much more than most people, but coaching is an all-consuming job that takes a huge physical and mental toll.
In the end, he wasn’t successful. That wasn’t his fault. Even if he had been able to devote all his time to the team, he just didn’t have the right players. And he would have had to play point guard himself.
That’s not the only part Kareem was critical of. In fact, he also called Magic Johnson returning to play in 1996 a glorious mistake.
At the end of the day, Magic still remains one of the best players to ever play in the league. But his prime certainly ended with the “Showtime” Lakers. And he only tarnished his legacy by coming back both as a coach and a player.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35zRH4uuDHU
