[interviewer] Ready?
Um.
You-- Are you glad your name's Magic Johnson?
[laughing]
I would think that puts pressure on you right there.
Yeah.
[commentator] Ladies and gentleman, you know him, you love him.
Please say hello to Number 32, Earvin ''Magic'' Johnson!
Here we go!
[people cheering]
-Magic. Magic. -Magic.
Magic Johnson, that's who I wanna be like.
Magic Johnson, the man, the myth, the legend.
Magic Johnson was about passing the basketball.
Doing so with flash, dash and sizzle.
Magic did it with a smile. He did it with joy.
People became special around him.
They got their own kind of mythology around themselves,
because they were on the team with this mythological cat.
[Abdul-Jabbar] The way he played the game.
Magic's no-look passes made it seem like he was clairvoyant, you know?
Everybody wants to credit Michael Jordan for changing the NBA.
When Magic Johnson came in, that's when the game changed.
I was a Chicago Bulls fan, but I gotta say,
Magic Johnson was pretty good.
[announcer] Here he is! Magic Man.
And you know that we're number one!
[Hill] He was the brightest star in the galaxy of stars.
That's saying quite a bit here in Los Angeles.
[Kimmel] He's still the most popular athlete in Los Angeles.
He is beloved by everyone in this town. Nobody doesn't like Magic.
It wasn't "Magic." It was Earvin Johnson Jr.
[people chattering]
[Thomas] And if you notice, I went Earvin and Magic.
Those are two different personalities.
[Magic] Magic loves the crowd,
loves the-- the atmosphere of, uh-- of being a basketball player.
Earvin likes to get away from that.
Earvin and Magic are very different people.
Magic is just, like, in front of the camera, the big smile,
laughing, loving the attention.
Earvin's quite impatient and, you know,
he's the one who's, like, very controlling.
He put you through hell though, didn't he?
None of us call him Magic. He is Earvin and sometimes something else. [laughs]
Earvin don't like to lose. He don't like to lose nothin'.
I don't care if it's checkers…
The thing about Earvin "Magic" Johnson, he never wanted it easy.
And I'm sure in his life, very few things came easy.
Everything came fast and good to you,
but it could easily be taken away, just as fast.
He's Earvin.
I don't call him Magic,
'cause Magic is a character that played basketball.
He's like a superhero.
[people cheering]
[buzzer sounds]
If that's Magic, I guess that's what I am.
[people cheering]
[commentator] Earvin Johnson passes long!
Johnson drives to the net. One of the best, perhaps the best,
all-around college basketball player today.
The rumors say that you've played your last college game
and that you're heading away from Michigan State.
[people chattering]
[applauding]
Yeah.
Scoot this up.
Yeah, I'd like to say, uh, hello to all my teammates.
[chuckles]
And, uh, what's happening?
I'd like to say good morning. It's a hot morning.
[smacks lips]
And I'd like to say, um...
[clicks tongue] ...it's been rough, you know.
It's, uh...
I've been going through a lot, you know.
Uh, uh, s-- students, you know, the community,
everybody wanna know what I'm gonna do, but--
[reporter] Could Michigan State fans lose their star player,
Earvin "Magic" Johnson?
With shouts of triumph or tears of disappointment,
many believe Johnson is likely to be the first pick
in this year's NBA draft.
The team's best positioned to get him would be the Lakers or the Bulls.
I'll never forget how excited everybody was about that draft.
Because we had a chance to draft Earvin ''Magic'' Johnson.
[Thorn] You know, at the end of the, uh, '78, '79 season,
two franchises flipped a coin to see who got first pick.
So, the Lakers and the Bulls were headed for a coin flip.
[announcer] Magic's style on the court would breathe new life
into Chicago, if he chooses to leave college early to go pro.
[Magic] I haven't had a lot of time to think about it,
but I guess this is the deadline so I had to, uh...
[chuckles] ...give the answer up today.
[Thorn] Bill Sharman and I had a conversation.
Uh, Bill was, uh, GM of the Lakers, and I said to Bill,
"Do you mind if we call the flip?"
Because we're having our fans decide for us
whether we're gonna call heads or tails.
[commentator] With NBA Commissioner Larry O'Brien ready to toss the coin
and both teams waiting on the phone, Bulls GM Rod Thorn made his call.
I had always been a tails guy.
Our fans told us, "Call heads."
[O'Brien] Let's have Chicago's call.
-Uh, Chicago calls heads. -[O'Brien] Chicago calls heads.
[Thorn] In New York, the commissioner flipped the coin.
[West] For the Lakers, this was that one guy
that was going to change the destiny of this franchise.
And when somebody gives you a nickname, "Magic",
what do you expect?
[O'Brien] We'll now make the flip.
Tails it is!
[shouting and cheering]
[commentator 1] In the off-season, some Laker prayers are answered.
[commentator 2] Los Angeles has first rights to Magic now.
Okay, so, um, next season...
[sighs]
I'll be, uh-- Well, today, I'll be applying for hardship.
I'll be turning pro.
[applause]
[O'Brien] It is now exactly 12:00 noon.
The draft is officially open. I want to welcome all the fans
that are gonna join in and help make this draft a success.
[people cheering, whistling]
[O'Brien] The first pick is the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers select Earvin "Magic" Johnson,
Michigan State, 6'8'', 200 pounds.
[Cronkite] Earvin "Magic" Johnson of Michigan State,
was chosen by the Los Angeles Lakers today,
as the number one pick in the National Basketball Association draft.
I am Earvin "Magic" Johnson,
and, uh-- But I was born Earvin Johnson Jr. [laughs]
["Good Times" playing]
When I got drafted by the Lakers and I got off the plane in LA,
oh, my goodness!
I had to come in and prove I could play in the NBA
and lead the Lakers.
I really, really didn't want him to go.
