After Magic Johnson’s retirement due to contracting the HIV virus in 1991, NBA fans were unsure if they’d ever see him grace the NBA hardwood again (long story short- it was a different, less educated, time in ’91. HIV/AIDs science wasn’t developed enough for Americans to know what was really going on with Magic… so he retired. A move made out of lack of information and understanding). Luckily, Johnson didn’t take long to find himself back into the NBA after playing on the Dream Team, a brief stint coaching, and traveling the world in an expo type basketball tour. In January 1996 Magic returned to the Lakers but by season’s end he would announce his retirement for a second time. On May 14, 1996 (today) Magic officially, and finally, ended his illustrious career. Simply put, Johnson wasn’t returning to his Showtime Lakers and he knew it was his time to ‘call it a day.’ No one could say it better than Magic himself (and this corny CNN anchor), peep the video below.
He appeared in 32 regular season and 4 playoff games without wearing his signature Converse shoes (or LA Gear shoes). Being the entrepreneur he is, Johnson started his own MVP Brand (that’s the name) of sneakers. MVP kicks would be short lived but they did have some solid designs and with Magic running the show they were able to move some units. Checkout some pictures of Magic’s Point Forward MVP kicks here and below.
With a lot of GOAT talk surrounding LeBron recently we’ll pose this question: Who would you rather have on your team, Magic or LeBron? Tell us on IG or in the comments section below.
Aaron Nojima
Robbie Falchi