Magic Johnson Research Paper

Magic Johnson: An All Time Great Only seven basketball players in history have won an NCAA championship NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal and Magic Johnson is one of them. He is also considered one of the greatest passers of all time. Johnson will always be considered a legend on and off the basketball court because of his NBA and college careers and his donations to the research and prevention of AIDS and other STD’s. Earvin ‘’Magic” Johnson was born on August 14, 1959 in Lansing, Michigan to Earvin Johnson Sr. and Christine Johnson. Earvin was the fourth of seven children and had three other siblings from his father’s first marriage. Johnson started playing basketball at an early age and his father was very influential in …show more content…
The Los Angeles Lakers selected him first overall. In the 1980 NBA finals, Johnson and the Lakers led the series 3-2, when their star Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, went down with an ankle injury. Everybody thought all hope was lost, but in game six Magic put on one of the most unforgettable finals performances ever. He scored an amazing forty two points dished out seven assists and grabbed a staggering fifteen rebounds. They won the series and Johnson was declared final most valuable player. The next year Johnson signed a contract with the Lakers worth twenty five million dollars. At the beginning of the 1981 season, Johnson tore some cartilage in his knee and missed forty five games, despite this the Lakers still made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round by the Houston Rockets. The next year Johnson and the Lakers fought hard and reached the finals again in 1982. This time they beat the Philadelphia 76’ers and won the championship in six games. Magic Johnson also received his second NBA Finals most valuable player award. In 1984 Magic and his team again reached the championship and there Johnson met his old college rival Larry Bird. Even though Johnson beat him in college, Bird and the Celtics won their first matchup against him in the NBA. In 1985 the two met again in the Finals but this time the Lakers won and Magic won his third championship. Next season

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