He was 19 years old.
Going away from home, this would be the first time away from the family.
And I just didn't know what was gonna happen to my baby.
[reporter 1] The LA Lakers had the number-one pick.
They took Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
[reporter 2] And a young man who is so exciting.
[reporter 3] He is a delightful personality.
He is lighting up all of Southern California.
See this shit here? I bleed this shit.
If I was Superman, this would be my "S" on my chest.
But I ain't Superman. I'm Snooperman,
and that's my symbol.
Laker gang.
I first heard about Magic in 1978.
When, um, he was getting it in, in college.
And then the next year '79.
[people cheering]
When the Lakers got Magic Johnson, excitement ain't even the word.
[music continues]
Here we are.
[Riley] I remember when he showed up,
there was a rumor Earvin "Magic" Johnson was gonna come
to the Summer League game.
[Magic] I'm on my way to the game, and I said to our trainer-- I said,
"Well, how many people do they get?"
And he said, "Well, they only get like a 100, 200 people at the game."
[Riley] Place is full, 2,500 to 3,000 people, standing room only,
LA crowd, and he's walking.
And there are just nothing but hundreds of kids following him.
You could just feel that something different was going to happen.
You could feel it in the air.
I'll be definitely ready,
especially if the fans be as beautiful as they were tonight.
-[interviewer] Fans, gonna be here? -[people cheering]
[interviewer] Cooper interview. Take one.
[yelps] I'm sorry. [laughs]
Michael Cooper. Los Angeles Lakers. AKA Dark Gable.
AKA Lockdown Motherfucker. AKA Buck Naked.
[people chattering]
We're sitting in the locker room, and he hadn't gotten there yet.
So, we're sitting there.
This was gonna be my second year with the Lakers.
And I knew something was up.
["Flashlight" playing]
We knew that Magic was in the, uh, parking lot
because we could hear his boom box.
I had this big boom box that I brought from Lansing, Michigan.
And I was playing Parliament-Funkadelics at that time.
His favorite, uh, group was, uh, Parliament-Funkadelic.
But Kareem, he liked the quiet music, you know?
[relaxed jazz plays]
["Flashlight" resumes, stops]
[jazz resumes, stops]
["Flashlight" resumes]
You hear that music, and all of a sudden, he walks in.
♪ Flashlight ♪
[mimicking tune]
Kareem's a quiet man, so-- A man of few words.
So, he just looked at me and said, "Rookie, cut that damn box off!"
He went around and introduced himself to everybody,
and he goes, "Hey, I'm Magic." He didn't say Earvin Magic. "I'm Magic."
I said, "Magic, I'm Coop. How you doing?"
And I said, "Welcome to the NBA, motherfucker."
But when Magic got drafted by the Lakers,
NBA was not considered a very glamorous league at that time.
The league was like a mom-and-pop league.
There wasn't a lot of money flowing around in those days.
The National Basketball Association in its 33rd season is troubled
by diminishing crowds and declining television ratings.
Signs that fan interest may be waning.
That October of 1979, the NBA was a mess.
The NBA was considered too drug-infested, too Black,
and the games were on tape delay.
I remember watching games late night, and they were repeats.
You had to tell your family, "Don't tell me who won.
Don't tell me nothing about the game."
It just wasn't popular enough to be in prime time.
Dare to talk with the commissioner of the NBA, Larry O'Brien.
What about the future of the NBA?
When we talked last year, there were a lot of problems.
Frankly, I get a little bit frustrated when I hear and read about it so often.
The league not only was losing money, it was losing interest.
This was not a good week for the National Basketball Association.
I mean, it was known as a thuggish league.
[newscaster] Violence in the National Basketball Association
appears to be on the rise.
They let people in the NBA fight then. You know?
When things happened, people fought.
The National Basketball Association today suspended Los Angeles Lakers forward,
Kermit Washington.
I remember when Kermit Washington hit Rudy Tomjanovich at the Forum.
Broke his jaw. That was really one of the low points.
It's turning off a lot of white customers that are coming to the game, you know?
[reporter] Why?
I think there's a conflict between the white and the Black, and, uh,
I don't enjoy going to the basketball and seeing all Black players.
America was over 65, 70% white.
People were not willing to embrace the product into their living rooms.
[Hill] And there was talk of certain teams even folding.
[Thorn] It was "survive."
Can we survive a, you know, another year? Can we survive another week?
[announcer] And now, starting for your Los Angeles Lakers…
The Lakers at that time weren't thought of as champions.
They were thought of as contenders.
[announcer] West. West all alone. Look at Russell come down.
And what a play by Russell!
[West] I remember my first year in Los Angeles.
The Lakers were on the last page of the newspaper. The last page.
We would get in the back of trucks
and go in the neighborhoods with microphones.
"Come out and see the Lakers play. Come out and see the Lakers play."
Since 1960, I mean, the Lakers got beat six times in a row
by Bill Russell and the Celtics.
[West] We lost so many times in the Finals. I played nine Finals.
We won one time in nine Finals,
and it was probably the most horrid feeling in my life.
I actually, uh-- I wanted to quit basketball.
We just didn't have the team that could win.
You know, we had a good team. I-I played very well.
I won an MVP, but, um, we couldn't really contend
for the championship without the right players on the court.
Is Magic Johnson your favorite basketball player?
Not seeing no magic.
-[chuckles] -[TV crew laughs]
No.
[commentator] That was one of the many questions heard
at the Forum as the Lakers held their annual picture day
before leaving for Palm Springs and training camp.
And their hopes are high for the '79-'80 season.
When I got to training camp as a rookie,
I went in there-- At first I was so nervous.
[interviewer] Magic, you talk about getting to know things
and making these adjustments.
What are the big adjustments that you're making?
I think, uh-- You know, you got so many different, uh,
plays and so many different combinations you can go on offense.
