This may be hard to believe, but Magic Johnson stayed put in his apartment during his first couple of years in Los Angeles. Johnson and the City of Angels have quite the history, so much so that it’s hard to talk about one of them without mentioning the other.
The Lakers legend opened up about life in LA when he appeared as a guest on ‘All The Smoke’ and had some great things to share as he brought out one intriguing story after another from the vault.
One of them was his initial days after he was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. The decision by the late Jerry Buss was not a mistake as he led them to five NBA championships during the Showtime era. The Michigan lad led the Purple and Gold to the promised land just as expected.
Soon after he was picked by the Lakers, Johnson moved to the glamorous bubble that LA had to offer and by his own admission, it took him years to adjust to the lifestyle.
Speaking on the show, Johnson relived the time he didn’t step out of his apartment for a good two years.
“It was definitely a shock, trust me. First of all, I was scared to death coming out here. I stayed in my apartment for the first two years because I come from a small town and so my first two years I concentrated on really letting people know that my game was real.”
“Listen, it’s hard to come to a city like Los Angeles and all the pressure was already on me because we had won a championship, I’m the number one pick, so I got to make sure I prove to everybody that I belong in the NBA so I concentrated on that first then after I made my name, then I said, ‘okay, it’s club time now’.”
And it was surely party time, as Johnson was often seen in the club circuit. The good times were there, but kudos to the former guard for putting winning a title as his primary objective.
Magic Johnson’s Mantra When He Was With The Lakers Was Simple: “Focus First On Winning”
Johnson outlined his message clearly on the show and it was all about winning. He knew he was picked by the Lakers for a reason, and luck had a major role in it.
During the time, there was no lottery system, and the selection order was via coin toss between the worst teams from both conferences.
The Lakers won the flip over the Chicago Bulls, who picked David Greenwood, and LA bagged Johnson with both hands, who then led the franchise to nine NBA Finals in 12 seasons. And he attributed it to a simple logic:
“Focus First On Winning, Party After That”
The advice seems old-fashioned, but it worked, and the Lakers went on to become one of the most decorated teams in NBA history — a feat in which Johnson had a major role to play.
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