Glad to get my Brushes with Greatness part of the Vegas trip back on track! I might not be a Lakers fan but Magic Johnson is a player I’ve respected since college. When I was younger, he wasn’t on my team so I immaturely didn’t care about his accomplishments or whatever.
The biggest shift occurred during my brief stint working as an agate in the sports department with The Milwaukee Sentinel (now merged with the Journal). I remembered what a class act Magic was the night he broke Oscar “Big O” Robertson’s assist record. I’m paraphrasing this part, he said, I’m going to enjoy this record for as long as I can because the guy you need to watch now is John Stockton, he’s going to beat my record.
Historically Magic represented a slight shift in how basketball was played too. In the Seventies, many teams seemed use the strategy of getting a high-scoring player to solve all their woes. Why not? People paid to see points not to watch the fundamentals. He went on to be a star by being an unselfish player who passed the ball and helped the Lakers win titles as he spread the scoring around. I may not be an expert but Da Bulls didn’t win any championships until they ditched the give-the-ball-to-Michael strategy.
It was great to meet the guy. Magic is huge in person and very kind. I asked him if Big O was there when he broke the record. He said, yup, he’s my friend. Oh, and I did tell how I remembered the night he achieved 9888 assists.
As for the cost, etc. I felt it was worth the price tag. Magic Johnson wisely invested his money during his NBA career so the dough went to charity. Today he’s a major force in LA real estate and he was on the short list to buy the Clippers.