And then on defense, just trying to stay with your man
and then trying to learn some of them hold moves. I'm-- [laughs]
[interviewer laughs]
When he first got there, there was some friction
with this Magic Johnson.
Who's gonna be the leader? Is it gonna be Kareem?
Is it gonna be Magic?
There's a tradition of harassing the rookies in the NBA.
The older players get to, uh, be cruel and unusual with the-- with the rookies.
Kareem said, "Hey, I want Earvin Johnson to be my rookie."
I said, "Oh, okay." [laughs] You know, I'm like,
"I'll do anything for you. You-- You-- You a legend.
You-- You the best player in the NBA."
I had to have his newspaper at his door at, like, 7:00, 7:30 in the morning.
Every time it was a time-out in practice,
he wants two waters and two Gatorades, and it better be cold.
I said, "No problem."
So, Norm Nixon called me aside.
"Man, act like you been here before. Relax a little bit."
He was a target, you know? And, um, he just had to be careful.
[Magic] So, we're in practice.
I was boxing out Ron Boone.
All of a sudden, I look up at the rim and the ball,
and he had hit me right behind my head really hard.
And he was just smiling.
[commentator] Ronnie Boone, he's a warhorse.
I don't think he's ever missed a game in his life.
[Westhead] Ron was old-school.
As tough as they come. He'd look at you and you'd say, "What did I do?"
Love him as a human being.
As a basketball player? Nasty fucker, man.
[Westhead] Ron would not back down to anybody.
And he probably wanted to let the rookie know that the--
You know, "I've been here for 12 years, so don't mess with me."
[players chattering]
[Magic] The next time, he's boxing me out.
Oh, Ron Boone?
Let's see what you got.
You think, first of all, you drafted the wrong dude?
Okay. I got something for you.
So I ran in as fast as I could, and I hit him as hard as I could.
He shouldn't have woke that quiet bear up, see?
He woke me up.
So, Jerry West came over.
He pulled me aside and he said, "Magic, I like that."
And I said, "Do you want Earvin Johnson to play basketball,
or do you want Magic Johnson to play basketball?"
I said, "I'd rather see Magic Johnson play basketball."
[Magic] You know, growing up in a small town like Lansing, Michigan--
Let me tell you something.
Nobody really heard about Earvin Johnson.
I mean, who's Earvin Johnson?
A person coming from Lansing-- You had to prove yourself.
If you were really good, you had to go out and prove a point
that this little boy from Lansing, Michigan had game.
You know? [laughs]
Lansing is a hardworking town.
You either worked in the car industry,
or you worked, really, for the state. There's only two jobs.
My father worked for General Motors for 30 years.
He was never late. Never missed a day.
And he worked on the line with the welding.
So, his shirt would have holes in 'em from all the sparks flying.
My mother worked for the school cafeteria.
They were both hardworking people, blue-collar people.
My father was in the service.
And every time he came home, he made a baby. [laughs]
That's why we're all in a row. [laughs]
Michael Johnson.
Larry Johnson.
-Pearl Johnson. -Kim Johnson-Ray.
Evelyn Johnson.
[Magic] I have six sisters, three brothers. I'm the baby boy.
We used to call him Junebug.
I don't even know where that came from. [laughs]
All I know, we-- They called him Junebug.
Junebug. That was when he was little.
He was so joyful all the time.
I think that was a fitting, uh, nickname for him.
-I don't think he liked it. -Oh, no.
That stuck with him for a long time. Every now and then,
somebody that-- When he's home. "Hey, Junebug!"
Then, as he grew up, we started calling him Earvin.
[Larry] We used to have some games, man.
I tell you those one-on-one games were just… hard.
We fought.
We both roughed each other up, you know,
'cause then neither one of us wanna lose, you know.
And at a young age he wouldn't let nothing get by, you know.
So we had our time where we had to scrap and stuff
on the ground, and stuff during a game.
Arguing about who won and who-- you know.
But Earv was the-- that go-getter, you know.
Whatever he wanted to do, he was gonna do it.
[Magic] Main Street School was the mecca of Lansing, Michigan.
If you were the best player in Lansing,
you had to come to Main Street School.
That's where you gonna get the action at, because guys were coming from all over.
If you lose a game, you might not play again for another two hours.
'Cause guys is lined up, and they always had their teams ready to go.
Whether you had to cheat to win, or whatever,
you wanted to stay on that court.
I'ma pick the dudes that gonna play their role,
so that we can win and stay out on that court all day.
I played in the rain. I played in the snow.
It didn't matter.
Sunup to sundown.
And then I started playing against older boys,
and then I started playing against men.
Even my father and my uncle.
My father, my uncle fouled me, but they said there was no foul,
so I had to play through that.
I didn't want him to be out there, crybaby each time somebody hit him,
or bump him into the jaw, he'd cry.
They said, "Okay, he can hold his own, and he's strong enough
and physical enough to--"
to handle the beating that they were gonna give me.
And nobody outworked me in the neighborhood.
I was on the court more than any kid. I mean, it wasn't even close.
And I wanted it more.
One of my very best friends
wrote high school sports for the Lansing State Journal.
And one December Friday night, he called me and he said,
"Have you heard of this kid Earvin Johnson?"
I was assigned to cover Earvin's first game.
50 to 49. Earvin had 12 points, ten rebounds and fouled out.
And so I get back to the office
and everybody wants to know how this Earvin Johnson kid is.
I said, "Well, he's 6'5'' type kid. He's gonna be a good player one day,
but he wasn't anything special in that game.''
We beat 'em by one point, on a rebound at the buzzer.
And, uh, my brother came into the locker room.
He says, "George, he might be an all-city and maybe an all-stater.
He's no all-American."
But I thought, "Wait."
[crowd cheering]
Somehow, fate had me be assigned to the second game.
