Magic Johnson Born: Showtime's Architect and Cultural Icon

Magic Johnson revolutionized basketball by playing point guard at six feet nine inches tall, a size that should have put him at center or power forward but instead became the foundation of a playing style that nobody had seen before. He could pass, dribble, rebound, and run the break with a court vision that made his teammates better and his opponents helpless. He led the Lakers' "Showtime" dynasty to five NBA championships in the 1980s. Born Earvin Johnson Jr. in Lansing, Michigan on August 14, 1959, he earned the nickname "Magic" from a sportswriter who watched him score 36 points, grab 18 rebounds, and dish 16 assists in a high school game. He won a national championship at Michigan State in 1979, beating Larry Bird's Indiana State team in the most-watched college basketball game in history. The rivalry with Bird revived the NBA, which had been struggling with declining ratings and a drug-abuse reputation. Johnson was drafted first overall by the Lakers in 1979 and won a championship in his rookie season, starting at center in place of the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game 6 of the Finals and scoring 42 points. He was twenty years old. His career averages of 19.5 points, 11.2 assists, and 7.2 rebounds per game cemented his status as one of the greatest players in the sport's history. On November 7, 1991, he announced he had tested positive for HIV. He was 32 and at the peak of his career. The announcement stunned the country. In 1991, an HIV diagnosis was widely perceived as a death sentence, and the virus was still heavily associated with gay men and intravenous drug users. Johnson, a heterosexual married man, transformed public understanding of who could contract HIV. He became an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness and research. He built a business empire after retiring, including movie theaters, Starbucks franchises, and a stake in the Lakers. He later became a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the LAFC soccer club. Thirty-five years after his diagnosis, he remains healthy, a living testament to advances in antiretroviral treatment.