“I Was Mad”: Magic Johnson, Who Lost Almost $5.2 Billion to Michael Jordan, Lays It Bare in His Documentary

Published 12/09/2022, 6:30 AM EST

Michael Jordan became a household name as his popularity swept the world in the 90s. However, before Jordan, there was Magic Johnson who used to rule the basketball court. Magic changed the sport completely before Jordan grew in prominence. However, the 5-time champion did not get the fame and recognition that Jordan got. Recently, Magic Johnson opened up on how Jordan’s fame annoyed him.

Magic walked the court at a time when the Los Angeles Lakers dominated the league. Soon, he became one of the instrumental players in bringing more success to the Californian side. As a result of this, the Lakers won five championships along with dominating the 80s. Magic also had the opportunity to earn billions if he had gone ahead and signed the contract with Nike five years before they offered it to Jordan. The Nike deal spoke of how popular Johnson was in the 80s. However, despite being immensely popular and achieving so much on the court, he could not reach the level of Jordan’s popularity.

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Magic Johnson opening up about his due recognition

The docu-series of Magic Johnson, ‘They Call Me Magic,’ delves deeper into many unknown and interesting facts about the Lakers legend. Each story has its own uniqueness and taste that stands out against the rest. However, Magic’s claim of not getting his due recognition gave the fans a new perspective. The Lakers legend in his docu-series, said, “Yes, I was mad. Yes, I was jealous, you know. Yeah I’m a competitor, you know, I’m gonna be mad.”

Michael Jordan himself acknowledged this fact about Magic. Regarding the matter, he opened up and said, “Magic Johnson should have had that way before me. You know, his personality, his persona, and I think that’s where the jealousy grew between me and him.”

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Jordan’s unparalleled popularity naturally would have frustrated Johnson. His statements implied that he may have gotten frustrated about not getting the fame he deserved. And on the other hand, Magic’s regret become must have become more prominent when Michael Jordan himself acknowledged the “jealousy”

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What are your thoughts on Magic Johnson? Do you also think Magic didn’t get the proper recognition he deserved? Do let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Ayush Roy is an NBA writer at Essentially Sports. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Calcutta. Capitalizing his background in finance, Ayush likes to dive deep into the economics of the NBA.

Edited by:

Jayant Chhabra

“I Was Mad”: Magic Johnson, Who Lost Almost $5.2 Billion to Michael Jordan, Lays It Bare in His Documentary

Magic Johnson opening up about his due recognition

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