“Somebody Would Get Hurt”: 27 Years Since the Abrupt End of His Career, Magic Johnson Explores the Possibility of “Senior NBA All-Star”

Published 09/29/2023, 1:30 PM EDT

Magic Johnson’s 13-year-long NBA career is one of the most decorated NBA careers of all time. His basketball talent was limitless, and he was the only player to could play competitively at an All-Star level in all the five positions on the court. After winning 5 NBA champions and countless scoring titles in his 13-year NBA career, he had to abruptly retire from the NBA because of testing positive for HIV in 1996.

In a recent interview, the 5x NBA champion gives a hilarious answer to an interesting question posed by the host of the show.

Magic Johnson’s Hilarious Reply

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In an interview on the ‘Dan Patrick Show,’ the host introduces the Lakers legend, “The Hall of Famer. Greatest point guard if all time.”. The host then announces, “He (Magic) is working with ‘GSK’ (a top Pharmaceutical Company).They recently launched ‘Sideline RSV’. Tell us more about that Magic. How did you get involved in this product ‘Sideline RSV’?”.

Magic Johnson replies, “Well, the great thing is that GSK reached out to me, since I’m 60…and older.”. The 5x NBA champion laughs as he corrects himself, “No, I’m 64 years old and ‘RSV’ (Respiratory Virus) is really… you have to pay attention 60 and older. 177,000 people get hospitalised with RSV and out of them, 14,000 die. So it’s a really important message. We want everybody 60 and older to make sure they talk to their doctor or health provider or pharmacist about RSV. Especially, the ones with chronic heart or lung disease.”.

The host then asks Johnson how his is health is and he replies, “My health is good. Still working out five days a week. What’s really good is that they have vaccination now for RSV so I’m going to get vaccinated.”.

The host catches Magic off-guard with his next question, “What about a senior NBA All-Star game?”. Magic Johnson bursts into laughter as he replies, “Hey somebody would get hurt! Now if it was a ‘H.O.R.S.E.’ game or something like that, okay I can see that. Anything other than that, no no no no no senior game.”.

A ‘pickup’ game between Hall of Fame legends sounds like an iconic scene straight out of a movie. Out of all the people, Magic Johnson would love to go up against some former legends to make up for his abrupt retirement from the NBA during the prime of his career. But what led to Johnson’s abrupt retirement?

Magic Johnson’s Abrupt NBA Retirement

In his 13-year-long NBA career, Magic Johnson achieved everything an NBA player could dream of. He was a 5x NBA champion, a 12-time All-Star. He also won the Most Valuable Player Award and the Finals MVP Award three times each.

His decorated NBA career literally shows the basketball phenom that Johnson was in his prime. However, his NBA career came to an abrupt end in 1996 when he announced he tested positive for HIV. The entire NBA community was shaken by his announcement.

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As prayers and wishes poured in from across the world, the Laker legend’s incredible basketball legacy came to an abrupt end. Imagine if a prime Magic Johnson played with a young Kobe Bryant who joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996-97.

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What are your thoughts on Magic Johnson’s hilarious reply to the host? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Akhil is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been following the NBA for more than a decade and represented his state at the National level. To hone his understanding of the inner workings of the game, he closely follows the analysis of popular NBA insiders and reporters like Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania.

Edited by:

Debmallya Chakraborty

“Somebody Would Get Hurt”: 27 Years Since the Abrupt End of His Career, Magic Johnson Explores the Possibility of “Senior NBA All-Star”

Magic Johnson’s Hilarious Reply

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Magic Johnson’s Abrupt NBA Retirement