If you type ‘greatest NBA players of all time’ in the browser, it is impossible for Magic Johnson not to be listed on such lists. This former basketball player is an NBA league and basketball legend in general. During his very successful career, he played for only one team in the NBA and has definitely achieved the greatest success with the Los Angeles Lakers. According to statistics and various sources of data, Magic Johnson is currently one of the richest former athletes in the world. But have you ever wondered what his wealth is? If so, you are in the right place to find out the net worth of Magic Johnson as well as some details from his personal life and career in the NBA. Well, if you’re ready, let’s get started.
The Early Life of Magic Johnson
The full name of this successful athlete is Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. He was born on August 14, in the year of 1959 in Lansing, Michigan as one of his parents’ 10 children. His father’s name is Earvin Sr., and his mother’s name is Christine. Interestingly, Magic comes from a sports family because both father and mother used to play basketball during their school days. However, none of the parents ever played for any professional teams. Instead, mother Christine worked as a janitor, and father Earvin Sr. was one of the employees of General Motors. His father’s additional job was garbage collection. He often involved Magic as the helper, which made young Johnson often teased and ridiculed by peers from the neighborhood.
Still, it didn’t affect Magic Johnson very much, who as a young boy became fond of basketball and dreamed of one day becoming a professional player. In his childhood, Johnson’s idol was Bill Russell, who was a member of the Boston Celtics and a famous generation of players who won as many as 11 championship titles from 12 played finals of the franchise.
As for his education, Magic attended Everett High School even though he was originally supposed to go to J.W. Sexton High School which was known as a school that had a very successful basketball team and a great tradition when it came to this sport. Yet, instead of attending a predominantly black school, he had to go to Everett High School, which was dominated by white children. After graduating high school, Johnson enrolled at Michigan State University.
Magic Johnson Career
Immediately after joining the university, Johnson became part of the basketball team and averaged 17.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in his first season in the college league. As early as the next 1978-’79 season, Johnson became one of the leaders of his Michigan State Spartans team. It was very easy to see that the Magic had much more potential than playing in the NCAA League as he led his team to the finals in which they were able to win against the Indiana State Sycamores and become champions.
During his college career, Johnson averaged 17.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game. This meant that it was time for bigger challenges and a start in the NBA. In 1979, he appeared on the NBA draft, where he was selected as the overall first pick by his future Los Angeles Lakers team. By signing a professional contract and becoming a part of the Lakers, Johnson has been able to play alongside NBA legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Norm Nixon.
His first season in the NBA was a dream come true as he was able to win the NBA Championship ring and become one of the best rookie players in franchise history. Interestingly, in the last 6th game of the final series, the LA Lakers were weakened by the non-playing of Abdul-Jabbar, so Johnson led the team to victory and a championship title in that game. For his playoff games, he was awarded the NBA Finals MVP Award and became the first rookie player to make it. Also, Magic Johnson is one of only four players to win the NCAA and NBA championships in a row.
Throughout his career, Johnson has played for only one team in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers. As a part of the team, he spent as many as 13 seasons, from 1979 to 1991, and later another season during 1996. During this period, he managed to help the Lakers win 5 championship titles in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988.
Quite simply, his career in the NBA was impressive and Johnson is truly one of the best players to ever play. In 13 seasons, he has played 4 finals in addition to winning 5 titles.
Magic Johnson Career Statistics
Magic Johnson is one of:
7 players who averaged 22.5 points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds over a single season.
4 players who have won the NCAA and NBA championships in a row,
6 players who scored triple-doubles in the deciding game of the final series,
4 players who scored a triple-double in their first playoff game,
2 players who have scored more than 20 assists in over 30 games,
as well as the only player to win the NBA MVP award in his rookie season.
Magic Johnson Awards and Achievements
As we said, Johnson’s career was impressive and he managed to win 3 NBA MVP awards. In addition, he was named NBA steals leader 2 times, NBA assists leader 4 times as well as 1-time NBA free-throw percentage leader.
After ending his professional career, Magic Johnson turned to entrepreneurship. One of the best deals he has made was buying 4.5% of his former LA Lakers team shares. He invested $10 million and later made 5 times profit by selling his shares. Also, Johnson became a partner with Starbucks in which he invested $27 million to buy shares. Later, in 2010, he sold his shares for $100 million again making a huge profit on the money invested. All of these business collaborations are run by his company Magic Johnson Enterprises.
In addition to these big investments, Johnson is also involved in the business of insurance, restaurants, healthcare, theaters, football as well as baseball teams. First of all, we think of the Los Angeles Dodgers where Magic Johnson is one of the owners.
Magic Johnson Family
Magic Johnson has been married to Cookie Johnson since 1991. They have a son EJ Johnson who is gay. Also, in 1995 the couple adopted a daughter, Elisa. From his relationship with Melissa Mitchell, Johnson has a son, Andre Johnson, who was born in 1981.
Net Worth of Magic Johnson
If you read carefully, you may notice that in addition to a successful sports career, Johnson has a very successful entrepreneurial career. Quite simply, the money he earned while playing in the NBA league, he managed to invest and profit multiply. All this has made him great wealth and currently places him among the richest African-Americans. Magic Johnson’s total net worth is estimated at a whopping $650 million.
