Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr.is an American retired professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Associationfor 13 seasons. After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, and won four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth14 August 1959
CityLansing, MI
CountryUnited States of America
Some people are going to have to grow some tough skin they hadn't had to grow before. Pat is a direct guy. That's going to really be different than everyone is used to. And he's going to say it in a way they're not used to a coach saying it and right in their face. ... He just wants you to play the game the right way.
And the road games would have been worse.
He told me to go for it, ... He told me he'd be coming to some of our games to check me out.
If you come to me and say, 'Hey look I'm a racist,' or 'I discriminate against blacks,' or 'I don't like you because you're African American,' I respect that. I can respect you more by doing that. But don't smile in my face, shake my hand, and then you don't really respect me, or want me to be around, or come to your games as the owner of the Clippers.
I never think that there's something I can't do, whether it's beating my opponent one on one or practicing another hour because something about my game is just not right.
I love to be in the ballpark. I love to just go in and enjoy a great baseball game, a great pitchers' duel.
I think the game itself has gotten better over the recent years. The reason why is I think the players are now taking the game a little bit more seriously and really trying to win the game.
You always run a risk, but I think the positive outweighs the risks, ... Life itself is a risk. But I'm not worried about that. If I was concerned about that, I wouldn't be up here.
I thought it was going to be a team in January or February anyway because of all the new guys trying to learn the triangle. They're probably still on that timetable.
J-Mac said he could beat me one-on-one. Well, before we make this movie we're going to come back into this gymnasium and see if he can.
My wife and I have been praying on it and God has answered our prayers, ... God has put me here to play basketball, to do my thing on the court. So that's where I'm going to do my thing, on that court.
We're not letting you just come into our community anymore without a partner or without one of us being a partner in that deal,
I like things going on in my life. I don't want to be on a beach somewhere just relaxing.
I'm the one who will take chances, not worry about the backlash.