Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson is the most successful former athlete to move into the business world. At this point, his accomplishments off the court have somehow exceeded what he did in the NBA and his latest big move was officially becoming part owner of the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
Johnson is part of the group led by Josh Harris that purchased the franchise from previous owner Daniel Snyder and the Lakers legend now has a stakes in four different sports teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers of MLB, the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, LAFC of Major League Soccer and now the Commanders. But the first franchise he ever had ownership stake in was the Lakers and he has the late, great Dr. Jerry Buss to thank for that.
In an interview with Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times, Magic spoke on the impact Dr. Buss had on his business accomplishments, saying that none of his other ownership opportunities would have came about if not for Dr. Buss allowing him to start with the Lakers:
“No. No. No. Probably could not have dreamed of just one, let alone four. My dreams were to play in the NBA and to become a businessman. I didn’t even think about being an owner of a team. It just blew my mind. But I would have to say if it wasn’t for [Lakers owner] Dr. Jerry Buss allowing me to own the Lakers first, none of this would have happened. The Dodgers wouldn’t have happened and all the other three wouldn’t have happened. But for him to allow me to be an owner — write a check — and to be part owner of the Lakers really allowed me to do what I’m doing today. Also, it was what Dr. Buss taught me, terms of business, and what he allowed me to do in terms of owning the Lakers. Then that opened up the whole world to me once I was one of the owners of the Lakers.”
It has often been spoken about that Dr. Buss was something of a father figure to a young Magic Johnson and really helped start the process of him thriving in the business world. Following Magic’s early retirement things could have gone downhill, but instead Magic has thrived far greater than anyone could’ve predicted.
Everyone starts somewhere and for Johnson, that start was with the Lakers and Dr. Buss giving him that first opportunity and has led all the way to the NFL and a partial stake in the Commanders.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson, other NBA stars send prayers to Bronny James
At the moment, even the joy of being an NFL owner can’t overshadow the concern over Bronny James, son of Lakers superstar LeBron James, who suffered cardiac arrest during a workout at USC.
Johnson offered his prayers and support to the James family during this concerning time as did many others across the NBA world including the likes of Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young and New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson.
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