[Magic] We went to play one of the schools that's supposedly good
in the state of Michigan.
And we blew them out on their home court.
I always tell people, he had 36 points, 20 rebounds, 15 assists and 10 steals.
As a 15-year-old, that was my first triple-double.
And my brother came up to me
and he says, "George, he'll make you forget
about every other basketball player we've had in this area."
[Stabley] It was the most amazing performance I'd ever seen
by anybody, and he was his second game of his high school career.
So the sportswriter came in and he said, "Listen, man, I'm--
I haven't seen a performance like that ever in my life."
-He says, "I wanna give you a nickname." -"Earvin, we gotta call you something."
Somebody's called Biggie. Somebody's called Dr. J.
How about Magic?
You know, you're like, "Yeah, right." [laughs]
You know, you-- you start laughing like, "Yeah, yeah, okay that--"
My boys not gonna call me "Magic." You know?
And within two months, everybody in Michigan knew who Magic was.
[Barkley] When I first started playing basketball in high school,
everybody started talking about this guy from East Lansing.
Magic Johnson. Magic, Magic, Magic.
And I was like, "Magic? Man, I need to watch this."
And I had heard about this kid, you know, Earvin ''Magic'' Johnson.
I was like, "Who's this dude? Earvin 'Magic' Johnson."
Never saw him, but just kept hearing how great he was as a basketball player.
[commentator] There he goes. Watch it for three...
"Have you seen this kid in Lansing?"
"This 15-year-old Black kid from the Midwest.
They call him Magic. Have you seen him?"
[interviewer] Earvin Johnson, you're a very sought-after player.
Uh, you shoot well, you pass well, you dribble, score, assist.
We're trying to figure out what you do best.
-Do you know? We can't figure it out. -[chuckles]
When the newspapers really started getting involved,
and then he started getting the big headlines--
You know, that's when he basically became the pied piper.
Whatever game he was playing, everybody wanted to go see it.
["Speedoo" playing]
[Staudt] Everywhere we would go, you could not find a seat any place.
You just could not find a seat.
I still remember the ticket scalping, the extra police there for security.
It wasn't any kind of ordinary stuff that he did.
He did stuff that I'd never seen on a basketball floor before.
[Turner] He's up and down the court. Just behind his back,
throwing no-look passes. Just doing everything.
Earvin was a fierce competitor.
God, he was competitive.
A lot of the other kids-- white kids, they wanted to beat him.
[Staudt] And I'll never forget that they were playing Benton Harbor,
a tradition-rich basketball school in Michigan history.
[Magic] They practiced first, and as they exit the floor
and it was our turn to go onto the floor, a dude said,
"Which one of you dudes, uh, Earvin Johnson?
I just want you to know, tomorrow you in trouble."
All my teammates were like, "Ooh, man. He talking trash."
I said, "Mmm, you just wait till tomorrow night."
It was 9,000 people, sold out I think.
I remember one play in the game and a guy stepped on the back of my foot,
so my shoe came off.
For the next two or three minutes, I'm playing with one shoe on.
In that three minutes, I made, like, five plays.
He still went down the court with one shoe on
and did a dazzling move and scored.
Laid it in, and the people were just going crazy.
-It was just building. -[crowd cheering]
And by the time Benton Harbor coach called the time-out,
the place just erupted.
I said, "Look at the scoreboard."
That's all. I don't have to talk trash. Just look up.
[Staudt] I never saw somebody's reputation
as a high school player grow as fast, in all my years, in any sport.
I just knew he was not gonna go away.
I do know one thing, that his mother was not real fond
of the nickname "Magic" when he was given it.
[interviewer] How about the nickname "Magic?" How'd you take to that?
Well, I really never liked that, you know, because it had such a--
such an impact on him, you know.
People expect so much from him because of that name.
[people chattering]
We had a big press conference at Everett High School.
It was the big news.
Every TV station within 50 miles was here.
All right.
Is there any questions before I get started?
[people laughing]
No, um, next year I will be, uh, attending Michigan State University.
[people cheering]
[announcer 1] Michigan State University.
[commentator] Earvin ''Magic'' Johnson directing the Spartan Ballet Company
from East Lansing, Michigan.
[announcer 2] Magic Johnson comes from the Lansing area,
which is something we're all very proud of here.
The whole city recruited Earvin Johnson. It wasn't just Michigan State.
That enthusiasm that he showed.
That-- That electricity permeated through the building.
It was, uh-- [chuckles]
It was mesmerizing.
[commentator] Magic Johnson, he's a coach on the floor.
His play's under control. He's got great hands.
A great passer. The way he goes, so goes the Spartans.
They had a bad season the year before, but most of the players were coming back.
Greg Kelser was there, and I put Jay Vincent in that lineup,
and I put myself in the lineup. I said,
"Man, I think we can win the Big Ten."
I could not wait for the season to begin.
So we can enjoy this chemistry and camaraderie.
And it clicked right away.
[Magic] We were just having a good time.
["Potential" playing]
We had a nice boom box and record player, uh, in the locker room.
When he joined, that was his thing.
He took that over so we just left it alone.
The one that we adopted, the song by the Jimmy Castor Bunch,
is called "Potential."
Potential, spelled P-O-T-E-N-T-I-A-L. And we used to spell that out.
Because our thought was that we were a young club,
trying to reestablish ourselves.
So play to your potential and see how many teams can beat you.
Earvin fashioned himself as a disc jockey.
You know, his moniker was EJ the DJ.
EJ the DJ.
EJ the DJ. Yeah, yeah.
You know, he would deejay on his off days,
and before every game he had to get into a groove.
And boy did-- I-I don't know what music did to him,
but he'd go out and get a triple-double like it wasn't nothing. You know, so…
And so then I started deejaying at all the local clubs,
and I was getting paid to be there to deejay.
