Earvin "Magic" Johnson (placeholder)

Earvin “Magic” Johnson, a native of East Lansing, Michigan, was destined for greatness from the day he stepped onto the basketball court at Lansing Everett High School until he retired from the Los Angeles Lakers, winning championships at the high school, collegiate, professional and international levels. Following his All-America scholastic career, Johnson led Michigan State to the 1979 NCAA championship in a classic battle against Indiana State’s Larry Bird, a rivalry that would continue throughout the 1980s with the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.

The first overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft, Johnson was an immediate superstar, leading the Lakers to the 1980 NBA championship (the first of his five: 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) over the Philadelphia 76ers. In the NBA Finals, the rookie played all five positions – scored 42 points – and was named the NBA Finals MVP, the first of three selections (1980, 1982, 1987). A 12-time NBA All-Star in his 13-year career and MVP of the 1990 and 1992 games, Johnson was also named NBA MVP three times, in 1987, 1989 and 1990. He was named to the NBA’s First-Team nine times and the second team once. The all-time assist (10,141) and steals (1,724) leader in Laker history, Johnson was the NBA’s all-time leader in assists until the record was broken by Utah’s John Stockton in 1995.