When Magic Johnson announced he had been diagnosed with HIV, the entire world was shocked. Not only it was a huge surprise for the NBA community, but the society. At the beginning of the 90s, things were really confusing about AIDS and everything related to it.
That’s why when the news saw the light, a lot of people feared the worst. Magic was the person who took the league to the top in the 80s with his intense battles with rival and friend Larry Bird. They are considered the two most important players in league history for one reason, so when he announced he was infected, the world stopped.
Many people reacted to that, with everybody being scared of everything. Not even Michael Jordan was safe from that, as he revealed it was so shocking that he almost lost control of his car while on the road. In an interview with Playboy in 1992, His Airness revealed how things happened for him.
“I was driving home. I almost drove off the road. I said, ‘This has to be some kind of sick joke,’ he (Magic’s agent Lon Rosen) said, ‘Well, Earvin wants to talk to you.’ So he gave me Earvin’s number and I called him at home. He was as calm as you and I.”
“I said to him, ‘D*mn, you’re calmer than I am. I’m about to drive off the road.’ He said, ‘I just want you to continue on with your life. I’m going to be fine, my baby’s going to be fine, my wife is fine.’”
Johnson and Jordan also developed a good relationship over the years. Even though they clashed in the Finals when Magic’s Lakers were losing their touch and Jordan’s Bulls were rising, it was still a memorable matchup.
Besides the competition, the two MJs were really good friends and we could see that at the recent NBA Top 75 ceremony in Cleveland. Fortunately, Magic could overcome this situation, becoming a successful businessman and a respected NBA executive, although not many people believed he could bounce back from that terrible disease.
