From the moment he was drafted to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979, Magic Johnson formed an extremely close relationship with the franchise’s late, great owner Dr. Jerry Buss. The two were so close that Magic referred to Dr. Buss as a father figure and still refers to Jeanie Buss as his sister.
Once Magic retired from basketball, his attention turned to the business world as he became arguably the most successful athlete to ever make that transition and is not only investing in businesses, but is also part-owner of a number of sports franchises including the MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers and, most recently, the Washington Commanders of the NFL.
And Johnson credits a lot of that success to Dr. Buss, telling Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times that the mentorship from the late Lakers owner allowed him to be successful in this avenue:
“Basically, you owe a lot of that to Dr. Buss,” Johnson told The Times in that summer interview. “It was his mentorship. He guided me and he was that father figure that made sure I had all the tools necessary to be successful. When you think about days like this, you wish him and my father were still alive to see what I’ve accomplished.”
Magic would continue on, saying that ownership was something he had never even thought of and again thanking Dr. Buss and his father Earvin Sr.:
“I didn’t even think about being an owner of a team — it just blew my mind,” Johnson said. “What a blessing. But you don’t get there alone. I have my people. This is not something that, like, it’s by myself. And it starts with my dad and Dr. Buss. … They paved the way for me and I can’t thank them enough.”
Plenty of athletes have gone into the business world with investments, or starting their own companies, but no one has had the success of Magic Johnson and it was Dr. Jerry Buss who got his foot in the door in this world. We are now witnessing the next level of this with LeBron James and all of his ventures, but it was Magic who showed what was possible after retiring from the Lakers.
The relationship between Johnson and Dr. Buss was truly a special one and the former will forever be thankful for everything the latter did for him.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson pays tribute to MLB icon Willie Mays after passing
The sports world lost a true icon as Willie Mays passed away at the age of 93 years old. Arguably the best baseball player of all-time, Mays made an impact on many throughout his life and Magic Johnson took to social media to pay his respects.
Magic credited Mays as one of the main reasons he fell in love with the game of baseball and offering prayers to his family. His Lakers teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also released a statement following Mays’ death.
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