And then it was the last day before we left
to go home for Christmas break.
[dance music plays]
We go to this famous nightspot called Dooley's.
-It was a party place. -Everybody on campus went to Dooley's.
But it was just the place to be, to go.
But we were sheltered. We didn't hang out. We didn't do those things.
This was our first time being grown-ups.
You know, away from home. Hanging out, drinking, having a good time.
[Magic] A young lady came in and said hi to us.
But right behind her was this beautiful,
beautiful young lady named Cookie she introduced us to.
We said hello, I ran into my other friends and, you know, danced and had a good time.
She walked away...
and I said...
[vocalizes]
"I got to get to know her."
Man, that's when "Jamaica Funk" and "Ring My Bell" just had hit.
["Ring My Bell" playing]
[mimicking song beat]
And I watched her on the dance floor.
And Cookie could dance.
So, Jay kept elbowing me,
saying, "Man, if you don't get her phone number."
The lights came up.
Everybody was leaving.
And I started walking out.
And I stood right by the door 'cause I couldn't miss my opportunity.
And as I walked past him, he said,
"Hey, lemme get that phone number."
"I would like to get your phone number so when we come back from Christmas break,
maybe we could go out or something."
I laughed at him and I said,
"You'll never remember my name and remember to call me."
-I said, "I'm gonna call you." -I gave him the number, and I said,
"Okay, but you'll never remember who I am."
[commentator] Indiana working the ball. Forecourt. Bounce pass.
[Cookie] Michigan State played a Christmas tournament.
I was sitting with my mother watching the game, and I was like,
"Mom, that guy right there, he asked me for my number when I left."
And I was like, "He'll never remember me."
And we laughed. We had a good laugh about it.
I went back early because I had to finish registering for some classes,
and I remember the day that I walked into the room,
the phone started ringing.
Like, literally we were walking in with our bags,
and the phone started ringing. I picked it up, and it was him.
She said, "I never thought you were gonna call me."
And I'm thinking, "How did he even know that I just walked into my room?"
That we even came back 'cause we came back early.
I just played it off--
"Yeah, you know a brother know these type of things."
[chuckles]
She didn't know I was calling every day
about five times a day trying to reach her.
[Cookie] And he found out my birthday was January 20th.
And so then he asked me,
"Can I take you out for your birthday?"
You know, and I thought, "Oh, wow, okay."
I was really shocked, you know, um, and excited about it.
I went home and told my father,
"I want to put on a suit to take her out on my first date."
And he said, "Wow, you must-- you must really like this girl.
How long you known her?" I said, "Dad, I don't know her yet."
[laughs]
We had a great time at dinner,
and it was like we were best friends instantly, you know.
We just-- Easy talking to each other.
We talked at the restaurant.
Then we went over to my uncle's house.
We sat there and listened to music, and we talked some more.
Cookie was amazing.
And Cookie was serious about graduating, uh, so she was driven like I was.
For me, I was most impressed with the fact of how down-to-earth he was.
He was so cool and so funny and so normal, you know.
That's what I fell in love with.
[Magic] The first few months was just incredible.
Cookie and I had the best time.
I stayed on the phone with Cookie on the road all night.
I-- Actually, we would fall asleep,
and the phone's off the hook, you know. [laughs]
We-- We would fall asleep talking to each other.
It'd be 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning.
[Cookie] I think for him, I was always just that place
where he could relax and be supported.
Whether he won, lost or, you know, was really tired or sick.
Whatever I needed, even before I needed it,
she would say, "Hey, I know-- You look tired.
Come, just lay down on my bed. I'm gonna just study."
I think that's what made me fall in love with her too.
Because of those moments at Michigan State,
we were building something together.
[Cookie] Him being the focal point
of Michigan State's basketball team,
it wasn't easy.
And the pressure he was under once the season started.
You know, he was very strict about his regimen before a game.
What he ate, and how he needed quiet--
Dark room, just his music.
[crowd cheering]
And I would go to the basketball games and, um,
sometimes I would wait for him after the game.
But he always told me, "Just go back to the dorms,
and I'll meet you there after the game."
There was no just hanging around talking or going home.
Right then and there, "I'll call you when I get home. Bye."
[Magic] She said, "Well, why can't I wait
because all the other players' girlfriends are waiting?"
I said, "Just go to the dorm, and I'll see you afterward."
That was our first big argument.
Everybody was trying to talk to Earvin.
All the girls, "Earvin. I want Ear--"
No, not Earvin. "I want Magic. I want Magic."
[Cookie] You know, there were girls everywhere.
I get in his car one day and, um, I see pictures on the floor
of him, you know, taking somebody to, uh, their-- their dance.
And I'm thinking, "What is this?"
And he says, "Oh, no. It's just a friend of mine.
I just took her. She broke up with her boyfriend."
And I thought, "No. I don't think that that's what's going on."
-She was very hurt. -Yeah.
-[Webster] Very hurt. -Hurt bad.
Because we knew how mu--
-We knew how she felt. -We knew how she felt.
-We knew she loved-- she loved him. -Right.
You know, they just really-- It really devastated her.
You know, she saw that I was dating other people
so it wasn't a good look for me.
'Cause she said, "Oh, you moved on.
Okay, then I'ma start dating other people."
And I didn't like that.
We got into an argument, and then I said,
"Listen. It can't be both of us. You know, you can't date her and then me."
He's like, "I'm not dating her, but--"
And I said, "No, you gotta choose one or the other."
And he said, "I'm not choosing."
So I said, "Well, I will. I'm out."
[Fox] I remember back in those days when I used to see him a lot.
And we were just standing there talking. I says, "Earvin, do you know,
there's a 6'8" or 9" kid somewhere in a gym in this country,
and he's got all your skills.
Is he gonna outwork you?"
A year later, I-- I'm talking to him somewhere,
and he says, "Hey, Coach.
