MAGIC JOHNSON was born in Lansing, Michigan, the sixth of ten children. To support the large family, his father worked night jobs after finishing his shift at a General Motors plant. When Earvin Sr. had free time, he would watch basketball on television with Junior, and give him advice on strategy. The younger Johnson soon became obsessed with the game, and most days would find him on the basketball court by 7:30 a.m. Even a trip to the store became another opportunity to practice: he would dribble with his right hand on the way there, and with his left on the way back.
Neighbors called Johnson "June Bug" because he was always hopping around the court, but in his fifteenth year — after a game in which he poured in 36 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and made 16 assists — a sportswriter changed that nickname forever. Earvin became "Magic." In all four of his high school years, he was selected as part of the Michigan All-State team, and in his senior year he led his Everett High School team to the Class A championship. After graduation, Johnson moved on to Michigan State University, and as a freshman he helped the Spartans win the 1977-78 Big Ten Championship. The following year, he led his team to the N.C.A.A. Championship game, a highly anticipated matchup with College Player of the Year Larry Bird. Johnson's team won convincingly, and he was named Most Valuable Player in the N.C.A.A. Final Four series.

In 1979, after his sophomore championship year, Johnson made himself available for the professional draft and was the first player picked. He went to the Los Angeles Lakers, a mediocre team at the time. Magic's exuberance and tremendous skill helped transform the Lakers into contenders. He was an All-Star as a rookie and helped guide the Lakers to their first championship since 1972. Even though Bird was chosen N.B.A. Rookie of the Year, Johnson was named Finals M.V.P. and took home the championship ring.

The introduction of Bird and Magic to the N.B.A. breathed new life into the lackluster league. During the '80s, Johnson orchestrated the now-famous Lakers offense known as "Showtime," and the Lakers and Celtics (Bird's team) were regularly the top teams in the game. Over the course of his 12 N.B.A. seasons, Johnson left a trail of records — highlighted by his legendary assists average — that marked him as one of the best players in N.B.A. history. His quick smile and affable personality made him a favorite among fans (who elected him to the All-Star team 11 times) and advertisers (who signed him to lucrative commercial contracts). He is, as Howard Cosell might have said, the consummate sportsman.

On November 7, 1991, Johnson shocked the world with the announcement that he had tested positive for H.I.V. during a routine physical exam. He also announced that, though he was still in perfect condition physically, he was retiring from the N.B.A. on the advice of his physician. His personal and professional tragedy was compounded by the fact that he had married only a few months earlier and had a child on the way. The significance of Johnson's press conference reached far beyond the terrible news that one of basketball's all-time greats had a fatal illness; it represented a growing awareness in the United States that AIDS was not just a "gay disease." Magic publicly acknowledged that he had led a promiscuous and somewhat careless lifestyle, and urged others to learn from his example. He made an appearance at the All-Star Game that season, leading the West to a 153-113 victory and earning the game's MVP Award in the process.

Although Johnson left the rigors of the N.B.A., he did not stray far from basketball. He was a member of the victorious 1992 U.S. Olympic Basketball "Dream Team," and became a part-owner of his beloved Lakers team — he even stepped in as head coach for the last 16 games of the 1993-94 season. He became very active in causes outside of basketball, including the United States National AIDS Committee, the United Negro College Fund, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the American Heart Association, and the Urban League. In his quest to improve the quality of life in inner-city neighborhoods, he built a chain of state-of-the-art multiplex movie theatres called Magic Johnson Theatres, which opened in Los Angeles and Atlanta to enthusiastic community response.

In 1996, still in perfect health, Johnson stunned the world again, by returning to the N.B.A. On January 29, 1996, he played his first N.B.A. game in five years. His return lit a fire under the slumping Lakers, and they won 29 of their last 40 games, earning the fourth seed in Western Conference playoffs along the way. Following a disappointing first-round defeat at the hands of the Houston Rockets, Johnson decided once again to retire, stating that he was leaving the game "on [his] own terms." The following year, Johnson signed a deal with Twentieth TV, a Fox-owned syndicator, to develop, produce, and host his own late-night talk show, The Magic Hour.

Magic Johnson, who led the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA titles in the 1980s, believes the current team needs an attitude adjustment before it's going to earn championship status in the 1990s. Now a team executive, Johnson ripped the Lakers following their 96-92 loss to Utah on Sunday, giving the Jazz a sweep of the Western Conference finals. "Shaquille (O'Neal) was fabulous, we've got the best player in basketball now," Johnson said. So we've got to surround ourselves with players who are going to play just as hard as he is, and who want it just as much as he wants it. That's not to point a finger at anybody, but I don't think our desire was there." "Emotionally, we just didn't get up," he said."Which way are we going to go now? The guys are going to have to understand that athletic ability and all the talent in the world doesn't win you anything. I've been around it, and I've seen it. I've seen Portland when they were the most talented team in basketball, and it never resulted in a ring. The reason Utah is so good is because they play hard, they play together, and they play smart. And if we ever understand that, we will be the champs someday."