Earvin "Magic" Johnson

Enshrined 2002
Born August 14, 1959
Lansing, MI

Few players in history have exhibited as much enthusiasm for basketball or displayed such an engaging personality both on-and-off the court as Earvin "Magic" Johnson. It was Johnson's incredible passion, coupled with his amazing skills that dazzled generations of fans and turned basketball into "Showtime." At 6-foot-9, Johnson was a point guard in a power forward's body. No player Johnson's size had ever done what he could do with a basketball and his incredible talents resulted in a national championship at Michigan State (1979) and five with the Los Angeles Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988). Throughout the 1980s, he turned the triple double - double figures in three statistical categories - into an art form. The all-time assist (10,141) and steals (1,724) leader in Laker history, Johnson was the NBA's all-time leader in assists when he retired. Johnson redefined the sphere of traditional position play because he could excel at every phase of the game. As a rookie in the 1980 NBA Finals, Johnson played all five positions - scored 42 points - and was named NBA Finals MVP. Following his star-studded scholastic career at Lansing Everett High School and All-America career at MSU, Johnson became an immediate NBA superstar, becoming a 12-time All-Star, a two-time All-Star Game MVP (1990, 1992) and nine-time NBA First-Team selection.