Remember that story you told me about somebody outworking me?"
He says, "I found him."
[Magic] At the end of my freshman season,
they decide to invite the best college basketball players
to represent the United States.
The first day of practice, I'm watching him shoot,
and it's nothing but net, like 30 times in a row.
I'm like, "Whoo. Man, this dude can shoot."
[Bird] I'm going into that game, didn't know much about him.
Just knew he's a talented basketball player.
And he was walking around
with a big music box on his shoulder, everywhere he went.
That's when I saw Larry Bird up close.
[crowd cheering]
We would get in the game and start throwing no-look passes,
and he'd start hittin' 'em long jump shots.
[commentator] Earvin Johnson, look at that-- Oh!
One time, I came down, threw a no-look to Larry,
he got it, threw a no-look back to me,
and I laid it up. And the people went nuts.
And, man, after that I went back and told everybody,
"Larry Bird, he's for real."
The next season,
he would lead his team to a 33 and 0 season.
33 and 0.
[Kelser] Now, we had to face a ton of good guys in the Big Ten,
but we had never faced one individual talent like Larry Bird.
[Smith] Bird was an assassin.
He was a one-man wrecking crew at Indiana State,
and Magic may, uh--
They may have resented each other early on 'cause they were competitors.
[Magic] He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Basketball Weekly.
All the basketball magazines.
He was named College Basketball Player of the Year.
I still said, "Hey, probably should've been me, but that's okay."
[chuckles] I'm sure he was.
Uh, as much as we could of each other.
The numbers that he was putting up the first year was incredible.
[Magic] It's hard when you can look in the mirror
and see a guy that played just like you.
His drive to win was just as high as mine.
He was a competitor like I was a competitor.
[Bird] At that time, I don't think either of us thought
about what was gonna happen in the future.
It was just the start of something I knew that--
that I was gonna be seeing him a lot.
[commentator] Arkansas is on a 14-game winning streak
with 25 and 4 this season.
Indiana State 31 and 0.
[Clinton] In 1979, I was governor of Arkansas.
It was my first year.
And Arkansas made the tournament, and they were playing Indiana State.
[chuckles] Nobody wanted to see Arkansas beat Indiana
except the people from Arkansas.
They wanted Bird and Magic in the final.
The point guard for Indiana State, who was a senior and very good,
with time running out, he throws the ball into his left hand,
heaves it up. It bounces off the backboard and goes in, and they win.
It was an unbelievable game. I--
And I looked at the guy sittin' with me, and I said,
"God now wants Magic and Larry Bird to play in the final,
and who are we to defy God's will?"
[crowd cheering]
[Gumbel] It is Indiana State against Michigan State.
I'm Bryant Gumbel, and the fans here are going bananas.
[Obama] The NCAA finals between Michigan State and Indiana State
was basketball heaven.
Uh, because you had two transcendent talents.
[commentator] The Magic Man, Earvin Johnson,
against The Bird, Larry Bird, of Indiana State.
You didn't turn on the TV unless they was talking about Magic, Bird.
It was everywhere.
[West] You had this Magic Man
against the hillbilly from French Lick, Indiana, Larry Bird.
And both of 'em had a different-- completely different kind of appeal.
The country was divided about who they were gonna cheer for.
And let's not kid ourselves, the racial contrasts were there too.
White kid from Indiana in the country.
City, urban Black kid.
Hooking up for all the gold, all the marbles.
[Hill] Everything was about them
because there's a story about opposites that attract, right?
You got a Black guy, and you got a white guy. Opposites.
You got Michigan State, and you got Indiana State.
Their style of play, opposites.
[crowd cheering]
[Kelser] They were the two best players in the country.
Only one can win, and only one can walk away with the crown.
How many times do you get that matchup for the championship?
[commentator] Tonight the Spartan season concludes with a tense matchup
against undefeated Indiana State.
This will mark Larry Bird's final college appearance
and likely the same for Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
Even as we broke up, I continued to watch the games
and, you know, was a part of all of that
'cause I-- you know, I was still in love with him.
And he wasn't really acknowledging that he's dating the other girl,
so I kept thinking maybe we'll get back together.
But by the time they went to the NCAA,
and I'm watching it on TV and I look in the audience,
and I see his mom in the stands.
And she's right next to her. And that just really crushed me.
Watching that game and then seeing that girl
in the seat that I should've been in.
You know, just-- It-- It was tough watching that.
It was really tough watching that.
[commentator] Michigan State wins the tip-off
with Donnelly in the backcourt.
Taking control early, many think, will be crucial to win this game.
We knew it was gonna be tough
but we had confidence that we was gonna compete that night.
[Magic] The game plan was for us to double-team him
wherever he went.
Don't give him no room to maneuver.
[commentator] Look, they have him sandwiched in.
Completely in, can't get him the ball.
He was such an incredible shooter,
we wanted to just get right up in his chest
and not give him any airspace.
Surrounded me
and made me take tougher shots than I usually did.
[commentator] Johnson, three on one.
Here it comes. The alley-oop. That's Greg Kelser.
Going into the second half, we went up 16 points.
And then everything changed.
[commentator] Earvin Johnson pushing for Michigan State,
and Magic Johnson has his third foul.
We had to fight through adversity
because Earvin got three fouls in the first half.
[commentator] A big guard in there, along with a good-sized--
Foul is on Kelser, number four.
We were about to blow the game open.
Greg Kelser got his fourth foul and they came storming back.
[commentator] Bird.
52 to 46.
[Magic] So, I knew I had to make plays for us to win.
[commentator] Johnson. Magic Johnson with the ball.
Last play of the game, Earvin ends up with the ball.
He throws it over his head about three-quarters court down the floor...
[commentator] Oh, there's the pass!
...to Kelser, who flushes it to end the game.
