Earvin "Magic" Johnson
Former Pro Basketball Player
Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin "Magic" Johnson was one of them. Johnson accomplished virtually everything a player could dream of during his 13-year NBA career, all of which was spent with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a member of five championship teams. He won the Most Valuable Player Award and the Finals MVP Award three times each. He was a 12-time All-Star and a nine-time member of the All-NBA First Team. He surpassed Robertson's career assists record, a mark he later relinquished to John Stockton. He won a gold medal with the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
He stunned the world during the 1991-1992 season with his announcement of his retirement before the season began, due to testing positive to the HIV Virus. Magic recently marked the 10th anniversary of telling the world that he had HIV. Thank goodness he is still doing well and shows no sign of slowing down or developing AIDS.
He also made a failed comeback attempt and took over the Lakers as coach. In 1996 he made his return, looking like his old self again and leading the Lakers into the playoffs. Unfortunately, he retired again at the end of the year. Magic was named to the All-NBA Interview team in 1996 due in large part to the media hype associated with his return. As a last honor, before the Hall of Fame, Magic Johnson was named one of the 50 Greatest NBA Players of all Time. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame with the class of 2002. In his retirement, Magic spends time with his wife Cookie and his son Earvin III.
Magic started his own foundation called The Magic Johnson Foundation which was established in 1991 as a single-disease organization that worked to raise funds for community-based organizations dealing with HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs. The Foundation has since responded to the growing need to address all aspects of our youth's lives by expanding its mission. This expanded mission emphasizes the Foundation's focus on supporting community-based organizations and developing programs that serve the health, educational and social needs of those residing in inner-city communities. In addition, the Foundation has made a strong commitment to raise awareness about several health and social concerns that threaten under-served communities.