The announcement of Magic Johnson’s first retirement from the NBA was very shocking for the community, especially under the circumstances it happened. Johnson revealed he was infected with HIV and decided to end his career, starring in one of the most shocking retirement announcements of all time.
This situation didn’t sit well with many people who looked up to Magic and wanted him to keep playing in the league as long as possible. However, his career was cut short after learning he was sick with an unknown and stigmatized disease that scared everybody back then.
We all know about the reactions of Michael Jordan and Larry Bird when they heard the news, but recently, we got new details of how the man that supported Magic even before he made it to the league reacted to the sad news of his disease.
Kurt Rambis Explains The Painful Reaction Of Dr. Jerry Buss To Magic Johnson’s HIV Diagnosis
Dr. Jerry Buss bought the Los Angeles Lakers, ready to make them the rulers of the NBA, and adding a young and exciting point guard like Magic was one of his biggest plans. As soon as this partnership started, the Lakers found success, with Magic becoming a big deal in the league since his rookie year.
When he found out about Magic’s disease, he felt really bad. Kurt Rambis discussed this in the fourth episode of Hulu’s “Legacy True Story of the LA Lakers,” revealing some details about Buss’ first reaction to Johnson’s news.
“Dr. Buss ran out of the room, and he ran by me, and he was sobbing,” said Rambis, via Sportskeeda. “And I had never heard a man sob before. And that shook me.”
The world stopped for a moment when Magic announced his decision to retire and the reason behind that. At the time, that news appeared to be a death sentence to Magic, but it’s been over 30 years, and he’s still with us, living a happy life. He was away from the league for a couple of years before making a surprising comeback.
Magic was close to playing with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant on the Lakers, but he decided to call it quits the season before the Lakers started another great era in their rich history. That news was really shocking around the NBA world, and it’s easy to see why Dr. Buss reacted the way he reacted.