[commentator] It's all over.
Michigan State University, National Champions, 1979.
We were able to play to our potential,
and it was a gratifying moment.
[commentator] But only one can make…
It was one of the toughest losses I've ever taken, and it still is today.
[Kelser] Still the most-watched game in college basketball history
some 40-some years after it was played.
[Magic] The goal and dream that I had set came to fruition,
and so on the plane ride going back to Michigan State
I knew I was leaving.
I was ready mentally, physically, to turn pro.
We did a lot of things in college that I thought maybe would take four years,
and it happened in two, so I guess I gotta go on to the next step.
And let's, uh, see what I can do in the NBA.
I'm giving up a lot, you know.
Uh, college is-- You're giving up, you know, the students,
you know, the chance to have a lot of fun, uh.
Just a lot of things, you know.
He went on to win the NCAA and then, you know, the very next year
he opted to go to, uh, California.
So, I was determined to finish school
and get outta here, um, and start a new life.
[crowd cheering]
[interviewer] On the eve of his very first day
I want you to know that this man has a smile
that lights up a television screen from here to Bangor, Maine.
I got butterflies in my stomach.
I'm just tryna make sure I can settle myself down.
[commentator] So you're watching the debut
of Magic Johnson with the Los Angeles Lakers.
And Magic Johnson missing one underneath.
Loose ball, tangle of bodies.
Johnson comes free and he travels.
I can hear some basketball fans right now.
They're saying, "See,
Magic Johnson can't play defense in the NBA."
About the second quarter or so I did settle down.
[commentator] Intercepted by Magic, and here he comes from behind.
A fake. Oh, the pass. Here we go.
Five.
Johnson back to Kareem.
So, it has come down to this. Ford sends it to Kareem.
Skyhook up,
and good! Lakers win! Score it!
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has given the Los Angeles Lakers a victory!
And Magic Johnson is out there celebrating
like they just won the NCAA Championship.
Magic starts running and jumping, and we're all happy and stuff
but we're happy because we won the game. Magic is happy because he could see it.
He saw the making of a championship team.
[Magic] I get in the locker room, Kareem say,
"Rookie, don't ever do that again."
We got 81 more games.
[chuckles]
You know, if we-- if we get up to this emotional level
every time we win, uh, you know, we'll be wasted by, uh, Christmas time.
He pointed at me, so I pointed at him.
"If you ever hit a shot like that 81 more times,
I'ma jump in your arms 81 more times."
And all of a sudden, we started to win.
[announcer] Someone that has captured the imagination of the country
is this man, the Magic Man, Mr. Johnson.
He made it possible for me to change my image
in that we started winning. I-- You know, I could start smiling.
[chuckles]
He was exactly the player that we needed.
[commentator] Cool is out. Enthusiasm is in.
And isn't it refreshing?
These guys care for each other.
-We're sort of a live group of guys-- -Homeboy.
He didn't have nothing but a T-shirt on. Now look at him. He's in silk shirts.
-Look at him. -[all laugh]
[Snoop Dogg] When them Lakers started winning,
it united the city of Los Angeles.
So, everybody felt like he was their hero.
I fell in love with Magic Johnson and what he did on the court.
And the charisma he had out with his media and public.
Not only did Black America, not only the young Black kids, Black teenagers
fall in love with Magic Johnson.
But white America was falling in love with Magic Johnson.
Falling in love and looking up to and feeling inspired by a Black male,
you know, was almost unheard of.
[Scott] The Forum was in Inglewood.
I grew up 14 blocks away and we got no tickets.
We gotta figure out a way to sneak in. We were able to run down a tunnel.
And run past the guards, get into the--
you know, get into the Forum and just kinda take seats.
[commentator] Here we go again.
I've never seen nothing like that.
I've never seen anybody 6'9", they were bringing the ball up the floor,
there was control in the tempo, uh, directing the offense.
[Riley] Nobody played the game like he played it.
He was an oxymoron. He was-- He could play any position.
He was a 6'9" point guard,
and there wasn't one around at the time.
[commentator] Magic's hot and he knows it.
Oh, what a pass to Cooper who scores!
A no-look pass. But--
Earvin's gonna make a fantastic no-look pass.
You know, look this way, ball goes that way, behind the back.
[commentator] Wraparound the world, score!
[Magic] I'm no-looking to everybody, right?
Through the legs, behind the back.
Oh, man, and that crowd would just go crazy.
[Grant] Magic had swagger. Magic was cool.
You know, he played with-- with-- with such joy, uh, enthusiasm.
I mean, he was my favorite player.
The Lakers became my favorite team.
People looked up to him.
People admired him from both sides.
People wanted to be him.
Everybody knows this Magic, the happy guy. The one who smiles.
Uh. I think they-- they-- they might think that,
you know, nothing ever goes wrong,
or he has no problems.
He just smiles every day and, and everything and, um--
But I do have low points, and, um,
Earvin Johnson is another guy. You know.
Here's Magic over here, and here's Earvin over here.
Um, during the first year I was definitely homesick,
so my phone bill was extremely high.
He would call us all the time,
you know, just about every day or every other day.
[Magic] I've never been without my family.
My father and my mother always been at my games.
Always still only 15, 20 minutes away from the college
so I could go home and get a home-cooked meal.
I can't do that anymore.
I can't go get a hug from my mother anymore
or just advice from my father face-to-face anymore.
Here is the rookie sensation, Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
[Douglas] Tough when you play away from home.
-Isn't it? -Definitely.
Not hearing the home crowd screaming for you.
[Rosen] The Forum was in Inglewood.
Earvin lived close to Inglewood. He lived sort of an insulated life.
He would go home and go to his little two-bedroom apartment.
[Magic] I stayed in my apartment all the time
because I was scared.
I was still scared of LA because LA was so big.
How's the social life out here?
