Earvin “Magic” Johnson was born on August 14, 1959 in Lansing, Michigan. He was born to Christine and Earvin Johnson Sr. Johnson grew up with six siblings. Johnson was a standout basketball player in high school and earned the nickname “Magic”. He would go on and have one of the most successful basketball careers of all time. He positively influenced the United States through his athletic achievements and his activism of HIV. Magic Johnson was one of the greatest NBA players of all time and his achievements would prove it. Johnson’s success and stature in high school led to an athletic scholarship to the University of Michigan State. In 1978, Johnson was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was selected to the All-Big Ten team. In 1979, Johnson won the National Championship with Michigan State after defeating Indiana State who was led by future Hall of Famer Larry Bird. Johnson was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 and went on to win a championship in his rookie year in the NBA. Throughout his career, Johnson was a three-time NBA MVP, 12-time NBA All-Star, 5-time NBA Champion, …show more content…
Led by 2-time NBA champion coach Chuck Daly, the 1992 team would be comprised of some of the greatest NBA players of all-time. The roster included players such as Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler, David Robinson, and Michael Jordan. With the abundance of talent, the team was given the nickname “The Dream Team”. The team would go on and run through every single team in the tournament. Wins included a 68 point win over Angola and a 51 point win over Lithuania in the semifinals. In the gold medal game, The Dream Team beat Croatia by a score of 117-85. The team scored over 100 points in every game and never gave up more than 85 points in any game. This was the greatest team to ever play basketball together, however a year earlier, Johnson would make an announcement that would stun the