Magic Johnson

Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jr. (born August 14, 1959 in Lansing, Michigan) is a 6' 9" (2.06 m) former American professional basketball star who played for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s and early 1990s. Playing point guard, he led the Lakers to five NBA championships (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988), as well as four other NBA Finals appearances. He also led Michigan State University to the NCAA title in 1979 against arch-rival Larry Bird's Indiana State University. Johnson is also the only NBA rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP Award. He is one of only four players to win NCAA and NBA championships in consecutive years.

Other ventures

His post-basketball business ventures include Magic Johnson Theatres, a nationwide chain of movie theaters whose complexes are primarily in urban locations. The chain is now a part of Loews Theatres, but is operated as a separate entity. More recently, his interests have expanded from a shortlived 1998 talk show "The Magic Hour", to ownership of several Starbucks franchises, again primarily in urban locations. Johnson is believed to have earned significantly more money from post-basketball ventures than from his playing days and endorsement deals.

Related Topics:
Magic Johnson Theatres - Movie theater - Urban - Loews Theatres - 1998 - Talk show - Starbucks

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Johnson also works as an NBA studio analyst for TNT.

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Johnson was ranked #5 in SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003.

Related Topics:
SLAM Magazine - 2003

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