I mean, I know you work hard,
-Yeah. -but there's playtime too.
Right, there's playtime.
I was very much a guy who was guarded,
and Norm Nixon told me to watch out for people.
Everybody was trying to, um,
get to know, you know, the athletes, and so I say, "Okay."
You have to watch so much.
Then you have to find out with--
Are the people real? Do they want you for you?
Can you go out and just forget about ball, you know?
It's really hard. It's really hard.
Good luck to you and to the Los Angeles Lakers.
-Nice being here. -Thanks for being with us.
Mr. Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Thank you, sir.
Here was this fresh young man from Michigan,
and, um, he couldn't trust people.
But that first year in Los Angeles,
Jerry Buss bought the team.
[radio host] In 1979, Dr. Jerry Buss's dreams
of sports ownership became reality when he spent a record $67.5 million
on the LA Lakers, the LA Kings and their lucrative venue, the LA Forum.
He knew I was a long way from home, and he said, "Hey, young man.
When we get back from training camp,
one Saturday I want you to come, and we gonna stand on the sideline
of a USC game.
[crowd cheering]
Once he-- we went to the first USC football game,
that's when we started really hanging out.
We started having lunch and dinners after the Laker games.
He would say meet him at this restaurant.
So I would go meet him there, and we would break bread together, talk.
And then he just starts saying, "Hey, come on over to the house.
You have the gate pad number. You can come anytime you want.
And so I started going over there all the time.
We played pool at his house for hours, and he sort of filled the void.
[Christine] I took him aside, and I talked with him. And I said,
"Will you please look out after my baby for me?"
Dr. Buss said, "Mrs. Johnson," he said, "I will take care of him."
I felt more comfortable, you know,
knowing that he had someone that he could talk to, someone that would,
um, you know, take care of him.
[West] Well, it became extremely close.
He was like Jerry's surrogate son.
He was the apple of his eye, that's for sure.
[commentator] Johnson from outta nowhere.
The Suns took it easy. They had the layup. And Magic Johnson just refused to give up,
comes back inside, gives it to Kareem. That might do it.
[commentator] Charisma, that's what the young fella's got.
He's had an excellent rookie season.
The Los Angeles Lakers are the new champions
of the Western Conference as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pours in 38 points.
Magic Johnson adds 20.
[Magic] I'm going crazy.
Like, I just won the NCAA championship the year before,
and now I'm actually going to the NBA Finals my rookie season.
Ah!
It's been eight seasons since the NBA championship has been a part
of the LA sports scene.
The style of the Lakers has always been to make the play-offs
but somehow fold in or before the Finals.
I remember we kept pumping each other up,
"Okay. We gotta do this. We gotta do that."
Well, earlier that week, the voting for the Rookie of the Year came out.
I thought it would be close. It wasn't close. I was shocked.
You know, when I learned that Larry Bird had won by a wide margin,
I didn't like it.
Everybody always said about me my first year,
"Oh, he can pass. He can run a team, but Larry Bird is a much better scorer."
I was sitting there saying to myself, "I can score, but that's not my role."
I didn't like hearing that all the time.
And so, you got me fired up going into the NBA Finals.
[commentator] Philadelphia beat the Boston Celtics four out of five.
Julius Erving carried the load. He averaged 25 a game.
The Doctor will be the man they'll have to go to.
They had a real good team. Dr. J, when they had Chocolate Thunder,
Darryl Dawkins.
Now, I was a Philadelphia 76ers fan.
I'd had a Dr. J poster on my wall.
I was pulling for Philly. I was a Dr. J fan.
We all wanted him to win a championship but not against us.
[commentator] …underway. Controlled by Dawkins who'll break free.
It was a back-and-forth, up-and-down series.
We knew we had our hands full with Philadelphia,
but the one thing that was going in our favor was nobody
in the league could stop Kareem.
[commentator] Kareem moving the other way, Dawkins can't--
-[Magic] He was just unstoppable. -I spoke to the team. I told 'em,
"Listen, uh, I'm gonna be ready to do my job."
[commentator] Goes to Magic, lob to Kareem… [continues indistinctly]
And so, in game five at the Forum, it was nip and tuck.
A 2-2 series, this is a big game because we can go up 3-2.
[commentator speaks indistinctly] Kareem's hurt.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is injured. There's no question about it.
[Riley] In the middle of the third quarter,
Kareem has a sprain in his ankle.
[commentator] Boy, they would be in more than serious trouble without him.
We ended up closing out the game. We're up 3-2 now.
Please. Give him some room here, please.
[Wilkes] It was catastrophic.
Kareem was our captain, and he was always there.
Consummate professional, whether it was, you know,
had a migraine or not. I think we were all hopeful.
If there was any way he could play, he would play. We knew that.
[Cooper] The next morning, we're flying to Philly.
We get to the airport, and they said, "Man, did you hear the news?"
I said, "What news?"
Our doctors let us know that he was injured enough
that he wasn't gonna play game six.
We don't have the greatest scorer in the history of the game with us.
[Magic] How we gonna beat Philadelphia without Kareem?
[Cooper] Everybody's sitting there, and you could tell it was a lot of tension.
And everybody was, like, nervous.
Nobody was talking, which was strange.
How we gonna do this without our captain?
You know, he's not even gonna make the trip.
Oh, this must really be bad.
[Magic] They was all frustrated and disappointed that he couldn't play.
So, I said, "I gotta do something."
[Riley] Kareem used to get seat 1A.
There was only one person who ever sat in 1A.
[Cooper] Kareem would sit in the first row
but Magic and I would sit in the second row.
So, I'm in the second row, and Magic sits in Kareem's seat.
He just turned around and looked at everybody.
And goes,
"Have no fear, Earvin Magic Johnson is here."
[Magic] I'm 'bout to show you
and everybody on this team what type of game I got.